The Modern Hebrew songs of Rabbi Nachman- Part 2

In our last article, we learned how the words of a Rabbi who lived at the end of the 18th century could influence the hearts of many in Israel, even today. The first song spoke about the way in which a person should behave when they are confronted with fear.

Today we shall examine another quote by Rabbi Nachman that was composed into a poem by the famous Israeli poet, Naomi Shemer. In 1976, Shemer heard the story of Rabbi Nachman from a friend and decided to write a song called “Shirat Ha-Asabim” (Hebrew: שירת העשבים-The Song of the Grasses).

Let’s see what Rabbi Nachman had to say:

“וכך אמר לפלוני שטייל עמו בשדות: “ואמר לו רבנו זכרונו לברכה: לך עמי לטייל, והלך עמו חוץ לעיר והלך בין העשבים. ענה רבנו זכרונו לברכה ואמר: אם היית זוכה לשמוע את קול השירות והתשבחות של העשבים, איך כל עשב ועשב אומר שירה להשם יתברך… כמה יפה ונאה כששומעין השירה שלהם וטוב מאד ביניהם לעבוד את ה’ ביראה”

“Rabbi Nachman said to one person that was walking with him in the fields, ‘come with me to take a walk’, and the man walked with him outside the city, between the grasses. Rabbi Nachman said: I wish that you could hear the voice of the grasses that praise and sing to The Lord. How beautiful it is to listen their singing and between them it’s good to serve The Lord with fear. ”

This story of Rabbi Nachman shows us that when you go into nature and listen to the voice of the grass, you can connect to God in the simplest way, with the help of God’s creation.

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