What a wonderful message is contained in this song! Let me answer the question above first, and then I’ll cover some other issues. So the Hebrew words “Hine ma tov uma naim shevet achim gam yachad” are from Psalm 133 in the Hebrew Bible. I have always loved this psalm, and since the entire thing is so short I’m quoting it in full:
Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!
It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron’s beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments;
As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the Lord commanded the blessing, even life for evermore. (KJV)
Isn’t that a great image, of ointment (which was made according to a very specific formula and was very fragrant) and dew? Both items are refreshing. You have to remember that during the dry season in Israel the morning dew might be the only moisture keeping the grass alive. We think of dew as something pretty that sparkles in the light; to an agricultural people dependent on natural provision it was vital.
Let’s go on to the two Hebrew teachers whose words are quoted in supports of the ideas in the psalm. “Rabban” and “Rav” both mean “rabbi.” The first one, Shim’on ben Gamli’el, lived only 50 years into our Common Era and 20 years before the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem by the Romans. According to the historian Josephus, Gamli’el was murdered by a group called the Zealots, who advocated Israel’s complete opposition to Roman government and ended up instigating a civil war between Jewish factions, thus ending any hope of kicking out the Romans. Wikipedia says that “Josephus paints a very bleak picture of [the Zealots’] activities as they instituted what he characterized as a murderous ‘reign of terror’ prior to the Jewish Temple’s destruction.” Gamli’el seems to have been a voice for moderation and reason, as I read it anyway, and while things didn’t end well for him personally he has been revered for 2,000 years and his tomb in northern Israel is still a site for pilgrims today. His statement that justice, truth and peace are the three things on which the whole world stands deserves, and probably has gotten, whole books. If you think about it, you cannot have justice, that is, fairness and equality, without knowing the truth. And you cannot have true peace without justice and truth. Those concepts do indeed form a three-legged stool that cannot stand if one leg is missing.
Rav Muna lived about 300 years later than Gamli’el and was a Talmudic scholar; that is, he devoted himself to analyses and synopses of Jewish law. So it makes sense that we would be told that “Rav Muna added” to the ideas of Gamli’el. He doesn’t change anything in the previous teachings; he tries to make it as clear as possible that one of these three great truths cannot exist without the other. His additional statement reminds me a little of the way geometric proofs work. (Geometry was the only math subject I ever enjoyed.) You start with an axiom, one of a small set of obviously true statements, and from them you derive theorems, provably true statements. So I’d see Gamli’el’s statement as an axiom and Muna’s as a theorem. One follows from the other. (That about exhausts my mathematical knowledge.)
What of the composer of the piece, Amy F. Bernon? Yes indeed, what of her? She is one of those rare birds who seems to have no personal online presence at all; that is, no Facebook page or website. She is a living composer, born in 1967, and has spent her professional life teaching and composing. She is a member of the Choristers’ Guild, a Christian organization that is dedicated to nurturing the “spiritual and musical growth of children and youth.” So that emphasis on young people might explain why our piece was commissioned for a middle-school choir. She grew up in Syracuse, New York, where, the CG website says, during the long winters “she would pass the time by playing piano, singing with friends, and writing songs.” She ended up graduating from Yale and is apparently quite busy with commissions and clinician work. I did find the following story perhaps indicative of her helpful personality, garnered from a link in the ever-helpful ChoralNet website and describing a January 2015 high school music festival in New Hampshire:
Windham High School Choir Director Sheila Cuneo explained that Dr. Chris Shepard offered the students a unique opportunity due to his extensive musical experience. Shepard personally knows Amy F. Bernon, composer of a song performed by the chorus entitled “Sky Full of Snow.” During rehearsal, Shepard called Bernon, put her on speakerphone, and had the chorus sing the song to her. Bernon proceeded to give the chorus rehearsal notes over the phone call.
Pretty cool, huh? Don’t know if Bernon is typically amenable to such things, but what a nice gesture. And what a privilege to sing her beautiful work. There are a surprising number of YouTube videos available of this piece. I liked this one particularly since it’s a middle school choir, and it’s truly beautiful:
And there are many performances of her other pieces online, too, some with her introducing them. Such a pleasure to be introduced to this talented woman!
© Debi Simons
