LYRIC

THESE I REMEMBER- Country Yossi- These I Remember

אֵלֶּה
אֵלֶּה אֶזְכְּרָה וְנַפְשִׁי עָלַי אֶשְׁפְּכָה
כִּי בְלָעוּנוּ זֵדִים כְּעֻגָּה בְּלִי הֲפוּכָה
These I remember, and my soul melts with secret sorrow.

Rabbi Yishmael the Kohen Gadol and Reb Shimon Ben Gamliel, Nasi Yisroel,
Were the first to be taken to the place of execution, where each desired to precede
the other in being slain and thus be spared the sight of the death of his colleague,
whereupon they were ordered to cast lots and the lot fell on Reb Shimon
whose head was stricken off with a sword.
Rabbi Yishmael lifted it up and cried bitterly,
“Oh that such a tongue, skilled in the Mitzvos of the Torah, should lick dust.”

Rabbi Yishmael himself was then flayed, suffering with great fortitude.
He wept only when they reached the place of his Tefillin.
The angels in heaven called in anguish,
“Is this the Torah and this is its reward?”
Whereupon a voice thundered from heaven, “If I hear another sound uttered
I will destroy both heaven and earth. This is my decree.
Accept it, all of you who love the Torah.
Thus were slain men of spotless conduct and profound learning,
the jewels of Klal Yisroel.

Rabbi Akiva was then led forth. They raked his body with combs of iron.
Full of devotion, Rabbi Akiva recited his prayers with a peaceful smile on his face
while undergoing the extreme torture.
When the executioner asked him whether he was a sorcerer
that he could overcome the pain he was suffering,
Rabbi Akiva replied, “I am no sorcerer,
but I rejoice at the opportunity now given me to love my G-d with all my life.
He died while whispering the last words of the Shema.

Rabbi Chananya Ben Teradyon was the next victim. He was
Wrapped in the Torah from which he had been teaching
and his chest was drenched with water to prolong the agony.
His disciples, watching the flames dancing over their beloved teacher, asked,
“Rebbe, what do you see?”
He replied, “I see the parchment burning but the letters of the Torah soar upward.”
His disciples then advised him to open his mouth that the fire might enter
and sooner put an end to his suffering. But he refused to do so, saying,
“It is better that He who has given life should also take it away.
No one may hasten his own death.”
The executioner, hearing these words, was filled with awe.
He thereupon removed the wet sponge,
fanned the flames thus hastening the end, and then plunged himself into the fire.

All this has befallen us. We will tell it with broken hearts and souls full of grief.
Yes, these I remember, and my soul melts with secret sorrow.