“Windows of Life – Voice Masterclass” based on a book “The Orphan Sky” by Ella Leya (London) will share a very personal story of lost and mourning, looking for the answers to the questions of Identity, spirituality and a Jewish ethics. The performance followed by musical workshops “Find your voice”.

(Program moved to the second edition of the Festival)

A. „I Don’t Know Why” by Ella Leya 

One question, many answers. I carefuly keep silent. 
My weil is drowned under a heavy stone, at the bottom of a lonely well.
This is real – my life. I wish that I was dreaming. 
I send my thoughts far away, but they come back to me.

I don’t know why clouds get together,
chasing sunny day, causing me to cry.
I don’t know why I should keep on going, 
learning to forget, leaving you behind.

I don’t know why nights are lasting longer.
I don’t know why darkness steals your smile.
I don’t know why I should face the mourning.
Learning to forget, leaving you behind…

 

B. Thesis Abstract: „From Zoharic Text to Liturgical Performance: The Role of Weeping in the Performance of Eikha” – by Rabbi Tanya Segal, Jerusalem 2003

„The premise of this research is that the Zohar, in the
Eikha Midrash, perceives weeping on two functional levels: on a
theosophical level and on the dramatic level that informs the Zoharic
Midrash. The role of the weeping in the Zoharic Midrash haNe-elam
Eikha text became the foundation for the play script based on these
functional levels. In the Eikha performance, weeping as a dramatic
tool and its relation to the theosophical essence provided the timeline
and the spiritual environment, in which the transition from
performance to the traditional reading of the biblical Megilat Eikha, as
a Halachic liturgical action, took place.

… the intention of this research, and its contribution to the field of
theater, is to investigate utilizing the Zohar as a source of performance
material and specifically for creating dramatic scripts. Current research in the
field of theater has focused on adapting biblical material for use in the
theater. „