We’ve reached that mythical part of the year in Israel called acharei hachagim, after the holidays. It’s when, after a month of feasts and fasts, things start to get done and the year begins in earnest. We never reached this point last year as the October 7th massacre was on Simchat torah, the final holiday of the season. Instead, we went straight into a war.
I will never forget that time, how an entire country stopped working and each person used their unique individuals talents, resources and networks to support this country. In those early weeks I was a music teacher at a makeshift school, as all schools were cancelled. I remember tears rolling down all of our faces as the sweet kids sang Leonard Cohen’s Halleluya for the parents at the end-of-week assembly.
My husband and kids drove all over he country delivering food and goods to army bases and wherever they were needed. We nervously tracked where everyone was as the missiles were still regularly flying. People emptied their homes of whatever they had to give to anyone who needed it more than they. We all went to funerals and shiva houses of people we had never met. My then 16-year old worked with her (also 16-year old) friend to successfully raise tens of thousands of dollars and then acquire and deliver tactical gear to our soldiers. It was all hands on deck, as we say.
About six months ago, I began to make weekly visits to a rehab hospital. I bring my guitar and go room to room, playing for whoever wants a bit of music. I play for wounded soldiers and also Muslims, Druze, Christians, Jews, religious, secular – whoever desires the healing balm of music. Recently I also began playing regularly for a group of evacuees from the north of Israel who have been living in a hotel for over a year.
How can a girl from Denver with imperfect, accented Hebrew help people who are suffering in Israel who grew up in a different culture with different music? I’ve learned that the music does the work. It’s a salve for so many of us and being gently sung to is a huge gift, regardless of culture. I think now of the time I played for a man from China who didn’t speak the language and seemed utterly afraid and alone. Did he know the song Country Roads? Probably not. But still, it helped.
Music always helps.
Why do I tell you all of this? The truth is, I didn’t plan to. I guess to say that my life has taken an unexpected turn. Whereas I always envisioned myself singing on a stage to thousands, I’m finding I’m most in service right now playing to an audience of one, or a handful of people. Sometimes, sadly, the person I’m playing for is not conscious as they’ve suffered a head injury on the battlefield or an accident. Yet I still see the music entering and, alongside medical intervention, working its own brand of healing magic.
Now that it’s acharei hachagim, I’m back writing new music. The best way you can support that is to join my Song Team. We get together a couple times a month over Zoom and I share new music and talk about the behind-the-scenes of the writing process.
Love,
Julie Geller
Denver’s Julie Geller Reports From Israel With an Update on Her Life Since October 7, 2023
