Ravinia 2022, Issue 3

Lord God of Hosts, I call You to account! You let this happen, Lord of Hosts! You with Your manna, Your pillar of fire! You ask for faith; where is Your own? Why have You taken away Your rainbow, That pretty bow You tied round Your finger To remind You never to forget Your promise? “For lo, I do set my bow in the cloud … And I will look upon it, that I May remember my everlasting covenant … ” Your covenant! Your bargain with Man! Tin God! Your bargain is tin! It crumples in my hand! And where is faith now—Yours or mine? CHORUS (Cadenza): Amen, Amen, Amen. SPEAKER: Forgive me, Father, I was mad with fever. Have I hurt You? Forgive me; I forgot You too are vulnerable. But Yours was the first mistake, creating Man in Your own image, tender, Fallible. Dear God, how You must suffer, So far away, ruefully eyeing Your two-footed handiwork—frail, foolish, Mortal. Kaddish 2 SPEAKER: My sorrowful Father, If I could comfort You, hold You against me, Rock You and rock You into sleep … SOPRANO SOLO and WOMEN’S CHOIR: Yit’gadal v’yit’kadash sh’mē raba, amen, b’al’ma div’ra chir’utē, v’yam’lich mal’chutē b’chayēchon uv’yomēchon uv’chayē d’chol bēt Yis’raēl, ba-agala uviz’man kariv, v’im’ru: amen. Y’hē sh’mē raba m’varach l’alam ul’al’mē al’maya. Yit’barach v’yish’tabach v’yit’pa-ar v’yit’romam v’yit’nasē, v’yit’hadar v’yit’aleh v’yit’halal sh’mē d’kud’sha, b’rich Hu, l’ēla min kol bir’chata v’shirata, tush’b’chata v’nechemata, da-amiran b’al’ma, v’im’ru: amen. Y’hē sh’lama raba min sh’maya v’chayim alēnu v’al kol Yis’raēl, v’im’ru: amen. Oseh shalom bim’romav, Hu ya-aseh shalom alēnu v’al kol Yis’raēl, v’im’ru: amen. (Magnified and sanctified be His great name, Amen. Throughout the world which He hath created according to His will, Amen. And may He establish His kingdom During your life and during your days, And during the life of all the house of Israel, Speedily, and at a near time, And say ye, Amen. May His great name be blessed Forever and to all eternity. Blessed and praised and glorified, And exalted and extolled and honored, And magnified and lauded Be the name of the Holy One, blessed be He; Though He be beyond all blessings And hymns, praises and consolations, That can be uttered in the world, And say ye, Amen. May there be abundant peace From heaven, and live for us And for all Israel; And say ye, Amen. He who maketh peace in His high places, May He make peace for us And for all Israel; And say ye, Amen.) SPEAKER: Rest, my Father. Sleep, dream. Let me invent your dream, dream it With you, as gently as I can. And perhaps in dreaming, I can help You Recreate Your image, and love him again. Scherzo SPEAKER: I’ll take You to Your favorite star, The world most worthy of Your creation. And hand in hand we’ll watch in wonder The workings of perfectedness. This is Your Kingdom of Heaven, Father, Just as You planned it. Every immortal cliché intact. Lambs frisk. Wheat ripples. Sunbeams dance. Something is wrong. The light: flat. The air: sterile. Do you know what is wrong? There is nothing to dream. Nowhere to go. Nothing to know. And these, the creatures of Your Kingdom, These smiling, serene and painless people— Are they, too, created in Your image? You are serenity, but rage As well. I know , I have borne it. You are hope, but also regret. I know . You have regretted me. But not these—the perfected ones: They are beyond regret, or hope. They do not exist, Father, not even In the light-years of our dream. Now let me show you a dream to remember! Come back with me, to the Star of Regret: Come back, Father, where dreaming is real, And pain is possible—so possible You will have to believe it. And in pain You will recognize your image at last. Now behold my Kingdom of Earth! Real-life marvels! Genuine wonders! Dazzling miracles! … Look, a Burning Bush! Look, a Fiery Wheel! A Ram! A Rock! Shall I smite it? There! It gushes! It gushes! And I did it! I am creating this dream! Now Will You believe? I have You, Father, locked in my dream, And You must remain till the final scene … Now! Look up! High! What do You see? A rainbow, which I have created for You! My promise, my covenant! Look at it, Father: Believe! Believe! Look at my rainbow and say after me: MAGNIFIED … AND SANCTIFIED … BE THE GREAT NAME OF MAN! The colors of my rainbow are blinding, Father, And they hurt Your eyes, I know. But don’t close them now. Don’t turn away. Look. Do you see how simple and peaceful It all becomes, once You believe? Believe! Believe! Kaddish 3 Children’s CHOIR: Yit’gadal v’yit’kadash sh’mē raba, amen, (Magnified and sanctified be His great name, Amen.) SPEAKER: Don’t waken yet! However great Your pain, I will help You suffer it. O God, believe. Believe in me And You shall see the Kingdom of Heaven On Earth, just as You planned. Believe … Believe … See how my rainbow lights the scene. The voices of Your children call From corner to corner, chanting Your praises. Children’s CHOIR: b’al’ma div’ra chir’utē, v’yam’lich mal’chutē b’chayēchon uv’yomēchon uv’chayē d’chol bēt Yis’raēl, ba-a gala uviz’man kariv, v’im’ru: amen. (Throughout the world which He hath created according to His will, Amen. And may He establish His kingdom During your life and during your days, And during the life of all the house of Israel, Speedily, and at a near time, And say ye, Amen.) SPEAKER: The rainbow is fading. Our dream is over. We must wake up now; and the dawn is chilly. Finale SPEAKER: The dawn is chilly; but the dawn has come. Father, we’ve won another day. We have dreamed our Kaddish , and wakened alive. Good morning, Father. We can still be immortal, You and I, bound by our rainbow. That is our covenant, and to honor it Is our honor … not quite the covenant We bargained for, so long ago, At the time of that Other, First Rainbow. But then I was only Your helpless infant, Arms hard around You, dead without You, We have both grown older, You and I. And I am not sad, and You must not be sad. Unfurrow your brow; look tenderly again At me, at us, at all these children Of God here in this sacred house. And we shall look tenderly back to You O my Father: Lord of Light: Beloved Majesty: my Image, my Self! We are one, after all, You and I: Together we suffer, together exist. And forever will recreate each other. Recreate, recreate each other! Suffer, and recreate each other! SOPRANO SOLO, Children’s CHOIR and CHORUS: Y’hē sh’mē raba m’varach l’alam ul’al’mē al’maya. Yit’barach v’yish’tabach v’yit’pa-ar v’yit’romam v’yit’nasē, v’yit’hadar v’yit’aleh v’yit’halal sh’mē d’kud’sha, b’rich Hu, l’ēla min kol bir’chata v’shirata, tush’b’chata v’nechemata, da-amiran b’al’ma, v’im’ru: amen. Y’hē sh’lama raba min sh’maya v’chayim alēnu v’al kol Yis’raēl, v’im’ru: amen. Oseh shalom bim’romav, Hu ya-aseh shalom alēnu v’al kol Yis’raēl, v’im’ru: amen. MARIN ALSOP, conductor For Marin Alsop’s biography, see page 55. RAVINIA MAGAZINE • JULY 18 – JULY 31, 2022 48