Why this tune?
This week’s tune is a work in progress, another in my “Parsha Songs” series inspired by the
weekly Torah portion. The prompt for this song comes from Parashat Shelach (Numbers 13:1-15:41). The portion includes the story of the “spies” sent to explore the land of Canaan before the Israelites enter the Promised Land. The text notes that “it happened to be the
season of the first ripe grapes” (JPS translation, 2006).
I thought “the season of the first ripe grapes” had a lovely melodic feel, and decided to write a song around that phrase. That phrase led me away from the Israelites to a story of love among the vines between two people at a vineyard, perhaps working in the harvest. My current draft has the couple forced to part when the singer must return home at the end of the the harvest season. I’m still not sold on that, thinking that perhaps there’s a way to write a happier ending. I’ll let you know how it turns out.
Oren Levine, jazz pianist and songwriter 