B’shert is a Yiddish term meaning “fate”, or “it was meant to be”, frequently used when boy meets girl. At a time when Robin and I were going through a rocky stretch, I wrote this song and first sang it for her on Valentine’s Day. She was at the time in a singing duo called B’shert which contributed a little to our difficulties. The song accomplished two perhaps contradictory objectives. First, it allowed me to reclaim the concept, that Robin and I were meant to be as opposed to her and her singing partner; and second, it underscored that I did support and believe in what she was doing artistically. That mutual artistic respect has been the bedrock of our relationship. The second verse is from the teaching of the Baal Shem Tov.
Lyrics
B’shert
As long as you are here
As long as I am too
As long as there’s a song you need to sing
I will sing with you
As long as sunset’s lit
By the candle’s flame
As long as we rejoice
In each other’s voice
We resonate God’s name
I cannot tell you why
You cannot tell me how
The answer’s in the timeless harmony
Of our eternal now
Of this you can be sure
We’ve sung this song before
We were meant to see that we were meant to be
B’shert
From every human being
There emanates a light
Rising up to heaven through
Tomorrow’s troubled night
It shines upon the path
We are meant to tread
Lightening the heart so we can finally start
To see what lies ahead
But when two paths converge
And joins two wandering souls
The beam they generate illuminates
A thousand fold
Flooding heaven bright
Revealing in the light
That we are again what we’ve always been
B’shert.