The prophet tells us that melodies emerge from everywhere in the Land of Israel. He says, “From the depths of the land [of Israel] we heard songs.” Rebbe Shimon Bar Yochai teaches that when the Children of Israel entered the Land of Israel after their exodus from Egypt, they heard melodies everywhere they walked (Zohar, Part 3, 284b). The holy Shl”a and Rebbe Nachman of Breslev reiterate on this principle throughout their writings.

I have tangibly and repeatedly felt what our holy sages have spoken about. I’m far from a professional musician, and certainly not a composer. But wherever I go here in my cherished homeland, be it the desert, the seacoast or the field, I sense a different melody. Strangely, if I’m playing a beautifully crafted Native American flute produced from the finest North American cedar, nothing happens. But if I take a simple flute, like the one King David played made out of a Land-of-Israel reed, it plays by itself.

I visited the site of our holy Tabernacle in Shilo. There are remnants of the dwellings where the Cohanim, the priests lived. About an hour before sundown, I sat down on an ancient stone doorstep in the entrance of one of them. I put my Land-of-Israel reed flute to my mouth and it started playing by itself. The result was a haunting, moving melody full of hope and determination, as if our Holy Temple and the Cohanim will soon return. In light of what’s happening in the world, I believe that’s so. Enjoy this melody and feel free to download it here, courtesy of our wonderful donors, may Hashem bless them.

Credits:

Melody and performance on native Israel reed flute – Rabbi Lazer Brody

Arrangement – Jeff Horvitch

Native Israel flute crafted by Joe Bazer of Shiloh