Shir Yaakov - "Two years ago the ADVA Network was combined to bring together alumni from two programs of Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center: the ADAMAH Jewish Environmental Fellowship and the Teva Education Center. (Adva means ripple in Hebrew.) I lead Kabbalat Shabbat for our Reunion last year but didn't post the whole service. I posted almost all of this year's service, except one song which became very loud and overloaded the recording.
For the first time this year there were three Friday Night davvenen options: orthodox, traditional egalitarian w/o instruments, and the service I led. This gave me more freedom to move away from the traditional matbeah and develop a kabbalah-inspired form. It was parshat vayetzei, where Jacob has the dream of the sulam/ladder, so I built the service around the sefirot in the Tree of Life array....
The first song we sang — Hareni Mikabel Alai/Dear Friends — corresponded to Chesed/lovingkindness. The matches liturgically with it's theme of love, and also with the essence of the Kabbalat Shabbat service, first developed by the Tsfat kabbalists; the Ariza"l (R' Isaac Luria) taught his students that taking on the mitzvah to love thy neighbor as yourself was a pre-requisite to prayer. Also, the traditional Friday Night service begins with Lechu Neranenah (Psalm 95); the letters of "lechu" — לכו — are an acronym for v'ahavta l'rei'acha kamocha, so I see this as a allusive correspondance. This simple, one part chant also, musically, corresponds to the simplicity of mitzad chesed in the Tree of Life.
I chose a two part, "digging" melody — Lulei Siroscha by R' Shlomo Carblebach — for gevurah/strength-limitations. I wanted to use two-part melodies for mitzad gevurah, seeing as the left-side has the aspect of duality and judgement, sifting. This is apparently one of the only Carlebach niggunim that are still sung in the yeshivish world because he composed it before leaving Lakewood.
As I mentioned above our three-part melody is not in the recording because it became too full and loud for the recorded. I used another Carlebach niggun — Ki Va Moed, which is often sung to Psalm 96 on Friday nights. It's in a major key, and it's three parts allude to the balance, integration and harmony of tiferet/compassion-beauty.
For Netzach/endurance-victory, we return to the simple, one-part chant Yachid Ge'eh. I composed this on 18 Elul, the birthday of the Ba'al Shem Tov. The liturgical source is Ana B'choach (Tefilat R' Nechuniah ben Hakana) and we repeat the work zochrei/rememberers. Memory is linked with netzach and this piyyut has the supplicatory tone of Moshe, who often is voiced in the text as an interceder, and is linked with this sefirah.
Hod/glory-submission comes from a root meaning thankfulness, so I chose Modeh/Modah Ani as the text and this two-part melody to correspond with the side of duality. I also chose this (and other melodies) knowing they'd be familiar to the group I was praying with.
Yesod/foundation was linked with another composition of mine (written 2 Elul 5769); another three-part melody, as yesod is the synthesis of Netzach and Hod. Shabbat is often linked with malchut, however, I placed the two parts of Lecha Dodi there.
I had planned a longer meditation for ma'ariv, but as you can here, this part of our service went much longer than I'd expected.
The musicians involved were:
Cassia Arbabi, violin
Jonathan Dubinsky, percussion
Shir Yaakov Feinstein-Feit, guitar, vocals
Ilan Glazer, percussion
Joanna Kent Katz, harmonica
Rebecca Lemus, clarinet
Elisheva Margolis, flute
Yoshi Silverstein, octave mandolin
Tali Weinberg, vocals
Casey Baruch Yurow, mandolin
Shabbat Shalom, everyone.Escorting the Queen in Jerusalem with Song:Thanks Yosef!
Dear Friends,
Our beloved Shabbos is also known as “the Shabbos Queen.” For example, the Talmud states that Rabbi Chaninah would welcome the approaching Shabbos by saying, “Come, let us go and greet the Shabbos Queen” (Shabbos 119a).
When the Shabbos Queen departs on Saturday night, and the weekday begins, we have a special meal which is known as the Melava Malkah – the Escorting of the Queen. This meal, which includes words of Torah, is often accompanied by singing and dancing.
