The sun was setting, down in a flame

On waves its reflection would glitter

And there on the ocean a ship swiftly glides

With Russian Marines, filled with armor

 

The captain stands still on the deck of the ship

A telescope pressed to his face

He suddenly spots a magnificent shore

A city that glistens with grace

 

The city, Odessa, is lit at its port

It sparkles like diamonds aglow

From there our captain a melody hears

From days of long, long ago

 

The melody stirs him with memories of past

Familiar his youth filled with lessons

Not Beethoven, Mozart, not Wagner or Bach

This tune is quite different in essence

 

He’s drawn by the melody, feeling confused

Giving him no peace at all

He runs through the city and combs every street

From where comes this heart-wrenching call?

 

The melody draws him and so does his heart

He cries out to all passersby

But no one’s aware – they don’t seem to hear

The tune that makes each of us cry

 

As the melody grows, the captain’s in distress

He races through the city 

Running in and out each street

Was it louder over here?

Or was it clearer maybe there?

…And suddenly the tune … has faded … disappeared …

 

And suddenly sneaking along a dark wall

He spots an elderly woman

She clutches a small package under her arm

Her eyes, under kerchief, are hidden

“Muterel!” he asks her, “a tune I do hear

My mind is filled with confusion

The streets I have raced and I’m drawn to this place

Perhaps it is just an illusion.”

 

The woman is thoughtful “Your face says it all!

Your dress tells the tale of a skipper

But you are a Jew and you yearn on this day

For tonight – is the night of Yom Kippur.”

 

“THE NIGHT OF YOM KIPPUR!?!” The captain cries out

“I remember my years as a child

And this is the nigun of Kol Nidrei

Stored in my memory … all this while”

 

“Thank the One Above

Who showers us with love

He picks the perfect moment

And sends us what we need.

Don’t you see,” says the woman,

“Our Baal T’filah has been taken

There’s no one here today … to lead the Kol Nidrei!”

 

He enters a courtyard surrounded by walls

His uniform soaked with his tears

The room’s filled with children, with women, some men

My, how he’s fallen these years

 

The Shul is tiny, the candles are lit

Somebody hands him a Siddur

He puts on a Tallis, his face turning pale

And slowly recites every letter

בישיבה של מעלה, ובישיבה של מטה

אנו מתירין להתפלל עם העברינים

And from both his eyes falling tear after tear

Streaked is his face with emotion!

 

The night is black – A drizzle falls – The ship stands waiting – The foghorn calls

The signals flash – The projectors bright 

Searching for a captain in the middle of the night …

In vain it waits – A wasted call

The captain won’t be back at all…

They search the sky – They comb the shore

 The captain will be back no more …

And slowly the sailors are weary and tired

While the captain has ascended even higher

 

He stands by the Amud bowing his head

The tears uncontrollably flow

He envisions his father descending to hear

His son of long, long ago

 

But how can he lead when his heart is so full

His mind, ready to burst!

He turns from the Amud and faces the Shul

Addressing the listeners first

Do you know, dear friends, what has transpired here?

Something so frightening and holy

In one half an hour a person to take

And make him so fortunate and happy

 

Yidden!  Today I’ve discovered my joy

From the swamps I was drawn and uplifted

A niggun I searched and behold I have found

My faith that has long ago drifted

 

The night is black – The ship sails by – the stars all glitter – in the deep blue sky – Our captain has ascended even higher … higher …. Higher …