Ari Lesser – Jonah In The Whale – Yom Kippur – 5774

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Lyrics:
Yom Kippur
by Ari Lesser
8/28/13
It's Yom Kippur, and I need much more
Atonement than I could ever hope for
This song I send to you my friend
In case I offended lets make amends
Please forgive me if I wronged you
If you wronged me I forgive you too
And may G-d forgive all of Yisrael
Like He forgave Yonah in the whale
The word of HASHEM came one day
To Yonah ben Amittai to say
"Go to the great city of Nineveh
And call them out for their wicked ways"
But Yonah did not want to go, so he
Ignored THE LORD and just tried to flee
He found some sailors, paid them a fee
And journeyed with them out into the sea
But G-d sent a mighty wind, it blew
And threatened to break the ship in two
The crew was afraid, what should they do?
Yonah was the only one who knew
He said, "This storm is because of me
For away from G-d I tried to flee
Just pick me up throw me in the sea
And then HASHEM will let you be"
The sailors thought that was too hardcore
Instead they tried to row back to shore
But when the storm increased even more
They listened and threw Yonah overboard
And from the moment that he was released
The waters were calm and the wind just ceased
HASHEM let the sailors go in peace
While Yonah sunk to the deepest deeps
G-d sent a giant whale his way
It swallowed Yonah, and there he stayed
Inside the whale, for three full days
He turned his heart to HASHEM, he prayed
And since G-d hears the voice of man
He forgave Yonah and gave the command
For the whale to spit him out on dry land
And Yonah was back right where he began
It's Yom Kippur, and I need much more
Atonement than I could ever hope for
This song I send to you my friend
In case I offended lets make amends
Please forgive me if I wronged you
If you wronged me I forgive you too
And may G-d forgive all of Yisrael
Like He forgave Yonah in the whale
Now the word of HASHEM came back that day
To Yonah, again saying, "Don't delay
Go to the great city of Nineveh
And say to them what I tell you to say"
Yonah complied and went for a ride
To the great city which was so wide
A three day walk from side to side
He entered the center of town, and cried
He said, "Pay attention, for Nineveh
Will be wiped away, in forty days"
But the people heard what he had to say
They believed in G-d so they changed their ways
All over the city it became known
His word even reached the king on his throne
Who commanded that all of his people atone
Their transformation became full blown
They fasted and sat in ashes, lamented
From their deeds, G-d saw they'd repented
They stopped doing evil, so He relented
But Yonah was angry at G-d he vented
"I'm fed up, is this not why I fled?
When you should do harm to the wicked instead
You show them mercy, so now go ahead
And take my life, cause I'd rather be dead"
HASHEM decided He had to show
Yonah a lesson, for he did not know
So He commanded a plant to grow
It rose up above Yonah's head below
He felt relieved as he sat in its shade
And greatly rejoiced in the plant G-d made
But G-d sent a worm the very next day
To attack the plant and the plant decayed
The sun beat down on Yonah's head
Until his skin was burnt and red
He asked for his soul to die for he said
"With this kind of life I'm better off dead"
God said to Yonah, "I really can't
Believe that you're grieving about one plant
Which you did not work for in any way
Which sprouted and died in single a day
And as for me shall I not take pity
Upon Nineveh, this enormous city
With thousands of human beings who might
Not know their left hand from their right"
It's Yom Kippur, and I need much more
Atonement than I could ever hope for
This song I send to you my friend
In case I offended lets make amends
Please forgive me if I wronged you
If you wronged me I forgive you too
And may G-d forgive all of Yisrael
Like He forgave Yonah in the whale