«So Saul said to his servants, ‘Provide me now a man who can play well, and bring him to me.’ Then one of the servants answered and said, ‘Look, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, who is skillful in playing, a mighty man of valor, a man of war, prudent in speech, and a handsome person; and the Lord is with him’ » (1 Samuel 16:17, 18).
Alice Herz-Sommer was a Jewish pianist who lived to be 110 years old and died in 2014. She was a music teacher and was sent to the Theresinestadt concentration camp in the protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia when she was thirty-nine years old along with her little son Raffi. That camp served as a temporary place to the death camps and also as a place of retreat for elderly Jews, in order to deceive others about their final destination. She had a very rich cultural life with concerts and a children ‘s choir. There, Alice and Raffi found the lifesaver for survival. If they were musicians, they had more chances of being saved because they provided something that was appreciated in that place.
Knowing that they would be able to play there, Alice thought, «If it’s a place where we can play, then it can’t be so terrible.»
Yes, it was terrible, but it was also true that they were able to survive the situation much more easily than other Jews.
Full of enthusiasm, with comfortable shoes, a pearl necklace, and a bright and contagious smile, in an interview that was conducted as part of what would become a successful and highly awarded documentary, Alice talked about music as a dream and as the greatest expression of art.
By saying that music is something that is felt especially in difficult times when one is suffering, she said that it is like a religion, that music is God.
Totally convinced, she said that even the bad can be beautiful. She recounted that very old and sick people came to the concerts, and when they heard the first chords, they were rejuvenated and recovered a little courage to continue.
This gift that God allows us to experience here on earth will be one of our occupations in heaven.
“And so it was, whenever the spirit from God was upon Saul, that David would take a harp and play it with his hand. Then Saul would become refreshed and well, and the distressing spirit would depart from him” (1 Samuel 16:23).
Surely you can find a way today to regain value through music and share it with someone who also needs calm. May others recognize you, as happened to David, because God is with you.
