(א) לַמְנַצֵּ֬חַ ׀ לִבְנֵי־קֹ֬רַח מִזְמֽוֹר׃ (ב) רָצִ֣יתָ יְהוָ֣ה אַרְצֶ֑ךָ שַׁ֝֗בְתָּ שבות [שְׁבִ֣ית] יַעֲקֹֽב׃ (ג) נָ֭שָׂאתָ עֲוֺ֣ן עַמֶּ֑ךָ כִּסִּ֖יתָ כָל־חַטָּאתָ֣ם סֶֽלָה׃ (ד) אָסַ֥פְתָּ כָל־עֶבְרָתֶ֑ךָ הֱ֝שִׁיב֗וֹתָ מֵחֲר֥וֹן אַפֶּֽךָ׃ (ה) שׁ֭וּבֵנוּ אֱלֹהֵ֣י יִשְׁעֵ֑נוּ וְהָפֵ֖ר כַּֽעַסְךָ֣ עִמָּֽנוּ׃ (ו) הַלְעוֹלָ֥ם תֶּֽאֱנַף־בָּ֑נוּ תִּמְשֹׁ֥ךְ אַ֝פְּךָ֗ לְדֹ֣ר וָדֹֽר׃ (ז) הֲֽלֹא־אַ֭תָּה תָּשׁ֣וּב תְּחַיֵּ֑נוּ וְ֝עַמְּךָ֗ יִשְׂמְחוּ־בָֽךְ׃ (ח) הַרְאֵ֣נוּ יְהוָ֣ה חַסְדֶּ֑ךָ וְ֝יֶשְׁעֲךָ֗ תִּתֶּן־לָֽנוּ׃ (ט) אֶשְׁמְעָ֗ה מַה־יְדַבֵּר֮ הָאֵ֪ל ׀ יְה֫וָ֥ה כִּ֤י ׀ יְדַבֵּ֬ר שָׁל֗וֹם אֶל־עַמּ֥וֹ וְאֶל־חֲסִידָ֑יו וְֽאַל־יָשׁ֥וּבוּ לְכִסְלָֽה׃ (י) אַ֤ךְ ׀ קָר֣וֹב לִירֵאָ֣יו יִשְׁע֑וֹ לִשְׁכֹּ֖ן כָּב֣וֹד בְּאַרְצֵֽנוּ׃ (יא) חֶֽסֶד־וֶאֱמֶ֥ת נִפְגָּ֑שׁוּ צֶ֖דֶק וְשָׁל֣וֹם נָשָֽׁקוּ׃ (יב) אֱ֭מֶת מֵאֶ֣רֶץ תִּצְמָ֑ח וְ֝צֶ֗דֶק מִשָּׁמַ֥יִם נִשְׁקָֽף׃ (יג) גַּם־יְ֭הוָה יִתֵּ֣ן הַטּ֑וֹב וְ֝אַרְצֵ֗נוּ תִּתֵּ֥ן יְבוּלָֽהּ׃ (יד) צֶ֭דֶק לְפָנָ֣יו יְהַלֵּ֑ךְ וְיָשֵׂ֖ם לְדֶ֣רֶךְ פְּעָמָֽיו׃
(1) For the leader. Of the Korahites. A psalm. (2) O GOOD, You will favor Your land, restore Jacob’s fortune; (3) You will forgive Your people’s iniquity, pardon all their sins;selah (4) You will withdraw all Your anger, turn away from Your rage. (5) Turn again, O God, our helper, revoke Your displeasure with us. (6) Will You be angry with us forever, prolong Your wrath for all generations? (7) Surely You will revive us again, so that Your people may rejoice in You. (8) Show us, O GOOD, Your faithfulness; grant us Your deliverance. (9) Let me hear what God, the GOOD, will speak; God will promise well-being to God's people, God's faithful ones; may they not turn to folly. (10) God's help is very near those who fear God, to make God's glory dwell in our land. (11) Faithfulness and truth meet; justice and well-being kiss. (12) Truth springs up from the earth; justice looks down from heaven. (13) The GOOD also bestows God's bounty; our land yields its produce. (14) Justice goes before God as God sets out on God's way.
-A Peter inspired translation
Chapter 011 - EMOTION, HAVE YOU EVER…?
Emotion is something I think I inherited from my father. He would cry at the drop of a hat. Too bad he wasn't so emotional about his kids or we might have had a better relationship, but this isn't about him. It is about me. Over the years, and as time has crept up on me chronologically and physically, I have become more moved by events, words, etc., than I can ever remember...
