On Borrowing Tunes

[debka_notion]

At shul this morning, they used a few tunes borrowed from the Christian world for a couple of the hakafot.  The first one came as a touch of a shock, as I know it only from singing it with the hospital choir this summer (3-7 people, depending on the week.  We sang at bedsides once a week, for about an hour)- I'll Fly Away.  After the first time we did it, it was stuck in my head for about 2 weeks (and will probably be back there for a while).  (Note the lyrics to the chorus: "I'll fly away, O Lordy, I'll fly away/When I die halleluyah by abd by I'll fly away"- an odd thought to combine, but I figured ok, it sort of works.)  Then a bit later we got Amazing Grace, which oddly enough fit the topic better.  Never thought that I'd say that.  

Comments

[debka-notion.livejournal.com]

Someday I should learn to read ktav ivri, for the sake of completeness and the like.

I'm feeling a little weird about the keeping one day thing, but it just didn't feel reasonable to keep two, nor like I could do two days of Simchat Torah in a row- one is great, two would be major overkill, even if I could find a shul that had the davening. But it feels like I'm in Israel and giving in to a lessening of my religious dedication because it's what's done here, even knowing all the geographical and historical reasons why keeping one day here makes perfect sense.