In memory of Israel’s murdered and fallen and that salvation will come to our nation
A father and daughter join forces to perform Avinu Malkeinu at a time of war אבינו מלכנו לעת המלחמה
In the first days of the war, the Young Israel Congregation in Ramot, Jerusalem, held a special prayer service during which the Avinu Malkeinu prayer was recited. It occurred to Richard Shavei-Tzion that a number of the lines of this prayer which had not been relevant to our times prior to October 7th had now been brought into sharp, tragic focus by the atrocities that had been perpetrated by our sadistic enemy. It is to these lines that he set this tune, a humble supplication that the great suffering of adults, children and elderly would not be in vain and that salvation would come to our nation. The song is dedicated to the memory of all the murdered and fallen, amongst them, the Slotki brothers, Noam and Yishai, who fell at the entrance to kibbutz Alumim after they had killed multiple terrorists. Their father Rabbi Shmuel Slotki is Richard’s rabbi and the family are close friends and neighbors of the Shavei-Tzions.
Richard’s daughter Tanya Yusupov sang the vocals and musician Erna Klein provided the instrumentation.
“THEY KNEW WHAT THEY HAD TO DO”
As Lay of the Land extracts from local media:
When the sirens began blaring that morning on October 7 in Be’er Sheva, brothers Noam and Yishai heard from neighbours what was happening near Gaza. Yishai immediately jumped into his reservist gear and headed towards Gaza. A few minutes later, Noam decided to go too, and they met up on the way, getting into the same car. At 10:30, Noam’s nervous wife determined by the location of his phone that Noam was outside of kibbutz Alumim, only a few hundred meters from the Gaza border. During the shiva, the Slotkis were shown actual CCTV footage documenting the bravery of their sons’ as they engage in battle.
“You see them arrive outside the kibbutz and park their car next to six vehicles that are all riddled with bullet holes, one even had been hit by an RPG. They knew full well what they were consciously getting themselves into but knew it’s what they had to do. They got out of the car, advancing towards the enemy with their guns firing.”
Richard Shavei-Tzion is a widely published poet and is the author of “Poetry in the Parasha” and the Prayer for the Preservation of the Environment. His articles on social, sustainability and Jewish topics have been published around the Jewish world, principally in The Jerusalem Post and his photographic images have been displayed in solo and group exhibitions. For 26 years, Richard was the director of the Ramatayim Men’s Choir and now directs the Zimrat Efrat Choir. Recently retired from a career in property and medical management, he produces, “Gift of a Lifetime” – videos which preserve the stories and ethos of people for their progeny.
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