Omer Mixtape 2023 — Week 3
Kabbalah theme: Tiferet//balance
Music theme: religious/philosophical titles (and also subject matter)
15. Chesed within Tiferet: internal balance — Therefore I Am by Billie Eilish
16. Gevurah: disciplined balance (Rosh Chodesh) — Girls Against God by Florence + The Machine
17. Tiferet: balance of yetzer hara + yetzer hatov — Raising Hell by Kesha (ft. Big Freedia)
18. Netzach: persistent balance — Hallelujah by Haim
19. Hod: humble compassion — being non-presumptuous — The Path by Lorde
20. Yesod: goal-oriented compassion, foundational balance — Satanist by boygenius
21. Malkhut: modeling compassionate balance — Heaven Is Here by Florence + The Machine
This week came about in a fun way: a few of the songs came to me as thematically connected, and I realized both titles were related to religion. I thought it would be fun, then, to find songs for the rest of the days that also had religious or philosophical titles and themes within the songs. Thank goodness there are so many brilliant female musicians out there infusing their artistry with high philosophy. I’m the niche audience that you are reaching.
Day 15 — The first day of this week is a true starting point, a building block, for the rest of the week. The focus is on internal balance. We need to be kind to ourselves, look within, and figure out what balances ourselves. Billie Eilish, as an artist, I feel is always asking this question and seeking to answer it. She exudes this yearning for balance, from within — to focus on how you can achieve that sense of equanimity from within. Her song Therefore I Am is a perfect example, with an excellent philosophical title and premise. She’s singing about not needing the approval or acknowledgement of others (particularly, it would seem, male journalists), and that she finds satisfaction in being sure of who she is.
Day 16 — A nod to last week’s theme, of course, today is about disciplined balance, or establishing a sense of balance and being disciplined in maintaining it. Today is also Rosh Chodesh, the new month! So it made sense to me to honor that Rosh Chodesh is intended to be celebrated by women; interpretations of the Torah (midrash) suggest that because women did not participate in the golden calf, they are blessed with “time off” and celebrations for the new moon. Today’s song could be any female empowerment anthem, in theory, and I chose Girls Against God by Florence + The Machine because of this week’s theme — and honestly it feels like a perfect extension of the midrash. What if women were collectively in conversation with the Divine? What would we say, and why is it not the same as when there is a lack of balance in the writing room?
Day 17 — This is the ultimate day of balance, when Tiferet looks into itself. It’s understood to be when we balance our yetzer hara + yetzer hatov — our positive and negative inclinations. Positive inclinations are those that are spiritually or ethically motivated, connecting us to others, to the Divine, to bringing more good into the world. Negative inclinations aren’t inherently negative, except that they don’t directly contribute to spiritual improvement — it’s things like base needs, feeding + clothing ourselves, which extends, or can develop, into indulgence and bad choices. Raising Hell by Kesha (ft. Big Freedia) was a clear choice to me, for so many reasons. I have said, if I were to pick a theme for my bat mitzvah now, it would be Kesha themed. She’s Jewish, but that’s not the point — to me, she embodies embracing fierceness and femininity at once. She is true to herself, does what she wants, and is never apologetic about it. She sweats glitter, is usually in fishnets, has incredible back-up dancers, empowering lyrics and sick beats. This song is about living life to its fullest and not making choices based on someone else’s idea of what’s good for you — you have to find that balance yourself.
Day 18 — Today’s focus is a peek into next week’s theme, Netzach, which focuses on ambition and endurance. Today is about using that to your advantage, for persistent balance. What does that mean? It’s choosing to let balance continue to guide you, rather than some other value or perspective. Haim, as a band, is an excellent example of both persistence and balance — musically, and in their lives + careers. Three sisters singing and playing in a band together requires delicate balance, and it’s had to have lasted their whole lives, past, present, future. Their song Hallelujah is a testament to that relationship, and the idea that those your closest with can be your saving grace. Continuing to strive for balance is what also keeps you going, through hardships in your personal life, hurdles in your career, when you’re striving to be recognized for who you are.
Day 19 — Today is a challenging day to find a song for, because the theme is antithetical to being a famous musician. Of course, many artists like to approach this concept head on; the focus of today also being the focus of the existential, philosophical artist. To be specific, today is about humble compassion and being non-presumptuous when faced with others seeking your compassion. Lorde, with her newest album “Solar Power” especially, is one of the perfect examples of existentialist musicians of our time. There are many others whose songs didn’t end up here, simply because the titles didn’t fit the theme, and I’m a bit of a perfectionist. (Shout outs to Phoebe Bridgers, The 1975, Finneas, Noah Kahan, Bishop Briggs, MUNA). Anyway, The Path by Lorde is the song choice for today, because she is literally singing to her audience to not look to her to be their saviour. She wants to find her path, and wants you to find yours, but she doesn’t want you to look to her as your guide.
Day 20 — Yesod, the day of foundation — today is focused on goal-oriented compassion and foundational balance. What is the difference between this day 15, you might ask? Today is more about using balance to establish a foundation, rather than being balanced and going from there naturally. You probably already know that boygenius is the greatest band of all time, and their album “the record” is the greatest album of all time. We know this, because they are… geniuses, duh. One of my other rabbinical colleagues (shout out to Jade) and I are in deep agreement about this, especially today’s song choice Satanist, because it is so perfectly philosophical — and theological too! I could honestly quote any lyric and use it to argue my point, that this song is about seeking compassion from within and without as you seek which foundational orientation will help you achieve balance in life. I’ll choose one, possibly the best one: “Solomon had a point when he wrote Ecclesiastes//If nothing can be known, then stupidity is holy.”
Day 21 — The day of synthesis, of figuring out how to model what you’ve learned and explored throughout this week. Modeling compassionate balance, what does that mean, and how do you do it? First, of course, you need to achieve balance, and then be compassionate with others as you use yourself as an example for how others can achieve it too. Simple, right? Heaven Is Here by Florence + The Machine is, to me, a simple answer to this question. Simple meaning clear, not necessarily easy. She is singing about how she had to find her own way to Heaven, and she has used her music, writing lyrics and putting together songs to showcase this journey and rise above. Again, I’ll leave us with a lyric, because it’s so poignant: “And еvery song I wrote became an escape rope//Tied around my neck to pull me up to Heaven.”
