This past weekend, my parents and I were in Boston, MA for an event where my dad was being honored, and the keynote speaker. I was asked to share one of my songs, State of Freedom, so I attended as well. The room was full of Christians and Jews, and the sorrow, as well as the camaraderie was palpable.
We had an amazing time, though it was a very quick trip. The next early morning, we hopped on a plane to head back home.
We had a layover in Newark, NJ. If anyone has been to that airport, you might know there’s a piano at the C gates. My routine for the past few trips now if I see a piano in an airport is to sit, play, and sing. Usually people walk by, take videos, drop some money on the piano, etc. This day was slightly different, however.
I started off playing some of my usual favorite covers, and then transitioned into a couple of originals. This time, however, a particular song was on my heart to sing; it was Bridge Over Troubled Water by Paul Simon (performed by Simon and Garfunkel). I thought of it, and then dismissed it, as I’ve never performed it before, was only confident about 80% of the lyrics by memory, and did not want to stop playing to look them up on my phone.
Nevertheless, with each second, I felt more and more compelled. I started to play the intro, then I started singing the verse. I think the only verse I got close to all the way correct was the first one:
When you're weary
Feeling small
When tears are in your eyes
I'll dry them all
I'm on your side
Oh, when times get rough
And friends just can't be found
But I knew that chorus, and sang it nice and strong.
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down
As I was singing, I started to feel tears coming, but I was able to push through and sing the song. As I was singing, people were walking by, stopping, listening, and some would leave a dollar or two. At some point, I can’t remember if it was right after, or during the song (or maybe even just before), an Orthodox Jewish man walks by and leaves money on the piano, looks me in the eyes and says, “thank you.”
In this social media age, and because of the work that my family and I do, I wasn’t sure if he was simply thanking me for the music, or if his gratitude was much deeper than that.
It is at this point, irrelevant as I was just grateful for that moment. It was a nice, gentle reminder. When I was done playing, I counted my tips and it came out to $18. As we say today, “if you know, you know.”
My heart continues to ache for my Jewish friends all over the world. News recently came out that one of the things Hamas did on October 7th is burn babies alive in ovens while gang raping their mother as she heard the screams. Things are still being uncovered, and the world has already moved on, not only ignoring the gruesome atrocities, but to blame the victims. It’s 1939 all over again; and just like a lot of people back then sided with German Nazis, a lot of people today are siding with Arab Nazis.
The truth will prevail, and the Israeli people will get their missing mothers, fathers, grandparents, children, and babies back.
In the meantime, those who are on the wrong side of history will be judged, both in this life, and the next.
I didn’t mean to end this piece in that tone, but I guess that is where my heart is.
Praying that the truth is revealed, lairs are exposed, and Hamas is destroyed.
Hamas [violence] will no longer be heard in your land,
desolation or destruction within your borders;
instead, you will call your walls Salvation
and your gates Praise.
Isaiah 60:18