There’s a refrain that always bounces around in my head during the Days of Awe:
These are the days of miracle and wonder
This is the long-distance call
The way the camera follows us in slo-mo
The way we look to us all
The way we look to a distant constellation
That’s dying in a corner of the sky
These are the days of miracle and wonder
And don’t cry baby don’t cry
Don’t cry–from “Boy in the Bubble” by Paul Simon
The whole song sings to me during these days between Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur. (You can read the whole lyric by clicking on the link.) I don’t know exactly what it means, but it feels to me like it’s pointing towards my state of mind: Look. Listen. Think. Reflect. Wonder.
Is there a pop song that says “Days of Awe” to you?
A Simon & Garfunkel song “Sound of Silence” is one I think of, especially this verse:
“Fools,” said I, “You do not know.
Silence like a cancer grows.
Hear my words that I might teach you.
Take my arms that I might reach you.”
But my words like silent raindrops fell
And echoed in the wells of silence.”
It reminds me to be vigilant during my prayers, pay attention to what I am saying. I must also pay attention to Rabbi and Cantor during services so that I do not let their words, as the song says, become like raindrops on my ears and in turn become silent messages to me.