In the midst of recording his fourth, and latest album, from which the song "Amen" was recently released and has already become an integral part of the havdala prayers (marking the end of the Sabbath - ed.) in many Jewish homes, singer and songwriter Naftali Kalfa has released an additional song, "Rafa-el," from his upcoming album. His newest upcoming album features world renowned singers including Shlomo Katz, Gad Elbaz, Benny Fridman & Yehudah Solomon from the Moshav Band.
'Rafa-el' is a particularly meaningful prayer ballad which was composed by Naftali six months ago when his son Rafael Uri became very sick.
"I was very scared and overwhelmed by difficult emotions and uncertainty," he remembers. "Today, thank G-d, Rafael Uri is on his way to a full recovery, but the song, which greatly strengthened his family members during those complex times, has continued to be a source of strength and prayer." It was natural for Naftali to record it and incorporate it in his fourth album.
There was no plan to release the song Rafa-el as a single, but over the past week, when he understood that the whole world was dealing with tremendous fear and anxiety from the coronavirus, and feeling similarly to the ways in which he and his family had over the past few months, he decided to officially release it.
"There are times in our life that we feel helpless, I was in this situation with my son. We didn't know what would be", he explains. "The only thing we have left to do is to take a deep breath and do our best, and to turn to the Creator of the world, and know that He is the one who heals us."
Naftali's close friends and world renowned singers, Gad Elbaz and Lenny Solomon, leader of the Shlock Rock band, are responsible for vocal accompaniment. Amit Golan is responsible for musical production.
The song was released "in prayer that God will heal all of the sick and give relief to all those with fear and anxiety."