Fire Phasers! On Lebanon?

14 of the Fifth Month 5766


Photos like this one have been popping up here and there, ever since the Reuters photo-doctoring scandal broke. Yes, I know it's shocking that anyone contributing to such a reputable institution as Reuters would do such a thing (sic.). Nonetheless....

One independent journalist (anonymity protected) was quoted as saying that this photo is an obvious fake due to the absence of a Star of David. That's pretty weak if you ask me. The Arabs would be the first to jump up and yell, "Zionist conspiracy! They purposely paint over their national insignia and jam their transponder frequencies in an attempt to escape identification."

As a Star Trek expert (ie "geek"), I feel it is my obligation to proclaim to you the irrefutable evidence that this is photo is a fake.

You see, the original USS Enterprise was a Constitution class starship, and thus unable to navigate through the earth's atmosphere. I know that it's very easy for you lay-people to get confused. Perhaps you recall witnessing the USS Voyager commanded by Capt. [now Admiral] Janeway, landing on the surface of various planets, and thought to yourself, "Hey, if the voyeur can land on an M-class planet, then so can the Enterprise. And, if the Enterprise can navigate through the earth's atmosphere, then maybe this photo isn't a fake after all." Wrong! These two space vessels are completely different classes of ship. The USS Voyager is an Intrepid class ship. It is a well-known fact the old Constitution class ship was not designed to navigate safely through planetary atmospheres.

Well, now that I've cleared that up for you, I must say that Sultan Knish and then Jameel @ The Muqata, among countless others I'm sure, beat me in posting this photo way before me. I, myself, received it from "Frodo" in Israel, via various middlemen.

(20 of the Fifth Month: This just in: It has been confirmed that Sultan Knish was indeed the creator of this mocked up photo. Apparently, in applying for a position at Reuters, the application asked for....)

But, hey, that's the whole point of this blog, to provide my infinitely invaluable and highly opinionated [I hope] "Esser Agaroth" on world events and life's little surprises. Of course, I'll probably be the only one to get sued for copyright infringement, or at the very least a nasty e-mail from StarTrek.com, canceling my subscription to its e-newsletter.

Stay tuned!

And, of course, may the almighty protect us, and grant us victory over our enemies. war is no laughing matter, but it often reveals some of those absurdities inherent in human behavior.

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Interested in contributing? E-mail me.

Another Divine Cancellation

13 of the Fifth Month 5766

Last week, while those in many religious communities, in and out of Israel, were celebrating the cancellation [for the second year in a row] of the so-called "pride parade" in Jerusalem, another cancellation may have squeeked by without your notice.

The Depeche Mode concert, scheduled for the night following Tisha b'Av in Tel-Aviv, was also cancelled.

Although I haven't been following Depeche Mode's journey through music and time that much for the past several years, I really have been a fan of theirs almost since their inception in 1980. At one point, I even had my ears pierced just like lead singer David Gahan. The earrings have long since been removed, and, well,...that's another story for another time....

Months ago, when I heard that Depeche Mode was coming to Israel, I debated as to whether I should go. Could I afford the NIS 300 ticket? (approx. $68) Should I go to a concert with mixed [gender] seating? Maybe I could stand outside, and just listen, like we sometimes did in California. Or, should I even go to such a concert at all?

Well, after many months of not even thinking about the Depeche Mode concert, I was walking around Jerusalem with friends who were visiting from LA. We turned up Hillel Street, in a neighborhood where I am almost never seen, and sure enough we ended up passing a ticket office. There in the window was a huge poster announcing the concert, with that blaring date: Aug. 3. My friends asked, "Hey isn't that Tisha b'Av?" What did I know? Back in Teveth (January-ish), I didn't think anything of the date. Other than the occasional form to be filled out at an Israeli government office, I hadn't been the position of having to be bothered by the Western date for a very long time.

My friends quickly checked their calendars. The decision as to whether to go to the concert had been made for me. The concert fell on the night following the Fast of the Fifth Month (Tisha b'Av - commemorating the destruction of the First and Second Temples, among other things). Even on the night following this fast, I would be unable to attend the concert. Most Hallachic (Jewish legal)authorities rule that several of the fast's observances of mourning continue through noon of the next day, just as the Temple continued to burn.

