Shabak Samech’s 2000 hit single Nofel v’kam / “Fall and Get Up” begins with a citation from the Haggadah, “In every generation one must see themselves as if they left Egypt,” with this core message echoing throughout this modern midrash of a song.
The chorus of the song describes the Jewish condition:
The road is long and winding
I fall and get up
I will never stop walking
I fall and get up
Crossing one bridge and another
I fall and get up
How long is the road
I stand firm with my head held high
The past year has had so much falling and raising ourselves up again. And this road is so long.
As we approach Pesach, what does it mean to see oneself as if I left Egypt in 5785?
The final lines of the song express one approach: הראש בעננים רגליים על האדמה , my head is in the clouds and my feet are on the ground.
To be Jewish means walking the path both as a dreamer and a pragmatist.
