Why this tune?
Tunes On Tuesday returns to my Torah Tunes project with a song for the first portion of Deuteronomy, D’varim (דְּבָרִ֗ים) in Hebrew. The first verse of this fifth book starts “אֵ֣לֶּה הַדְּבָרִ֗ים” “eleh ha-d’varim,” usually translated as “These are the words.” The “words” here refer to the laws and practices conveyed by G-d to the people of Israel. I interpreted that phrase in a more secular way, a chance to explore the importance of words at different times in our lives. The result was the first draft of a song that travels through three stages when words really matter.
I think it’s not bad as a first draft, but I think it would benefit from some tuning of the words and music. Please let me know what you think!
Oren Levine, jazz pianist and songwriter 