As the soldier abductions and rocket-firing by Hizbollah YSh"W turned into a war, I thought it hardly appropriate to go to a concert anyway, while my brothers in the north were huddled together in bombshelters, getting bombarded with rockets.

A short-lived protest over the concert being held right after the fast was waged by Knesset Members Zevulun Orlev and Nissan Slomiansky (National Religious Party). But their protest was to no avail. Israeli civil law only protects the sanctity of this fast from sunset to sunset. Given the current make-up of the Knesset, I seriously doubt they had any chance of ammending the law, assuming they even thought of such a possibility. Of course, the concert was cancelled anyway.

According to DepecheMode.com, the band's official website, the concert was cancelled "following the latest developments."

Arutz 7 suggests that “'recent developments,' [are] possibly an allusion to the bombing of a populated Hizbullah position in Kana, Lebanon."

YNET reported that according to the band's manager Shuki Weiss, who has family in Israel, and was looking forward to coming, the cancellation began with "a problem [that] came up with the technical team which developed into the refusal of the entire team to get on a plane and come." The report also included the only indication I was able to find as to how the band members themselves felt, with the band's organizer Marek Lieberberg saying that they very much wanted to come to Israel.

Of course, I cannot say for certain how the Depeche Mode concert, inappropriately scheduled in the first place, for the night following Tisha b'Av, came to be cancelled. I will say this, that I do not believe in coincidences. Simply put, the Almighty took away the option from 40,000 people to bop-out at a concert. If they wanted to avoid focusing the on the past and current, sadness and destruction going on around us, they were going to have to find another way to it.

How?

The Fast of the Fifth Month 5766

On the Fast of the Fifth Month (Zekharyah 8:19), or Tisha b'Av as it is now commonly known, Torah study is forbidden. One of the few exceptions to this prohibition is the Book of Lamentations (Mishnah Torah, Hil. Ta'aniyoth 5:11), which is also publicly chanted on this day in many communities.

א אֵיכָה יָשְׁבָה בָדָד, הָעִיר רַבָּתִי עָם--הָיְתָה, כְּאַלְמָנָה; רַבָּתִי בַגּוֹיִם, שָׂרָתִי בַּמְּדִינוֹת--הָיְתָה, לָמַס ב בָּכוֹ תִבְכֶּה בַּלַּיְלָה, וְדִמְעָתָהּ עַל לֶחֱיָהּ--אֵין-לָהּ מְנַחֵם, מִכָּל-אהֲבֶיהָ: כָּל-רֵעֶיהָ בָּגְדוּ בָהּ, הָיוּ לָהּ לְאֹיְבִים

איכה א:א-ב

1 Oh, how she sits alone. The city* that was full of people has become like a widow. The great among the nations, the princess among the provinces, has become tributary! 2 Surely she weeps at night, her tears upon her cheeks; she has no comfort from her lovers; all her friends have betrayed her, they have become her enemies.

-Lamentations 1:1-2

*=Jerusalem

No comfort, even from those who love her? Friends betraying her? Becoming her enemies?

Sound familiar?

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Hebrew texts of the Tana"kh, Mishnah, Talmud Yerushalmi, Talmud Bavli, & Mishnah Torah are available on-line at Mechon Mamre.

Weren't They Warned?

27 of the Fourth Month 5766

Debbie Schlussel exposes the true nature of the so-called "Americans" requiring rescue from Lebanon in her article THE MAJORITY OF AMERICANS IN LEBANON ARE HEZBOLLAH SUPPORTERS.

Here are my two aggaroth worth in an e-mail of support....

Dear Debbie (as you may know, we're very informal here in Israel),

I agree with ALL of the points you make in your article.

I have only one suggestion,...which admittedly comes both out of my naivite and my personal and religious investments in Israel:

Perhaps bringing the Hizbollah-supporting "Americans" back to the U. S. would make it significantly easier to keep a eye on them. Could this not lead to increased intelligence information and prevention of terrorist attacks?

So, no, I'm suggesting that they be "rescued." Well,...if they prefer that word over "detained" or "arrested," then so be it. But, what I am suggesting is that the U. S. keep them close by where they can be monitored more effectively.

