Boker tov

Branka Parlić's interpretation of "Morning Passages," Philip Glass, in Novi Sad Synagogue, Serbia, 5 July 2005.

The instrumental passage is complete and lovely beyond measure (or description) on its own, but lyrics from another tune, another time, another reality, echo in my world:

Shalom, Shalom,
You'll find Shalom
The nicest greeting you know;
It means bonjour, salud, and skoal
And twice as much as hello.
It means a million lovely things,
Like peace be yours,
Welcome home.
And even when you say goodbye,
You say goodbye with Shalom.

It's a very useful word,
It can get you through the day;
All you really need to know,
You can hardly go wrong,
This is your home as long as you say:
Shalom,
The nicest greeting I know;
Shalom,
Means twice as much as hello.
It means a million lovely things,
Like peace be yours,
Welcome home.
And even when you say goodbye,
If your voice has
"I don't want to go" in it,
Say goodbye with a little "hello" in it,
And say goodbye with shalom.

         (Jerry Herman)


Shalom, shalom, ve'od nitra'eh.