Cantor Rachel Brook sings Akara (Uri) by Achinoam Nini (Noa)

Ed Gerber, guitar
Produced by Butterfly Productions, Chicago, IL
Recorded at Anshe Emet Synagogue
Akara (Uri)
Poem by Rachel
Music by Achinoam Nini and Gil Dor
This beautiful poem by Israeli poet, Rachel, is an intimate look into her own deepest longings to become a mother. Rachel lived a tragically short existence, dying at the age of 40 from tuberculosis, yet her contribution to Israeli culture and art has reached a magnitude which far surpasses her number of years. Her poems are known for their simple, straightforward and intimate style, as well as her love of Biblical allusion and her pervading sense of longing, loss and desire for love. All of these elements are captured beautifully in Akara (Barren), where the poet dreams of the son she longs to bear, imagining his dark curls and wistfully calling him “Uri”, my light. Her invocation of the biblical matriarchs, Rachel and Hannah, frame the depth of her longing for a child as timeless and inextricably linked with the endless search for belonging and identity. The desires expressed so tenderly in this poem were never realized in her life.
This poem has been set to music many times over the years. The most popular setting is by Israeli pop star, Achinoam Nini (also known as Noa), whose setting I have chosen to sing in this video. Her lyrical and heartfelt adaptation of the poem adds a renewed sense of hope to the words, reminding us that it is our capacity for hope towards a brighter future that makes us uniquely human.

[@vanlevy2008]

Enjoyed your commentary on this song which adds to the richness of the story. It was song beautifully.