Sha’ka Chama
Album: Shir 2
Composed by: R’AVRAHAM ELIAHU KAPLAN & SHLOMO YEHUDA RECHNITZ
Sung By: MOISHE MENDLOWITZ & SHLOMOYEHUDA RECHNITZ
Music & Choir Arranged by: GERSHON FRIESHTAT, ELI KLEIN, YITZY BERRY, & ITZIK DADYA
Stream the Song:
About Sha’ka Chama:
A little more than a century ago, 17-year-old Avrohom Eliyahu Kaplan composed an all-time classic poem titled Shakah Chamah, a ballad of mussar (ethics) that speaks to the futility of life. For many years, the poor, lonely, and sick have found company in these meaningful lyrics. In truth, this young tzaddik faced personal challenges, beginning even before his birth: Avrohom Eliyahu was named after his father, who was known as the Rakover Iluy and who died a few months before he was born.
Avrohom Eliyahu, a passionate and fiery young man, first attended the Talmud Torah of Kelm. After a short while, he moved on to the SlabodkaYeshivah, where he learned with great hasmadah (diligence), under the tutelage of the famed Alter of Slabodka, Rav Nosson Tzvi Finkel. Waging battle against the forces of secular Zionism and Haskalah from the time that he was a young bachur (bachelor), Avrohom Eliyahu utilized his unique talents to write fearless essays and enthralling poems in the areas of Torah, Mussar, and Yiras Shamayim (fear of Heaven). A talented musician, he composed a number of mesmerizing songs, as well. One incredible story personifies his gadlus (greatness). Rav Avrohom Eliyahu was present at the Sheva Berachos of a Slabodka talmid, Rav Aharon Kotler, who married Chana Perel Meltzer, the daughter of the greatRav Isser Zalman. In honor of the celebration, Rav Aharon delivered a two-hour shtickel (piece of) Torah. After he finished, Rav Avrohom Eliyahu stood up and promptly repeated the entire shtickel… in grammen (rhyme) form!
When, years later, an incredulous talmid shared this story with Rav Yaakov Yitzchak Ruderman, rosh yeshivah of Ner Israel, he responded that it is certainly possible, as such was the brilliance of Rav Avrohom Eliyahu. Rebbetzin Ruderman, the daughter of Rav Sheftel Kramer and first cousin of Rebbetzin Kotler, overheard the conversation and shared a postscript. “Not only is it possible that it happened, but I was there! And Rav Isser Zalman’s son played the violin as Rav Avrohom Eliyahu sang the grammen.”
Although Slabodka emphasized gadlus ha’adam, the greatness of man, Avrohom Eliyahu composed the words to Shakah Chamah with an altogether different mindset. Drawing forth from the sobering teachings of RavYisrael Salanter, the father of the mussar movement, the lyrics portray a tormented young man infused with yiras Shamayim, who tries to wage war against the relentless efforts of the yetzer hara (evil inclination), yet finds his neshamah, his soul, sinking into the emptiness and darkness of the abyss.
Rav Avrohom Eliyahu, lauded byRav Isser Zalman Meltzer as a great tzaddik, became the rosh yeshivah of the Hildesheimer Rabbinical Seminary in Berlin when he was 30 years old. In 1924, Rav Chatzkel Sarna, a dear friend, spoke to Rav Avrohom Eliyahu before Rosh Hashanah and sensed that Rav Avrohom Eliyahu’s neshamah was somehow drawn to heaven. Unfortunately, his fears were well-founded. While writing a teshuvah (halachic response) several months later, RavAvrohomEliyahu suffered a brain hemorrhage and returned his exalted neshamah to its Creator at the age of 34.
Shakah chamah—the sun had set.
It is with a mixture of humility and honor that I present to you an addendum to this legendary song. Inspired by Rav Avrohom Eliyahu’s penetrating words of mussar, I’ve attempted to add an appendage to
his timeless lyrics; I hope this addition will prove uplifting for our challenging times.
Chazal (our Sages) refer to darkness as a metaphor for galus, exile, and an emblem for suffering and pain. Light, on the other hand, serves as a symbol of geulah, redemption, a sign of hope and salvation. For every sunset, there is a sunrise that follows. For each moment of darkness, there will come a greater moment of light.
We live in dark times. Our children face greater challenges than at any other time in history. Our hospital wards are full. Many families are struggling financially, and countless young ladies wait for their proper zivug. Orphans and widows cry out for help. We are holding on for dear life. Yet we seek shelter in the
shade of the Shechinah (Divine Presence) and the arms of the Al-mighty. And because of that, there is hope. We know that as dark as the world may get, the sun will soon dip over the horizon, and the brilliant light of the ohr haganuz (hidden light) will shine again.The refuos (recoveries) and yeshuos (salvation) for which we yearn will soon arrive.
Two final points:
I was very hesitant to tamper with the lofty words and tune of the original Shakah Chamah. Pure and powerful, they appear in their untainted, authentic form. My contribution to this classic is to be heard and found in the original high part I composed and its accompanying lyrics. I hope and pray that my input does not detract from this memorable and haunting melody.
Additionally, although many singers are more qualified than I to present this song, it is very meaningful to me. Because of that, perhaps selfishly, I kept this one partly for myself. Bear with me, dear listener, and instead of hearing my voice, listen to and focus on the meaning of the words of the song and the beautiful message it carries.
And as the sun peeks out, you can join along and sing: “Zarchah chamah, zarchah nafshi —The sun has risen, my soul now shines.”