Cantor Azi Schwartz Sings Naomi Shemer's Yom Kippur War Song "Lu Yehi" as Prayer for Today's IDF Soldiers

Lu Yehi was written and composed by Naomi Shemer during the Yom Kippur War (1973), and has since become one of the symbols of the war.

Before the war, Naomi Shemer decided to write Hebrew words for the Beatles' song “Let It Be”. She did not like the translation of the song's name to "Shihyeh" which could be understood as “Whatever,” and thought that it should be given the name "Lu Yehi".

Her version is not a translation of the Beatles song but a hopeful prayer for a quick end to the war and for the safety of IDF soldiers ("This is the end of the summer, the end of the road, let them come back.")

Mordechai Shevitz, Naomi Shemer’s second husband and poet in his own right, who had just returned from reserve military service, declared: "I will not let you waste this song on the tune of strangers, this is about a Jewish war and you must write a Jewish melody.” This statement rang true for Naomi and accordingly she changed the tune to fit the Hebrew words.

In this video recorded on October 20 at the Park Avenue Synagogue in New York City, Cantor Azi Schwartz sang Naomi Shemer's song in a Kabbalat Shabbat service that included remarks by Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove, New York City Mayor Eric Adams and Pastor Kaji Dousa.

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