It is, of course, a great embarrassment and waste, that this will run U. S. tax-payers $86 million, was it? For some reason many Democrats and Republicans still find it more of an embarrassment to buy "off the rack," let alone look at the price tag.

Like I said, I agree with the points you present. I only wanted to share with you these few thoughts.

Oh, and, by the way, didn't the U. S. State Department issue a travel warning regarding Lebanon way back in May?

I have lived in the Shomron (Samaria) for the past five years. Throughout this time, various "travel warnings" have been issued with regard to my neck of the woods. So, I certainly do not expect the the US to come running to the rescue at my whim. (On the contrary, may they stay far, far away!)

So, why should those "Americans" in Lebanon, who were warned, be "rescued" either?

Oh, yeah,...I forgot. There are double standards at work here.

Silly me.

*Writing from the "Third Front," almost in range of the Jenin rockets; definitely in range of the kidnappings....

May God have mercy on us...and defeat our enemies. We're certainly not going to, not as long as we care more about what others think about us, than what we think of ourselves.

What Were They Thinking?

22 of the Fourth Month 5766

Considering all of the deaths, all of the preventable deaths, and all of the self-sacrifice occurring in Israel on a minute-to-minute basis, I have no doubt that the following will be considered to be in VERY bad taste.

But I am here, and most of you are not. We are entitled to let off a little steam from time to time, don't you know?

War is not a laughing matter. It is even less of a laughing matter as to how this war might have been averted by having finished the job long ago.

Quite possiby those of you IN Israel will not find this so offensive.

The Yishma'elim (Arabs) have really crossed the line this time....

From The Muqata

"1:02 PM Roundup of past 14 minutes:
Rocket strikes Israel railroad trainyard in Haifa...again (Channel 2 TV)
Rocket strikes "Vered HaGalil" Chocolate factory in Tzefat (Channel 1 TV) [bastards!]
Rocket strike in Haifa -- one wounded by smoke inhalation, 3 in shell shock.
Rocket strike in Haifa causes fire in empty field."

I mean really...a chocolate factory?! What were they thinking?

The absurdity of war....

May The Almighty have mercy on us.

Writing from the "Third Front"
(Close to Jenin rocket range; and right in the middle of kidnapping range)

Avihai Levy & Aviad Mansour HY"D: One Year Later

Erev Shabbath Qodesh Parshath Balaq 5766

ויאמר מה עשית? קול דמי אחיך צועקים אלי מן-האדמה
בראשית ד:י


Then He said, "What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood cries out to me from the ground."
Genesis 4:10

One year ago, Avihai Levy and Avi'ad Mansour were waiting to catch a ride by the town of Beth Haggai, Yehudah (Judea).

One year ago, Avihai Levy and Avi'ad Mansour were shot down by Yishma'elite terrorists (Arabs).

There are those in this world who have the audacity to call these Yishma'elim "freedom fighters," for goodness sakes!

There are Jews in this world who actually ALLOW them be called freedom fighters.

One year after the brutal murders of Avihai Levy and Avi'ad Mansour, May HaShem Avenge Their Blood! "What have we done?"

What did we do to prevent their murders?

One year after the brutal murders of these boys, these boys who could have been OUR sons, OUR brothers, OUR friends, OUR neighbors, OUR students....

Look into the eyes of these teen-agers, cut down in their youth, and ask yourselves:

"What did we do to try to prevent their murders?"

Did we just stand numbly and idly by, convincing myself that this time the Jew-hating majority in the Israeli government will finally become fed up, stop kowtowing to the goyim (eg EU, USA, UN, etc.), and do the right thing, ...do the ONLY thing which can be done in dealing with the Yishma'elim (Arabs)?

"What are we doing NOW to prevent the next murders of Jewish children?"

Yes, the p'shat (the simple interpretation) of the above verse is referring to what Qayn actively did to cause his brother Hevel's death.

ויאמר מה עשית? קול דמי אחיך צועקים אלי מן-האדמה - בראשית ד:י

Then He said, "What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood cries out to me from the ground - Genesis 4:10

But, now, when the blood of our brothers cries out to HaShem from the ground, it is often because of negligence.

You ask yourself, "But, what can we do? We're powerless to do anything."

Yet, at the very least, we are commanded...

