An exciting discovery shared with me by Shahar Beit On, which I never knew about:

Did you know there is a direct and surprising connection between an early Israeli album by Ofra Haza and her international breakthrough album?

In 1982, on the album “Pituyim” (Temptations), Ofra performed the song “Al Chet Ha’yamim” (For the Sins of the Days). In one of the verses, written by Bezalel Aloni, these poignant and powerful words appear:

“Od yavo’u yamim (Days will still come)
Ve-ziv ne’urim (And the glow of youth)
Mi-kol ha-panim yimache (Will be wiped from every face)
Ha-chedva ve-ha-tzchok (The joy and the laughter)
Ha-gil le-lo chok (The age without law)
Ve-hakol yihye, hakol yihye (And everything will be, everything will be)
Ke-lo haya. (As if it never was)

Kmutey nefesh u-panim (Wrinkled soul and face)
Me-amal ha-yamim, ha-yamim (From the toil of days, the days)
Na’amod mul ha-ra ve-ha-achzar (We will stand against evil and cruelty)
Ha-kashe, kashe ve-ha-kar (The harsh, harsh and cold)

Seven years later, in 1989, Ofra released “Desert Wind” – her second international album. On the track “In-Ta“, Ofra unexpectedly returns to those exact same words, reciting them in Hebrew with a Yemenite pronunciation, this time set against a modern, electronic international production.

The exact same text, from two completely different periods and musical styles in her career.

Worth a listen! Click here to listen to the song “In-Ta”, right between 5:11 and 5:34, and hear the closing of this special circle.