14. "Zame'ah Lekha Nafshi" ("My Soul Thirsts for You")

^{Eliyahu Kum,Jerusalem, 1 November 1971.}

This is a version of a bilingual (Hebrew-Ukrainian) Lubavich niggun, printed twice by Zalmanoff (vol. I, nos. 101, 196). Zalmanoff defines it as a niggun of the first generation of Lubavich. The niggun opens with the verse "My soul thirsts for You" (Ps. 63:2), a very popular text in the repertoire of different Hasidic groups. The Ukrainian words are addressed to one Marku, a stupid peasant, who comes to the fair and gets nothing accomplished, only creating a disturbance: Hey, you stupid Marku, // why are you traveling to the fair? // You don't buy, you don't sell, // you only raise a ruckus! The text is a parable of the Evil Inclination, who contributes nothing useful but only creates friction between human beings and God. The relationship with the text from Psalms is unclear. The version sung by Eliyahu Kum is quite different from the melody transcribed in Zalmanoff's Sefer haniggunim, in its structure, modality, and some of the motifs. The rhythm and text are similar, however. The melody is similar in style to Hasidic rejoicing niggunim, but its unique structure is unparalleled in this repertoire.

Eliyahu Kum (1899-1987) was born in the village of Rechitsa, in the Province of Minsk, Russia (now Belarus). His father, a Lubavich Hasid, served as a rabbi both before his arrival in Israel and in Tel Aviv. Eliyahu Kum was also associated with circles of the Mussar movement and was ba'al-tefillah and Torah reader in the Great Synagogue, Tel Aviv, for many years. He did not mind singing in non-Hasidic and even non­ religious circles, as in the "'Oneg Shabbat" evenings held at the "Ohel Shem" Hall in Tel Aviv and on "The Voice of Israel" (Israel Broadcasting Authority). His repertoire included Lubavich niggunim and Yiddish songs (see below, nos. II, 2, 13, 18).