לא תעמד על-דם רעך, אני יהוה - ויקרא יט:טז

"...You shall not stand idly by, I am the Lord." - Leviticus 19:16b

(Literally: "...You shall not stand on the blood of your fellow...")

This past 17 Siwan and 19 Siwan I do not recall any mention of these boys in the news. Maybe the excuse is that there is not enough space to mention each and every Jew who has been murdered. But, that is just not good enough! That is not a valid excuse.

What we can do, the very least we can do, is to help keep the memories of our fallen Jews alive.

I wish their was enough room on this blog to recall every Jew killed, or even Jews killed in the past five years.

I simply cannot do it by myself.

I call upon YOU to go to the memorial site of the Israeli government, linked above to Avihai and Avi'ad's photographs, and browse the listings.

You can also go to the Gamla Memorial Site.

Choose one, just one murdered Jew, and remember that Jew on your blog, in your column, in your community newsletter, in an e-mail. If you can take five minutes to write an e-mail to your friends about one Jew, you can begin to be part of the solution, the solution which begins by waking up your fellow Jews to the current reality of our people's mass-suicide attempt. For most of us, we are carrying this out unconsciously. Others our volunteering their lives up to to the goyim (non-Jew) out of guilt, shame, lack of faith, or all of the above.

With each murdered Jew published on the Web, the murdered victims will begin to become real people to those of you out there who are numbed out by the media censors and the daily gear-grinding of the all important machine of materialism, making ends meat and furthering your careers, even if it is for the good of Am Yisrael (The Jewish People).

Take five minutes, face the reality of the mass-suicide we are commiting here in Israel, and help your friends to face this reality, too.

When HaShem asks...

ויאמר ה' אל-קין אי הבל אחיך - בראשית ד:ט

Then HaShem said to Qayn, "Where is your brother Hevel?" - Genesis 4:9a

Let us not be like Qayn, who responds...

ויאמר לא ידעתי השמר אחי אנכי - בראשית ד:ט

And he said, "I do not know. Am I my brother's keeper?" - Genesis 4:9b

Rather, let us take to heart what our Sages Z"L teach us...

כל ישראל ערבים זה בזה -למוד בבלי סנהדרין כז:ב

Every Jew is responsible for every [other] Jew. - Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 27b

What have you done? What will you do?

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Note: In recent weeks we have seen there terrifying kinappings and attempting kidnappings of more young Jews. Gilad Shavit a young soldier is trapped in Azza, while kidnapped Eliyahu Pinhas Asheri HY"D of Itamar in Samaria, was burried, after his remains were recovered, burned and burried near Ramallah. Before that two young Jewish women escaped capture in Samaria. They fought valliantly until an Army jeep happened along.

על הנסים ליום ירושלים / "Al HaNissim" for Yom Yerushalayim

יום שחרור ירושלים תשס״ו
Yom Yerushalayim 5766

Here is the nusah of the Al HaNissim addition for birkath hamzon (Grace After Meals) and shmonah esrei (Amidah Prayer) on Yom Yerushalayim (Jerusalem Day). This segment of Nusah Eress Yisrael was adopted from the "Siddur HaMiqdash."

Yom Yerushalayim commemorates the reunification of the City of Jerusalem, including the entire Old City, during the "Six Day War" in the year 5727 (1967).

This year, Yom Yerushalayim falls on Thursday night/Friday day, May 25/26.

"על הנסים" ליום ירושלים
נוסח ארץ ישראל

וְעַל הַנִּסִּים, הַגְּבוּרוֹת, הַתְּשׁוּעוֹת, הַמִּלְחָמוֹת וְהַפְּדוּת שֶׁעָשִׂיתָ עִמָּנוּ וְעִם אֲבוֹתֵינוּ בַּיָּמִים הָהֵם בַּזְּמַן הַזֶּה:

