By COLlive reporter
Ahead of his upcoming Elul concert, star singer Yaakov Shwekey has released a new song invoking one of the Alter Rebbe’s best-known teachings about the month of Elul: the mashal of “the King in the Field.”
The new single, titled “Elul,” was released on August 15, just weeks before The Elul Experience, which will bring Shwekey and Mordechai Ben David together on Wednesday, September 2, at the Ritz Theatre in Elizabeth, New Jersey. The concert will also feature the Mendy Hershkowitz Band and Shira Choir.
In introducing the song, Shwekey highlighted the special closeness to Hashem associated with Elul.
“Elul is a time to quiet the noise, open our hearts, and find our way back to Hashem,” he wrote. “Let’s take advantage of this special time when the king is in the field, Hashem is right here with us, eagerly waiting for us with open arms.”
The phrase draws directly on the Alter Rebbe’s famous mashal in Likkutei Torah, Parshas Re’eh.
The Alter Rebbe describes a king who, before entering the city, is met by the people in the field. At that point, anyone who wishes can approach him, and the king receives everyone pleasantly and with a smiling countenance.
So too during Elul, the Alter Rebbe explains, the King is “in the field.” Unlike the awe associated with the royal palace, Elul represents a time when Hashem makes Himself especially accessible even while a person is still in the “field” of everyday life.
The mashal also emphasizes that this closeness calls for a response from the individual. While the King has made Himself accessible, it is the people who must approach Him, an idea connected with the Elul theme of “Ani L’Dodi V’Dodi Li,” “I am my Beloved’s and my Beloved is mine.”
Shwekey cited those words as well in introducing the release, describing Elul as a month when turning toward Hashem brings a person closer to Him.
The song was composed and written by Yitzy Waldner, with music production by Maor Shooshan and arrangement and orchestration by David Ihilevich.
The release comes ahead of The Elul Experience, an evening organizers say is designed around the music, emotion and message of Elul as the Yomim Noraim approach.
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