Did you ever cry at a ballet? Have you ever had the privilege of seeing and hearing the Boston Ballet Company perform "THE UPPER ROOM", with music by Philip Glass commissioned specifically for the company? We have seen it three times, I believe, and I am emotionally drained each time. The music in and of itself is hauntingly beautiful, but all the more so when in concert with the sights of magnificent dancers coming on and off of a stage whose main setting is black curtains hazed with smoke. The colors start off as stark black and slowly evolve into reds and whites. This, to me, is art at its best, the sight and sound of beauty...
There are few pieces that move me more than Symphonie Fantastique by Berlioz. The first time I heard it was in the Air Force. One night we visited two friends, both dentists, one of whom was quite deaf and could only listen to music by "feeling" it, both with his sense of touch and with some sounds which came through his two hearing aids. I was quite bored with the piece and underwhelmed. However, some of the haunting melodies stayed with me, and it wasn't until several years later that it reappeared.
Anita and I got symphony tickets (a rare occurrence on our income) and we were fortunate to be witness to the farewell concert being given by Charles Munch, then director of the Boston Symphony. Suddenly, watching Maestro Munch and hearing the Symphony Fantastique again, this time with maybe a more open mind, I found myself transformed by the music. It became an emotional experience for me. Well, apparently it also did for many in the audience because by the time the ending came, everyone was standing, yelling, cheering and weeping. I think of that experience every time I hear that symphony....
Have you ever seen Staller and Dean, the Olympic pairs skating champions' rendition of Ravel's Bolero on ice skates? It is the most perfect masterpiece of skating I have ever seen and probably never will be duplicated by another pair, ever. Those of us who were watching the Olympics at the precise time they performed, live, will never forget the experience. The very fact of seeing it as it was originally done is a memory to cherish. Every movement was exactly in concert with the music, every note coordinated with a skate blade, not a wasted or unnecessary move in the entire number. They were perfect 10's all the way. When the music stopped, they stopped, and the crowd, and perhaps everyone watching stopped, and there was absolute silence. Tears flowed in the crowd and with one motion everyone stood in awe of this great performance. The thunderous applause that followed almost seemed out of place, but so deserved that it couldn't be left out. This couple knew they had accomplished the impossible the moment the music ended, and they, too, were tearful as they waved to the crowd. I am tearful now just trying to write this down and it is years ago that this took place...
Have you ever been to the l'Orangerie Museum, dedicated to Monet's water lilies? Parts of this exhibit were brought to Boston's MFA, but there is nothing to compare to seeing it in its original places in Paris. The murals themselves, the individual paintings, the colors, the mood, the actuality of standing there and being a part of this scene were emotional experiences I shall never forget...
I will discuss many more important experiences in my life in the chapters on Travel, but I wanted to share particularly, the emotional experiences in a separate and special manner.
The first time I played Tevye in "Fiddler"... we had a unique cast, all Jewish, except for some of the chorus, all bonding together to become a family; Hodel actually falling in love with Perchik; Motel and Tseitel fitting together like they were already an item; Chava being a dancer and soon to be a career actress; Golda being a perfect foil for me and being a proper Jewish Mother. All this, and the play itself, set the stage for becoming a wonderful, bonded family. There is a scene, in the second act, when Hodel leaves home to join Perchik in Siberia and she and Tevye are at the train station. The song "Far from the Home I Love" is so moving and was sung with such emotion by Hodel that the first time we did the scene in rehearsal, which was on an evening that only the two of us were left in the practice hall with Sandra Gamm, who doubled as the rehearsal accompanist, that what came next was predictable. At the conclusion of the number, when Hodel says "God only knows when we shall see each other again" and Tevye replies, "Then we shall leave it in His hands", we both broke down uncontrollably and stood on stage hugging, Father and Daughter, Tevye and Hodel, and could not continue. Sandra, being one of us, announced through tears that we would NOT rehearse that piece again before show time, that we would never rehearse it in the presence of the rest of the cast, and if this had been a film it would have required no more takes.
Have you ever sat on a bench in the main square in Krakow, Poland and watched the people go by, and armed with only a camera, tried to capture the moment in your mind as well as on film? Not only did I get wonderful pictures, but also I made a friend with a young boy who was fascinated by my camera. There was no common tongue between us and yet we had a conversation and a connection that will stay with me forever. I took his picture, which he wanted, and one of him and his friend. He took my picture as well. Does that affect you as it did me? Probably not but still a sign of why I always carry a handkerchief.
