R.S.V.P.

Here's my first performance of my dad's composition R.S.V.P. that I played at his Memorial Music Night fundraiser in Jerusalem. I made sure to leave room for improvement in the next performance :) And sorry about that very loud piano bench squeaking!

I wrapped up that event Overwhelmed. With immense Gratitude for my beloved Jerusalem friends who opened their hearts with incredibly healing words and said Amen to my Mourner's Kaddish, opened their wallets in contributing almost 2100 shekels towards the new Soroka Hospital Comprehensive Cancer Center in Beer Sheva, for dear friend Tamara who opened her house and got the piano tuned to make it happen, to my sweet and brilliant Dad for his timeless, eternal music.

Here's an exquisite explanation of the Kaddish from chabad.org, originally from Maurice Lamm's definitive book on the Jewish rituals of mourning.

We also sang my anthem for the year of mourning, Yehuda Poliker's פחות אבל עוד כואב/Pachot Aval Od Co'ev/Less, but it still hurts. And my friend Naomi had shared a beautiful Leonard Cohen song with my before Yom Kippur, Who By Fire (from the Yom Kippur liturgy), with Sonny Rollins on sax.

Off to bed with a jam-packed rest of the work-week awaiting me until I celebrate freedom on Passover this Friday! Happy 6th birthday to my amazing nephew Jake!

Love,

אריק/Eric