When Music Becomes Prayer: Gil Vain’s Creative and Spiritual Path

Gil Vain is a musician who lives in Tel Aviv.

A Spark of Nostalgia

“One of the things I remember most vividly from a very young age is my connection to music. I feel like I’ve been connected to music my entire life. Already at the age of eight, I told my parents and friends that I wanted to be a musician when I grew up.

“It might sound a bit crazy, but when I was ten years old, I recorded a CD at home with songs I had written, composed, and produced myself. There was a very simple computer program back then that made it possible, and with its help I produced the album. In recent years I’ve searched for it obsessively and never found it — but maybe that’s actually a good thing. Who knows how embarrassing it might be today.”

A Spark of Roots

“I grew up in a secular home where Rosh Hashanah and Passover were celebrated, but not much beyond that. As I grew older, I became interested in tradition. I started exploring it more deeply, asking why certain things are done, and eventually decided to observe certain mitzvot and go beyond what was customary in my home.

“For example, today I fast every Yom Kippur, I’m careful not to eat chametz on Passover, and every Shabbat I make Kiddush. My desire to go beyond what I knew growing up may also come from the fact that I attended a religious kindergarten—and I see that it still influences me today. I think it also affects the music I create.

“The songs I learned in kindergarten still influence me in several ways. You can hear it in my writing — there’s something spiritual there. It’s hard to explain in words, but you can feel it. I feel it even more strongly in my melodies. I have songs that I hear musically as prayers, as Shabbat, as a synagogue atmosphere.

“When I have children, it’s clear to me that I’ll want them to know the basics of Judaism and keep them. In the end, these are the most beautiful things we have as a people. It really moves me to see, for example, how on Yom Kippur most people don’t drive. And I’m talking about central Tel Aviv, near my home which is not a religious city. In general, there’s far more tradition in Tel Aviv than people think. For instance, on Shabbat most stores on the most central streets are closed. One year I was home in central Tel Aviv on Rosh Hashanah and was shocked by how almost everything was closed.

“Honestly, what would remain in our lives without Jewish values?”

A Spark of Judaism

“I feel that something in me is influenced by ancient Jewish music. As I said, as a child I attended a religious kindergarten simply because it was very close to our home. When you grow up in a religious kindergarten and sing those songs and prayers, something sticks with you. I truly feel and believe that it still affects my music today.”

A Spark of Creation

“In a certain sense, I feel that God is connected to my creativity. The feeling is that I receive my songs more than I actively create them. There are songs that helped me greatly in my life, and I want to pass that gift on to others because of what I was given.

“In that regard, the thing that moves me the most is when people tell me, ‘Your song healed me.’ And in general, my relationship with God is also expressed in the fact that I’ve given up many valuable things so that good things could happen in the world.”

A Spark of Shabbat

“For me, Shabbat is the place where I truly have time for myself. During the week, I devote time to Gil the musician; on Shabbat, to Gil the human being. I don’t work in the studio on Shabbat, and I don’t perform on Shabbat either.

“A few years ago, something internal pushed me to stop working on Shabbat, and that’s exactly what happened. Today I can say that this is what keeps me sane. Without Shabbat, I’d be living work 24/7.”

A Spark of Prayer

“I talk to God every day. Beyond that, one of the songs on my latest album is called ‘Scenes’, and for me it’s entirely a prayer. An artist’s path is full of difficulties and obstacles, so quite often I pray to God and simply ask for His help — to show me what I need to do, to light the way for me.

“My prayers can be about the smallest things in life, and that happens daily. Sometimes they’re also about the biggest and most important things. Beyond the fact that praying about them certainly helps, prayer also helps me identify what truly matters to me. You can see how much you want something by how much you pray for it.

“Prayer clarifies things for me, focuses me, and puts everything in its proper balance.”

A Spark of Learning

“Before my wedding, during meetings with the rabbi who officiated our marriage, I really enjoyed discovering the deep spiritual side of Judaism — something I admit I hadn’t known at that level of depth before. It fascinated me, because for many years I’ve been deeply connected to faith and Judaism, and I’ve studied many spiritual topics.

“I definitely want to continue and learn more and more about Judaism.”

A Spark of Mitzvah

“I feel especially connected to the mitzvah of honoring one’s parents, and more generally to ‘love your fellow as yourself.’ When it comes to my parents, I really try to honor them. Today, when I’m physically farther away — I live in Tel Aviv and they live in Karmiel, I feel an even stronger need to respect them: to call, check in on them, and help in any way I can.

“When it comes to respect for people in general, I try very hard not to hurt others. I always try to put myself in the other person’s place, to imagine how they’ll receive what I’m saying. That’s why I try to speak to people the way I’d want people to speak to me, and to do or not do to others what I would or wouldn’t want done to me. It’s a fundamental value for me, and I make a real effort to live by it.”

A Final Spark

“What I want to leave behind in the world is a very big and difficult question. I’m someone who thinks five years ahead, maybe ten at most — but I’ve never really thought about what will remain of me after I’m gone.

“I hope my songs continue to have a positive impact on people, and that I’ll make a meaningful contribution to the field of music. And of course, I want to raise good children who will continue on the right path in this world.”