This week is yesod: which is foundation, but is also sometimes referred to as “bonding.” It is the offspring of hod and netzach – balancing and harmonizing them, and is the foundation on which God builds the world. It also distributes into the world all the attributes that come into it from the upper sefirot. That’s where the bonding comes in, because there has to be a bond between the giver and receiver.

It’s also sometimes called “tzadik” – Instead of emphasizing a righteous person, though, here we make the point which the rabbis often do that justice – tzedek- is the foundation of the world and what keeps it going. It is also the source of the bond between one another and between us and God (after all, don’t we say on the Yamim noraim that it’s teshuvah, tefilah and *tzedakah* that nullify the harsh decree?).

There’s a lot of emphasis in this playlist on gun violence – I don’t know how it could be otherwise, given the year we’re living through – to Ana Tijoux’s fierce antifascist anthem, and of course the russian-yiddish-spanish FU to police violence is both old and classic and pairs perfectly with The Clash reminding us of our rights. From Daniel Kahn and Painted Bird’s klezmer kick in the rear to get us out in the streets, and Leonard Cohen’s gentle music with a sneaky shout at standing up to evil, we end up with The Blackeyed Peas prayer and Arcade Fire’s sorrowfull plea.