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a community-grown, libre Open Access archive of Jewish prayer and liturgical resources — for those crafting their own prayerbooks and sharing the content of their practice
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a community-grown, libre Open Access archive of Jewish prayer and liturgical resources — for those crafting their own prayerbooks and sharing the content of their practice
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זמירות zemirot —⟶ tag: זמירות zemirot Sorted Chronologically (old to new). Sort most recent first? “In the Sukkah At Least, It’s a Wonderful World” by Len Fellman was written for Sukkot in 2015. . . . Categories: Tags: Contributor(s): This is a new version of the popular Ḥanukkah song, Banu Ḥoshekh. (The original by Sara Levi-Tanai can be found here.) Our new version does two things: 1) it avoids the association of darkness and blackness (shḥor) with evil and harm, which in our society gets tangled up with white supremacy, and 2) honors the darkness as something precious that we need, especially in our time of light pollution when so much of the time, so many people can’t even see the stars. . . . The birkon/bentsher (blessing-book) prepared for the wedding of Honi Sanders and Simona Dalin on July 7th, 2019. . . . Some communities have a practice of singing a song about Miriam alongside the well-known Havdalah song about Elijah the Prophet. But Miriam isn’t really a parallel to Elijah — she’s a parallel to Moshe and Aaron. When we’re talking about distaff counterparts to Elijah the clearest example is Seraḥ bat Asher. Seraḥ, the daughter of Asher, is mentioned only a handful of times in the Tanakh, but is given great significance in the midrash. Like Elijah, she is said to have never died but entered Paradise alive, and comes around to the rabbis to give advice or teachings. This song, which includes several references to midrashim about Seraḥ, is meant to be sung to any traditional tune of “Eliyahu haNavi.” It is dedicated to Ḥazzan Joanna Selznick Dulkin (shlit”a), who introduced me to the legends of Seraḥ bat Asher. . . . Categories: Tags: Contributor(s): Qevelta de-Liba’i (“My Heart’s Lament”) is a melancholy song I wrote in Targumic Judeo-Aramaic in 2010. This piece is an existential peek into an old man’s private moment. He looks in the mirror and waxes wistful, longing for his bygone youth. . . . Categories: Tags: Contributor(s): Eli Kevodi (My God, My Glory”), for seudah shelisheet, was composed by Asher Hillel Burstein in 2018. The hymn was awarded the “Rabbi Hershel Matt Creative Liturgy Award,” the first prize in the creative liturgy contest sponsored by ARC (The Association of Rabbis and Cantors), an interdenominational group of Jewish clergy. . . . Categories: Tags: Contributor(s): This piece is about Ḥanina ben Dosa, a wonder-working rabbi who lived in Judea in the first century. The singer pleads to Ḥanina that he intercede in Israel’s behalf and obtain God’s help and salvation for her and the world. . . . Categories: Tags: 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., Hanina ben Dosa, intercession, prayers for intervention, געולה ge'ulah (redemption), זמירות zemirot Contributor(s): An original Judeo-Arabic adaptation of the song “Oy Khanike” (derived from the Yiddish poem of the same name by Mordkhe Rivesman) also known in English as “Oh Ḥanukkah” or in Hebrew as “Y’mei ha-Ḥanukka.” With thanks to Mazen Haddad for his help with the Arabic! Some notes: 1) Case endings and nunation, which would (in colloquial dialects) often be skipped or dropped, are transcribed in brackets. 2) The word “sufnāj” is a Moroccan Arabic dialectal word which is the agent noun for sfenj, a traditional type of North African doughnut. . . . Categories: Tags: Contributor(s): An original Ladino adaptation of the song “Oy Khanike” (derived from the Yiddish poem of the same name by Mordkhe Rivesman) also known in English as “Oh Chanukah” or in Hebrew as “Y’mei ha-Ḥanukka.” I’m aware that the custom of spinning tops was not originally a Sefaradi one. So sue me, I was looking for something to rhyme with “libertaḏ.” I’ve included the Rashi script, the Aki Yerushalaim orthography, and (as an added bonus) the Cyrillic transcription used by the Jews of the Balkans. . . . Categories: Tags: Contributor(s): “Shirat Miriam and Devorah / Uri, Uri” (Song of Miriam, Song of Deborah / Rise up, Rise Up) was first published in 2024, as the second of four piyyutim published through the Diwan Ashira Project by Ephraim Kahn. . . . This piyyut envisions Queen Esther’s prayer as she enters King Ahasuerus’ palace unbidden. In Tractate Megilla 15b, the sages associate verses from Psalm 22 with Esther in these pivotal moments. Written in the first person, this poem weaves together verses from Psalms and the Book of Esther, along with interpretations and commentaries of Talmudic Sages, to evoke Esther’s prayer at this crucial moment. Its structure mirrors the Rosh Hashanah piyyut “‘Et Sha‘are Ratson”, which recounts the binding of Isaac through the perspectives of its protagonists. Like Isaac, Esther is headed to a sacrifice, but she goes with full awareness and intent for the sake of her people. . . . Categories: Tags: 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., Esther, תענית אסתר Fast of Esther, משתה Mishteh, פיוטים piyyuṭim, זמירות zemirot Contributor(s): A satirical look at contemporary Israeli civil society in Hebrew and English, as adapted from Tom Lehrer’s sardonic “National Brotherhood Week” (1965). . . . Categories: Tags: Contributor(s): This piyyut tells the story of Naomi and Ruth through an imagined dialogue. Naomi, aged and alone, is taken aback by Ruth’s unwavering attachment. Ruth explains that it is with Naomi—and her faith—that she finds the truth and authenticity she longs for. It can also be read as an allegorical dialogue between the Torah and the people of Israel, you insist on remaining loyal to her. פתרונו כפול: פשוטו על נעמי ורות ורומז לתורה עם כנסת ישראל. . . . Categories: Tags: 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., French translation, Naomi, פיוטים piyyuṭim, Ruth, זמירות zemirot Contributor(s): There are many different versions of this beloved Ladino pizmon for Havdalah. This one is found in Tefilat Imanuel, published in Vienna in 1924. . . . | ||
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