בִּימֵי חֵירוּתֵנוּ בְּקוּם עַמֵּי עֲרָב כְּאִישׁ אֶחָד עַל יִשְׂרָאֵל הַיּוֹשְׁבִים בָּטַח בְּאַרְצָם, אָמְרוּ: לְכוּ וְנֵכְחִידֵם מִגּוֹי וְלא יִזָכֵר שֵׁם יִשְׂרָאֵל עוֹד: וְאַתָּה בְּרַחֲמֶיךָ הָרַבִּים עָמַדְתָּ לָהֶם בְּעֵת צָרָתָם, נָתַתָּ בָּהֶם עז וּגְבוּרָה. בְּשִׁשָּׁה יָמִים הֵנִיסוּ אֶת צִבְאוֹת עֲרָב לְכָל רוּח. רְדָפוּם וְהִכְנִיעוּם. בְּדָלְקָם אַחֲרֵיהֶם בָּאוּ בָּנֶיךָ אֶל חֶבְלֵי אֶרֶץ נִרְחָבִים בָּאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר נִשְׁבַּעְתָּ לְאַבְרָהָם, יִצְחָק, וְיַעֲקב, וְעָלוּ לִיְרוּשָׁלַיִם עִירֶךָ, וּלְחַצְרוֹת קָדְשֶׁךָ בִּתְרוּעָה, כְּשֵׁם שֶׁגְּאַלְתָּנוּ וַהֲבֵאתָנוּ אֶל מְקוֹם מִקְדָּשֶׁךָ כָּךְ הָשֵׁב שְׁכִינָתְךָ לְצִיּוֹן עִירֶךָ, וּמִזְבֵּחַ חָדָשׁ בְּצִיּוֹן תָּכִין וּבַעֲבוֹדַת בֵּית הַמִּקְדָּשׁ נִשְׂמַח כֻּלָּנוּ. וְשָׁם נַעֲבָדְךָ בְּיִרְאָה כִימֵי עוֹלָם וּכְשָׁנִים קַדְמוֹנִיּוֹת, וְנוֹדֶה לְשִׁמְךָ לָנֶצַח

וְעַל כֻּלָּם.../ וְעַל הַכָּל...

For more information on Nusah Eress Yisrael, you may contact Rabbi David Bar-Hayim directly at: harav@machonshilo.org.

Please also visit his website: Machon Shilo.

Post-Lag ba'Omer

Erev Shabbath Qodesh Parshath Behar-Behuqothai 5766

This letter was prompted by the article...

"If a Tree Falls in the Forest..." on Lag Ba'Omer
by Ze'ev Orenstein
May 16, '06 / 18 Iyar 5766

Ze'ev,

I like your work. I have to tell you, though, that there is little to no evidence
to support that the RaShB"I died on Lag baOmer. See the recent interview in Meqor Rishon and b'Qehillah with Rav Avraham Qosman, particularly in regard to the discovered error in interpreting the Ariza"l on this question.

Apparently, one of the few sources suggesting that the RaShB"I died on Lag ba'Omer is from the Ariza"l. In the predominant version, it says "shemeth RaShB"I" (that/when RaShB"I died) This actually came from the abbreviation "shin-mem/geresh".


The original work, obtained from the Vital Family (as in Rav Hayim Vital), reveals the latter "shin-mem/geresh" to stand for "simhato RaShB"I" (happiness of RaShB"I).

That being said, sure I guess it can be a positive experience of unity amongst Am Yisrael, especially when there are gender-segrated events and activities,...as there should be.

Yet, I was disturbed by the reports of drug use and drug access in Meron this year. And as always, I am disturbed by increased signs of [potential?] avodah zarah, both "praying" to the RaShB"I and Habbad Meshihistiyuth.

Thus, I have mixed feelings about the lack of media coverage.

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Additional source:

"Was RaShB"I niftar on Lab ba'Omer?" (shi'ur)
Rav David Bar-Hayim, Jerusalem, 17 Iyyar 5766

על הנסים ליום העצמאות / "Al HaNissim" for Yom Ha'Atzma'uth

יום העצמאות תשס״ו
Yom Ha'Assma'uth 5766

Here is the nusah of the Al HaNissim addition for birkath hamzon (Grace After Meals) and shmonah esrei (Amidah Prayer) on Yom Ha'Assma'uth (Israeli Independence Day). This segment of Nusah Eress Yisrael was adopted from the "Siddur HaMiqdash."

