דור [Dor] [English translation]
דור [Dor] [English translation]
A generation left and a generation arrived, a generation sits on the cusp of crisis1
This generation, everyone waited for it, and now it's growing up
A generation that wants to taste, to touch, to feel deeply2
To eat from The Tree of Knowledge and in the end to fall in love
A generation that thirsts for love
Wants a little love
A whole generation that chooses Hell
Rather than the Eden3 of compromise
A generation that returns backwards
A generation that breaks the idols of grandpa; grandpa has a small God
A God of fear of punishment, a God of black and white
A God locked in four4 bars of Halakha5
"Do what is written in it and merit an abundance of blessing"
A God superficial like vorts6 and overused gematrias7
A generation that breaks the heart of dad
A generation that breaks the tablets8
A generation that thirsts for love
Wants a little love
A whole generation that chooses Hell
rather than the Eden of compromise
A generation that returns backwards
A generation that is fat and not satisfied, medical pills for all seekers
Love isn't for eternity, so now it is divorced
Postmodernist, Liberal, sanctifies confusion
No truth and no normal, the crying generation, the generation of the flood9
In the nights, we remember grandpa, sometimes (we) are a little jealous
With a smile of "bread with salt"10, Baba Sali11, a burning candle
A generation that thirsts for love
Wants a little love
A whole generation that chooses Hell
rather than the Eden of compromise
A generation that returns backwards
For love
Wants a little love
A whole generation that chooses Hell
rather than the Eden of compromise
A generation that returns backwards
A generation that returns backwards
1. lit. mouth of the womb or crisis (www.sefaria.org/Klein_Dictionary%2C_%D7%9E%D6%B7%D7%A9%D6%B0%D7%81%D7%91...). In the Mishna Arakhin 1:4 (https://www.sefaria.org/Mishnah_Arakhin.1.4), the phrase יושב על המשבר refers to a women who sits on "the travailing chair in the throes of labor." Ben Ari is using this phrase to characterize the generation on the cusp of crisis/pain but also immense change, which is what occurs during child birth.2. lit: deep in the heart3. lit: Garden of Eden4. A reference to the Rabbinic saying that since the destruction of the Temple, God's only influence in the world is through the "four cubits (a measurement) of Halakha (Jewish law)." See Talmud Berakhot 8a (www.sefaria.org/Berakhot.8a.18) 5. Jewish Law6. A short thought or idea usually conveyed through Jewish sources (https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/4108758/jewish/What-Does-...)7. A system in which Hebrew letters are assigned numerical values. In religious Jewish circles these values are used to connect different words or ideas. Some people find these connections to be a stretch and overused, which is what Ben Ari is referring to. (https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/gematria/) 8. A reference to Moses smashing the Tablets (given to him God on Mount Sinai) after seeing the Israelites worshipping the Golden Calf9. From Genesis.10. A reference to a saying in Ethics of the Fathers 6:4 (https://www.sefaria.org/Pirkei_Avot.6.4) which advocaes for a simple life with bread with salt.11. A 20th century Moroccan Rabbi and mystic. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baba_Sali)
- Artist:Hanan Ben Ari