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TO THE LIGHT
Co-Missioned by Central Reform Synagogue, St. Louis
LYRICS
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TO THE LIGHT
A meditation on the prayer "Yotzair Or," Commissioned by Central Reform Synagogue, St. Louis
"Mah rabu ma’asecha Yah" means, "How immensely wonderous are the creations of The-Source-of-All-Life"
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To the light, here’s to the light, fly to the light
To the light, straight to the light, fly to the light
Mah rabu ma’asecha Yah….
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Shiny, shiny, shiny, tantalizing treasure
Precious as a flame to a moth
Teach me how to love the glow
Without diving for the diamonds in the lava flow
Everyone and everything will always go
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To the light, here’s to the light, fly to the light
To the light, straight to the light, fly to the light
Mah rabu ma’asecha Yah….
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Glory glory glory, radiating wonder
Rising like a blaze in the east
Once again I get to learn
Not to lean so hard your sweet caress begins to burn
Dancing in between the two as we return
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To the light, here’s to the light, fly to the light
To the light, straight to the light, fly to the light
Mah rabu ma’asecha Yah ….
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Tiny, tiny, tiny, scintillating ember
Long forgotten song at your core
Sing me secret northern star
Shining from the shadows of this broken heart
Lifting through the narrows in a perfect arc
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To the light, here’s to the light, fly to the light
To the light, straight to the light, fly to the light
Mah rabu ma’asecha Yah ….
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©2021 Billy Jonas / Bang-A-Bucket (BMI)
TESTIMONIAL
"It's great! I love it!"
- Rabbi Randy Fleisher, CRC
STORY
This is a meditation, or "iyyun"/study/musing upon the prayer "Yotzair Or" (Creator of Light). The prayer is part of the morning "Shacharit" prayer service liturgy. It offers an opportunity to invoke gratitude and awe for the source, and power, of all the manifestations of light in our lives -- as well as the opposite -- and the essential enlivening tension between.
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Rabbi Randy asked for a musical version, that might be used during the Shacharit service. Verse one grapples with the glittery light that emanates from and draws us to shiny material possessions; verse two considers the magnetic light of physical attraction that pulls us into relationship with other people -- which, like the light of the sun, can be both nurturing and potentially harmful; verse three reaches for the eternally connected spark of divine light within us all.