From the nights of the second hakafot on Har HaMor, through the Hallel singing in the Me’arat Hamachpeila, to the days of Elul and the coming of the High Holy Days, Clarinet player Shai Baruch Saloma presents a profound performance of the classic by Rabbi Baruch Ber Leibovich zt”l. It is a melody that is especially suitable for awakening during the days of mercy and forgiveness, but touches the heart throughout the year.
Musician Shai Baruch Saloma (30), a resident of Kochav Hashachar and a well-known figure in the world of community and yeshiva music, releases a moving and new musical performance of the familiar soul melody “Ani Yishayna“. Saloma, who in recent years, along with other musicians, accompanies the Hallel prayers of Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu in Me’arat Hamachpaila, and plays as a regular in the Hakafot Shniyot at the Har HaMor Yeshiva and other celebrations and events for the past fifteen years, brings with him a deep spiritual and emotional connection to the clarinet.
The origin of the melody, based on the verse from the Shir Hashirim, “Ani Yishayna ViLibi Err,” was written by the head of the Kamenitz Yeshiva, the late Rabbi Baruch Ber Leibowitz, who composed it for his students. Over the years, the melody has become one of the classic longing melodies of the yeshiva world, and has been well-known for its performance on Abish Brodt‘s album. In Saloma‘s new performance, under the musical production of Ron Chania, the clarinet is joined by an empowering choir that gives additional depth to the work. Saloma‘s affinity for the melody began during the days of Elul in the first Shiur at the Ramat Hasharon Yeshiva, a place that gave him the opportunity to delve deeper into the world of Chassidut and inner life. “This melody touched me deeply and was for me a key part of a new world,” he recalls. “It has accompanied me since then at key crossroads in life, in both challenging and happy moments, and I even played it at my wedding. These verses speak to each of us: even when we feel in a state of ‘sleep’, challenge or forgetfulness – our heart is awake and desires goodness and holiness.”
Saloma‘s decision to release the musical materials received a significant boost in the past year to fulfill his musical mission. “I felt that the time had come to release my own materials, to give the world a gift that the Holy One, blessed be He, sent through me, and to translate people’s reactions into high-quality and touching music,” he shares.
Although the single is being released now, during the months of Elul and leading up to the High Holy Days, Saloma sees it as a work that is suitable for the entire year. “It is indeed a natural time for the heart to awaken and remember our roots, but for me this melody belongs to the whole year,” he emphasizes. “Every moment a person feels a little ‘sleepy’, they need a reminder that their inner point is awake. I sincerely hope that everyone will take this melody to their personal place, to their longings, and also to our longings and our place as a people, and that we will all be able to remember our true place and roots.”