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Inna Rogatchi
POST-HARMONY Special Project

The Rain That Becomes a Forest: Elegy of Rabbi Sacks

Inna Rogatchi (C). The Flight of Thought I. Homage to Lord Rabbi  Sacks. Lapice pastel, hand-applied pigment of light gold on authored original archival print on cotton paper.  40 x 50 cm. 2019. The Light of the First Day series. Jewish Mysticism project.
Inna Rogatchi (C). Flight of Thought. Homage to Lord Rabbi Sacks. 2019.

The Rain That Becomes a Forest

Elegy of Lord Rabbi Jonathan Sacks. 

With love to Lady Elaine, the children, the brother, and all the Sacks family and friends. 

Michael Rogatchi (C). Moses Hour. Dedicated to Lord Rabbi Sacks. Drawing on Inna Rogatchi’s authored print. Indian ink, oil pastel on cotton paper. 40 x 30 cm. 2019. Private collection of Rabbi Sacks and the family, London, the UK.

Rain, rain, rain, the rain of tears

Unwalled tears know no ceiling.

Rain, rain, rain, the rain of sighs

Bottomless sighs filling the air.

O soul of Ya’akov Zvi ben David Arieh z”l, 

You left the body of Jonathan Sacks 

On the early morning of Shabbes. 

It is a privilege that Creator grants

To His loved-ones.

The Shabbes of Parasha Vayeira, 

The nerve-knot of our Torah. 

The millions of us who were sunned 

Into Ya’akov Zvi brilliance, 

We were reminded that morning 

On the origination of Jewish people, 

With Creator giving our first Isaac to

To Abraham and Sarah. 

We were shamed in our Shabbes learning

By  the heights of lowliness of Sodom. 

We were following the first ever Jewish thriller 

Of the adventures of Lot, 

‘The first assimilated Jew’, as Rabbi Sacks

Has marked him for good. 

On that morning of November 7th, 2020, 

20th Marchesvan 5781, we were crying

The tears of anxiety and piety, re-reading

The story of highest possible – or impossible, really – 

Human devotion, the story of Akedah. 

Rain, rain, rain, the rain of tears. 

In the Torah, Sarah would die

In the next Parasha, Chayei Sarah, 

In the very beginning of it. 

In the course of events, however, 

Matriarch Sarah died 

At the time of Akedah. 

Very much at that climax of drama

On the Mount Moriah, 

When the devotion as a corn-stone

Of Jewish faith 

Has been tested on her only son

And her beloved husband. 

Sarah died at the very moment of Akedah

Being told by the Satan on what was really 

Happening there. 

Her heart did not sustain that Trial. 

The Torah has mercy on us

By telling about this tragedy in the next Parasha, 

In a week’s time, to let us all 

To have a breath, to take the drama  portioned. 

Rain, rain, rain, the rain of clouds, 

Sun makes you yet darker today, dear clouds, 

As we mourn the soul of Ya’akov Zvi

Flying off. 

Jonathan is to be buried today. 

In a week’s time the period of shiva for him

Will be over. 

But the hole in the common heart of millions

Will be not healed. 

Not in a week, not in a month, not in a year, 

Or thereafter. 

Rain, rain, rain, the rain of tears 

The rain that becomes a forest. 

**** 

With love to Lady Elaine, the children, the brother, the entire Sacks family, and his close friends

Inna Rogatchi (C). The Flight of Thought I. Homage to Lord Rabbi Sacks. Lapice pastel, hand-applied pigment of light gold on authored original archival print on cotton paper. 40 x 50 cm. 2019. The Light of the First Day series. Jewish Mysticism project.

November 7-8th, 2020

Marchesvan 20-21, 5781

About the Author
Inna Rogatchi is author of War & Humanity and co-author of POST-HARMONY special projects originated in the aftermath of the October 7th, 2023 massacre in Israel. Inna is internationally acclaimed public figure, writer, scholar, artist, art curator and film-maker, the author of widely prized film on Simon Wiesenthal: The Lessons of Survival and other important documentaries on modern history. She is an expert on public diplomacy and was a long-term international affairs adviser for the Members of the European Parliament. She lectures on the topics of international politics and public diplomacy widely. Her professional trade-mark is inter-weave of history, arts, culture, psychology and human behaviour. She is the author of the concept of the Outreach to Humanity cultural and educational projects conducted internationally by The Rogatchi Foundation of which Inna is the co-founder and President. She is also the author of Culture for Humanity concept of The Rogatchi Foundation global initiative that aims to provide psychological comfort to people by the means of high-class arts and culture in challenging times and situations. Inna is the wife of the world renowned artist Michael Rogatchi. Her family is closely related to the famous Rose-Mahler musical dynasty. Together with her husband, Inna is a founding member of Music, Art and Memory, M.A.M. international cultural educational and commemorative initiative which runs various multi-disciplinary projects in several countries. Her professional interests are focused on Jewish heritage, arts and culture, commemorative art, history, Holocaust and post-Holocaust, October 7th and post-October 7th challenges. She is author of many projects of the commemorative art, and of several projects on artistic and intellectual studies on various aspect of the Torah and Jewish spiritual heritage. She is twice laureate of the Italian Il Volo di Pegaso Italian National Art, Literature and Music Award, the Patmos Solidarity Award, the New York Jewish Children's Museum Award for Outstanding Contribution into the Arts and Culture (together with her husband), and the other recognitions. Inna Rogatchi is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Jewish Community of Helsinki and Finland. Previously, she was the member of the Board of the Finnish National Holocaust Remembrance Association, and is member of the International Advisory Board of The Rumbula Memorial Project ( USA). Her art can be seen at Silver Strings: Inna Rogatchi Art site - www.innarogatchiart.com
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