For three months, pianist and composer Nachman Sheiner sat at midnight on the pew in the synagogue in Beitar Illit, mourning the loss of his close friend, the one who was the daily "hevruta" for studying the Gemara, Aharon Benita, who was stabbed to death in front of his wife and son on the last Sukkot holiday in the Old City of Jerusalem.
Alongside the funeral procession, Shiner composed the soundtrack of bereavement and tears, with poetry that filled the created void and with a moving musical arrangement that, upon first listening, transforms this melody of pain into a melody of hope for thousands of families of those murdered and killed in Israel's wars and terrorist attacks - religious, secular and ultra-Orthodox.
The melody was composed and performed by Scheiner, 30, with great artistry, in a tone of prayer, as it addresses with subtle and chilling emotion and the meaning of the text to all Jewish circles and communities in the world, and indicates the mutual guarantee between the people of Israel - from the residents of the Land of Israel to the Jewish communities in Toulouse and Paris - who all together bear the challenges of terrorism and anti-Semitism attacking from abroad.
With the words "He looked down from heaven and saw; He has made us nations with Him," Scheiner presents a spiritual dimension to the difficult times we are experiencing.
""The melody came out of longing, pain and a vision of the end of days," says Scheiner. "When I played the outline of the melody to family members whose relatives were murdered and to soldiers at the outposts in Hebron who lost friends in military operations - I didn't see a dry eye left.
""The soldiers told me: 'Such a melody gives us mental strength and spiritual elevation, to understand the dimension beyond tragedy and loss,' and they asked me to play it to them over and over again.
""In the melody I am releasing in honor of Memorial Day, I turn at this special time, a day of remembrance and devotion, to all parts of our people; to find the connection, comfort, and shared hope that can be well expressed through a melody of the heart.".
Musical performance: Nachman Sheiner – Arrangements, composition, singing, piano; Avi Avidani - Drums; Doron Mizrahi – Guitars; Jeff Hurwitz – synth and violin mixes; Nathan Yefet – Musical production;
Photography and direction: Rachel Koenig-Sofhar, Michal Scheiner
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