Eliyahu Reminds Us of Our Faith

Rabbi Yosef Goldman and I wrote this setting of Eliyahu Hanavi just before the birth of our son, Shir Emet. We first sang it at his bris at BZBI two summers ago.

It is a custom to welcome in the prophet Elijah at the birth of a child, at the end of the Passover Seder, and at the end of Shabbat. Elijah represents the promise of redemption and appears at liminal moments of hope and vulnerability.

This week, as we celebrate Thanksgiving, we will welcome in the Hebrew month of Kislev–the darkest month of the year. As the nights grow longer, Eliyahu reminds us of our faith that the seed of redemption is planted in the darkest times, and each of us is called to nurture its growth.

“What if this darkness is not the darkness of the tomb, but the darkness of the womb?” – Valerie Kaur