... TO LIFE!....

Word of the Week, episode 2 :)

This weekend and next weekend are the performances of my church's fine arts ministry program.  This year we are doing Fiddler on the Roof, a traditional show about, well, tradition amongst Hasidic Russian Jews.  It is actually based on a true story/book and deals with several issues for the jewish population in Russia during the early 20th century (1900s).  Fun show--deep philosophically speaking but still fun.

One of the songs in the show is called L'chai-im!, or To Life.  Since this is a Hebrew word... I thought I would be elaborate on its meaning & significance.

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I was able to locate this word in the Biblical context, in Isaiah 4.  In this case it is used in a different context -- but it has the same meaning "to life." It comes from the Hebrew word for "life."  The same word is the root for the verb, for living things.  (see pg 310-313 of the Brown Driver Briggs Lexicon)  I want to saw that this words is like the living source of everything.  It interconnects all of creation. The term is used in the Bible for people's livelihood, for life in general, for reference to sustenance and for maintaining existence.

So if you ever get to see "Fiddler on the Roof," when the men start singing in the bar about life... keep in mind that it doesn't just incorporate the amber colored liquid in their cups :)