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The Habima in New York |
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Scenes from 'The
Dybbuk,' 1926 |
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SCENE FROM ACT TWO
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Leah gradually came to her senses. "A kind of unearthly force
seized me and carried me far, far away," she tells her nurse. "Is it
true that the souls of those who died before their time return to
earth in new incarnations," she says, "But it also happens that the
straying soul takes possession of the body of a living person,
assimilates this soul, and fulfills there his destiny. Such a spirit
is called a Dybbuk."
The Messenger disappears. But his words have pierced Leah's
heart....
"You are not my bridegroom!" she cries out. And from her very heart
there bursts forth in Hanan's voice the Song of Songs.
"A 'Dybbuk' has taken possession of
her!" cried the Messenger... |
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SCENE FROM ACT THREE |
"Who groans?" asks Leah, coming to her senses. For answer is
heard the melody of Song of Songs. "I hear your voice, but your face
I do not see, Who are you?" she asks. "I have forgotten; but the
memory of me lives in your heart." "Ah, it is you! I come to you, my
bridegroom!"
The Song of Songs is heard from both. With the strength of her
love, Leah breaks through the magic circle, with which Rabbi Azriel
had surrounded her. Her soul unites with the soul of Hanan, and her
body falls dead. |
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At the end of the play, "The curtain
falls to the sound of the same melody: 'For what cause, did the soul
descend from the loftiest height into the nethermost abyss?'"
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