"ANNIE" was, and still is, a good example of what happens to me when I get caught up by people and situations. Both Wendy (Grace) and I would stand behind the scene, waiting our turn to go on, but listening to Annie (Polly) do her first two opening numbers ("Maybe" and the first rendition of "Tomorrow") and shed tears over and over again. During rehearsals we would sit far back in the auditorium to watch Polly do these songs, and neither of us could speak. At least I wasn't alone in my feelings. Do I think of Polly often, not only as Annie but also as a person; well, does a bear shit in the woods?...
Have you ever been to a museum for a casual look at some wonderful art and become mesmerized and tearful at the sight of a beautiful picture? One such experience happened to me during a weekend excursion to Western Massachusetts. We stayed at an inn, took in a concert at Tanglewood and visited the Clark Museum. We toured in usual fashion; me wandering rapidly past pictures until I found myself glued to a picture by Gainsborough that portrays a young woman and her younger brother.
It is so peaceful and beautiful that I could not take my eyes off of it. There I stood in tears looking into the eyes of those children while noting the beauty and serenity of the picture, noting also the sadness of their composure. They personified peace and quiet, something I did not feel in my workday in my professional career. We went to the gift shop and purchased two copies of the picture, one small size...and one larger... We had them both framed, and I hung the picture next to my desk at work. Whenever things got hectic, or the boss was on my tail, or whatever confusion rained on any day, I just took some time to look at the picture. It really helped remove the bad clouds and bring some order to the chaos...
I am always ready to allow my mind to accept the beauty of every moment, even in the face of tragedy or with artistic beauty. I am ready for the emotion of being with my grandchildren and feeling the exchange of love between us. Some have not yet come to the same emotional level as I have, but some day maybe that will happen for all of them. I just hope they will remember Grandpa for who he was and, if not, that they will read about him as he was.
Having experienced death in so many ways, but particularly the loss of a spouse, I shall probably always live on the edge of knowing true sadness and true love, not just once but twice and many fold with my grandchildren and my children. To have the wondrous experience of living two lives with two wives and two families, both of which are almost intact, is something I won't wish on anybody, but I have been blessed to have survived it with the grandeur that the accidents of fate have provided for me.
-Peter Rapp
Edited for this source sheet
Emotion is something I think I inherited from my father. He would cry at the drop of a hat. Too bad he wasn't so emotional about his kids or we might have had a better relationship, but this isn't about him. It is about me. Over the years, and as time has crept up on me chronologically and physically, I have become more moved by events, words, etc., than I can ever remember...
Did you ever cry at a ballet? Have you ever had the privilege of seeing and hearing the Boston Ballet Company perform "THE UPPER ROOM", with music by Philip Glass commissioned specifically for the company? We have seen it three times, I believe, and I am emotionally drained each time. The music in and of itself is hauntingly beautiful, but all the more so when in concert with the sights of magnificent dancers coming on and off of a stage whose main setting is black curtains hazed with smoke. The colors start off as stark black and slowly evolve into reds and whites. This, to me, is art at its best, the sight and sound of beauty...
There are few pieces that move me more than Symphonie Fantastique by Berlioz. The first time I heard it was in the Air Force. One night we visited two friends, both dentists, one of whom was quite deaf and could only listen to music by "feeling" it, both with his sense of touch and with some sounds which came through his two hearing aids. I was quite bored with the piece and underwhelmed. However, some of the haunting melodies stayed with me, and it wasn't until several years later that it reappeared.
Anita and I got symphony tickets (a rare occurrence on our income) and we were fortunate to be witness to the farewell concert being given by Charles Munch, then director of the Boston Symphony. Suddenly, watching Maestro Munch and hearing the Symphony Fantastique again, this time with maybe a more open mind, I found myself transformed by the music. It became an emotional experience for me. Well, apparently it also did for many in the audience because by the time the ending came, everyone was standing, yelling, cheering and weeping. I think of that experience every time I hear that symphony....
Have you ever seen Staller and Dean, the Olympic pairs skating champions' rendition of Ravel's Bolero on ice skates? It is the most perfect masterpiece of skating I have ever seen and probably never will be duplicated by another pair, ever. Those of us who were watching the Olympics at the precise time they performed, live, will never forget the experience. The very fact of seeing it as it was originally done is a memory to cherish. Every movement was exactly in concert with the music, every note coordinated with a skate blade, not a wasted or unnecessary move in the entire number. They were perfect 10's all the way. When the music stopped, they stopped, and the crowd, and perhaps everyone watching stopped, and there was absolute silence. Tears flowed in the crowd and with one motion everyone stood in awe of this great performance. The thunderous applause that followed almost seemed out of place, but so deserved that it couldn't be left out. This couple knew they had accomplished the impossible the moment the music ended, and they, too, were tearful as they waved to the crowd. I am tearful now just trying to write this down and it is years ago that this took place...