"על הנסים" ליום העצמאות

נוסח ארץ ישראל

וְעַל הַנִּסִּים, הַגְּבוּרוֹת, הַתְּשׁוּעוֹת, הַמִּלְחָמוֹת וְהַפְּדוּת שֶׁעָשִׂיתָ עִמָּנוּ וְעִם אֲבוֹתֵינוּ בַּיָּמִים הָהֵם בַּזְּמַן הַזֶּה:

בִּימֵי בִּנְיַן הָאָרֶץ, כְּשֶׁעָמְדוּ צִבְאוֹת עֲרָב הָרָשָׁע עַל עַמְּךָ יִשְׂרָאֵל, וּבִּקְּשׁוּ לְהַשְׁמִיד לַהֲרג וּלְאַבֵּד אֶת יוֹשְבֵי אַרְצְךָ מִנַּעַר וְעַד זָקֵן. טַף וְנָשִׁים וְאַתָּה בְּרַחֲמֶיךָ הָרַבִּים עָמַדְתָּ לָהֶם בְּעֵת צָרָתָם רַבְתָּ אֶת רִיבָם. דַּנְתָּ אֶת דִּינָם. נָקַמְתָּ אֶת נִקְמָתָם מָסַרְתָּ רַבִּים בְּיַד מְעַטִּים. וּטְמֵאִים בְּיַד קְדוֹשִׁים. וּלְךָ עָשִׂיתָ שֵׁם גָּדוֹל בָּעוֹלָם, וּלְעַמְּךָ יִשְׂרָאֵל עָשִׂיתָ תְּשׁוּעָה גְּדוֹלָה זָקַפְתָּ אֶת קוֹמַתֵנוּ, שָׁבַרְתָּ על הַגּוֹיִים מֵעַל צוָּארֵנוּ וְנָתַתָּ לָנוּ אֲחֻזָּת נָחֲלָה בְּאֶרֶץ אֲבוֹתֵינוּ, כְּשֵׁם שֶׁעָשִׂיתָ תְּשׁוּעָה לַאֲבוֹתֵינוּ, כָּךְ עֲשֵׂה עִמָּנוּ בָּעֵת הַזּאת לְשִׁמְךָ לָנֶצַח.

וְעַל כֻּלָּם.../ וְעַל הַכָּל...

For more information on Nusah Eress Yisrael, you may contact Rabbi David Bar-Hayim directly at: harav@machonshilo.org.

Please also visit his website: Machon Shilo

Lyrics: "Let My People Go"

Mossa'ei Shabbath HaGadol 5766

I don't know how many of you sang this as a kid growing up in Galuth (I never did.), or even heard of it. But, every year a friend of mine, a Rav In Me'ah She'arim of all people, asks me or another friend to look up the lyrics for him. Even though he and his wife have lived in Israel for almost forty years, and their Seder Leil HaPesah is conducted in Yiddish and Hebrew, they don't feel "yoetzei min hahovah" without the singing of this song.

To each his own....


(Negro Spiritual/X-ian stanza removed - Author Unknown)

When Israel was in Egypt's Land,
Let my people go,
Oppressed so hard they could not stand,
Let my people go.

CHORUS:
Go down Moses
Way down in egypt land
Tell ol' Pharoh
Let my people go!

Thus saith the Lord, bold Moses said,
Let my people go,
If not, I'll smite your first-born dead,
Let my people go.

CHORUS

No more shall they in bondage toil,
Let my people go,
Let them come out with Egypt's spoil,
Let my people go.

CHORUS

The Lord told Moses what to do,
Let my people go,
To lead the Hebrew children through,
Let my people go.

CHORUS

O come along Moses, you'll not get lost,
Let my people go,
Stretch out your rod and come across,
Let my people go.

CHORUS

As Israel stood by the waterside,
Let my people go,
At God's command it did divide,
Let my people go.

CHORUS

When they reached the other shore,
Let my people go,
They sang a song of triumph o'er,
Let my people go.

CHORUS

Pharaoh said he'd go across,
Let my people go,
But Pharaoh and his host were lost,
Let my people go.

CHORUS

Jordan shall stand up like a wall,
Let my people go,
And the walls of Jericho shall fall,
Let my people go.

CHORUS

Your foes shall not before you stand,
Let my people go,
And you'll possess fair Canaan's land,
Let my people go.

CHORUS

We need not always weep and mourn,
Let my people go,
And wear these slavery chains forlorn,
Let my people go.

CHORUS