Havdallah in Louisville with Matisyahu

By Matisyahu.

Trevor came out during the Louisville show the other night for I Will Be Light and towards the end I brought up the local Rabbi Baruch and his wife, whom I met this week. He brought up the idea of doing Havdallah, which I was open to. Then his boss (and father-n-law), another rabbi in town, mentioned to me during breakfast this week the idea of saying a few words about Mumbai and then making the blessing over light. Seemed liked a good idea although I don’t like to force these kind of things. I usually only speak if I’m really feeling inspired but lately I’ve been really drawing inspiration from the recent events when on stage so I figured may as well create a moment around it.

As a side note it’s ironic how Jews seem to feel most alive when we’re being killed or persecuted. It’s almost like we were killed for so many thousands of years that it’s part of our DNA to die for God and it’s when we feel most like we’re actually alive. In today’s time and in America it’s almost as though we fall asleep and totally feel dead because no one is trying to kill us. Anyway it was a really cool moment.

In shul today I was thinking of this idea that a person can be going through life, everything normal, the normal ups and downs, and then all of a sudden Bang. Something horrible can happen. Such tremendous darkness and evil just shoots up out of nowhere and takes a person. That kind of madness affects everyone. Evil can just come out of nowhere. I feel like as Jews in America our generation is really the first in the history of the Jews that is not in touch with this idea. We feel we will be here forever. Anyway when this kind of darkness happens they say the universe is out of whack and so the opposite acts of love and kindness happen to balance it all out. I hope that my shows and that music we make actually helps to warm up some hearts and unify people in their mission to create meaning and hope out of God’s madness.

This is exactly what the song I Will Be Light is about and the fact that Trevor who co-wrote it with me last winter was playing it and that there was a huge candle burning on stage and people with their lighters and cell phones up it really felt like “one tiny moment”, in one tiny city, shining in the midst of the this endless black space that we exist in. Just sparks of life, souls in bodies illuminating the great void for one small second in time before we are extinguished. Music is such an incredible force. As long as there is music there will be light.

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