Have you ever been to the l'Orangerie Museum, dedicated to Monet's water lilies? Parts of this exhibit were brought to Boston's MFA, but there is nothing to compare to seeing it in its original places in Paris. The murals themselves, the individual paintings, the colors, the mood, the actuality of standing there and being a part of this scene were emotional experiences I shall never forget...
I will discuss many more important experiences in my life in the chapters on Travel, but I wanted to share particularly, the emotional experiences in a separate and special manner.
The first time I played Tevye in "Fiddler"... we had a unique cast, all Jewish, except for some of the chorus, all bonding together to become a family; Hodel actually falling in love with Perchik; Motel and Tseitel fitting together like they were already an item; Chava being a dancer and soon to be a career actress; Golda being a perfect foil for me and being a proper Jewish Mother. All this, and the play itself, set the stage for becoming a wonderful, bonded family. There is a scene, in the second act, when Hodel leaves home to join Perchik in Siberia and she and Tevye are at the train station. The song "Far from the Home I Love" is so moving and was sung with such emotion by Hodel that the first time we did the scene in rehearsal, which was on an evening that only the two of us were left in the practice hall with Sandra Gamm, who doubled as the rehearsal accompanist, that what came next was predictable. At the conclusion of the number, when Hodel says "God only knows when we shall see each other again" and Tevye replies, "Then we shall leave it in His hands", we both broke down uncontrollably and stood on stage hugging, Father and Daughter, Tevye and Hodel, and could not continue. Sandra, being one of us, announced through tears that we would NOT rehearse that piece again before show time, that we would never rehearse it in the presence of the rest of the cast, and if this had been a film it would have required no more takes.
Have you ever sat on a bench in the main square in Krakow, Poland and watched the people go by, and armed with only a camera, tried to capture the moment in your mind as well as on film? Not only did I get wonderful pictures, but also I made a friend with a young boy who was fascinated by my camera. There was no common tongue between us and yet we had a conversation and a connection that will stay with me forever. I took his picture, which he wanted, and one of him and his friend. He took my picture as well. Does that affect you as it did me? Probably not but still a sign of why I always carry a handkerchief.
"ANNIE" was, and still is, a good example of what happens to me when I get caught up by people and situations. Both Wendy (Grace) and I would stand behind the scene, waiting our turn to go on, but listening to Annie (Polly) do her first two opening numbers ("Maybe" and the first rendition of "Tomorrow") and shed tears over and over again. During rehearsals we would sit far back in the auditorium to watch Polly do these songs, and neither of us could speak. At least I wasn't alone in my feelings. Do I think of Polly often, not only as Annie but also as a person; well, does a bear shit in the woods?...
Have you ever been to a museum for a casual look at some wonderful art and become mesmerized and tearful at the sight of a beautiful picture? One such experience happened to me during a weekend excursion to Western Massachusetts. We stayed at an inn, took in a concert at Tanglewood and visited the Clark Museum. We toured in usual fashion; me wandering rapidly past pictures until I found myself glued to a picture by Gainsborough that portrays a young woman and her younger brother.
It is so peaceful and beautiful that I could not take my eyes off of it. There I stood in tears looking into the eyes of those children while noting the beauty and serenity of the picture, noting also the sadness of their composure. They personified peace and quiet, something I did not feel in my workday in my professional career. We went to the gift shop and purchased two copies of the picture, one small size...and one larger... We had them both framed, and I hung the picture next to my desk at work. Whenever things got hectic, or the boss was on my tail, or whatever confusion rained on any day, I just took some time to look at the picture. It really helped remove the bad clouds and bring some order to the chaos...
I am always ready to allow my mind to accept the beauty of every moment, even in the face of tragedy or with artistic beauty. I am ready for the emotion of being with my grandchildren and feeling the exchange of love between us. Some have not yet come to the same emotional level as I have, but some day maybe that will happen for all of them. I just hope they will remember Grandpa for who he was and, if not, that they will read about him as he was.
Having experienced death in so many ways, but particularly the loss of a spouse, I shall probably always live on the edge of knowing true sadness and true love, not just once but twice and many fold with my grandchildren and my children. To have the wondrous experience of living two lives with two wives and two families, both of which are almost intact, is something I won't wish on anybody, but I have been blessed to have survived it with the grandeur that the accidents of fate have provided for me.
-Peter Rapp
Edited for this source sheet