Although Shabbos has departed, we are comforted by the awareness that Shabbos will return to us; moreover, through the Melava Malkah celebration, we bring some of the Shabbos holiness into the week. In this spirit, I have attached a link to a recording of a beautiful musical Melava Malkah with two noted sages of song, Abish Brodt and Rav Shmuel Brazil. This musical Melava Malkah took place at Rav Shmuel’s new yeshiva, Zeev HaTorah, in Jerusalem.
The singing at this Jerusalem Melava Malkah serves as a reminder that the sacred singing of our people is a form of dovening – praying. May these prayerful songs from Jerusalem bring us closer to the day when the following Divine promise will be fulfilled:
“They will neither injure nor destroy in all of My sacred mountain; for the earth will be filled with knowledge of Hashem as water covering the sea bed.” (Isaiah 11:9)
May we be blessed with the light, joy, and shalom of Shabbos.
Yosef Ben Shlomo Hakohen (See below)
1. The following is a link to the recording of the Jerusalem Melava Malkah:
http://www.zeevhatorah.org/content/kumzitz-abish-brodt (Click on the left arrow.)
2. The following is a translation of the first three songs on the recording:
Song 1: These words are chanted upon awakening in the morning: “I gratefully thank You, O living and eternal Sovereign, for You have returned my soul within me with compassion – abundant is Your faithfulness.”
Song 2: These words are chanted during the weekday morning prayers: “O Guardian of Israel, protect the remnant of Israel; let not Israel be destroyed – those who proclaim, Hear O Israel.”
Song 3: These biblical quotes are chanted during the weekday morning prayers: “For sovereignty belongs to Hashem, and He rules the nations.” (Psalm 22:29)
“Then Hashem will One and His Name will be One!” (Zechariah 14:19)
Yosef Ben Shlomo Hakohen is a Torah educator who lives in Jerusalem, and he teaches Torah through the e-mail study program and website, "Hazon - Our Universal Vision." During the late 1970's and early 80's, he served as the director of the Martin Steinberg Center of the American Jewish Congress - a center for Jewish artists in the performing, visual, and literary arts, where he was known by his English name, Jeff Oboler. During that period, the Martin Steinberg Center had an important role in the revival of Klezmer and Ladino music.
Anyone who wishes to join his mailing list can contact him at:
chazon8 @ 012.net.il
http://www.shemayisrael.com/publicat/hazon
"Pey Dalid performs a unique blend of musical styles, incorporating rock, reggae and many other popular genres with traditional Jewish sound and content. Their well-known and catchy melodies are sung both in Hebrew and English. The band's live shows are high-energy and intense, bringing audiences to their feet singing and dancing. Formed by three brothers, Mordechai (rhythm guitar/vocals), Shlomo (lead guitar/vocals), and Pesach Walker (drums/percussion/vocals), Pey Dalid has influenced and inspired thousands of people in its 8 years in the Jewish music field."
"Acclaimed Israeli composer pianist & improviser Yitzhak Yedid who was born in Jerusalem as the son of immigrant Syrian Jews.
Yedid performances in Australia included Piyutim from the Bakashot supplication.
The Bakashot (or "baqashot", שירת הבקשות) are a collection of supplications, songs, and prayers that have been sung by the Sephardic Aleppian Jewish community and other congregations for centuries each week on Shabbat morning from midnight until dawn. Usually they are recited during the weeks of winter, when the nights are much longer. The duration of the services is usually about four hours. The Ades Synagogue, Jerusalem, is the center of this practice today.
The custom of singing Baqashot originated in Spain towards the time of the expulsion, but took on increased momentum in the Kabbalistic circle in Safed in the 16th century. Baqashot probably evolved out of the tradition of saying petitionary prayers before dawn and was spread from Safed by the followers of Isaac Luria (16th century). With the spread of Safed Kabbalistic doctrine, the singing of Baqashot reached countries all round the Mediterranean and became customary in the communities of Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Rhodes, Greece, Yugoslavia, Egypt, Turkey and Syria. It also influenced the Kabbalistically oriented confraternities in 18th-century Italy, and even became customary for a time in Sephardic communities in western Europe, such as Amsterdam and London, though in these communities it has since been dropped. By the turn of the 20th century Baqashot had become a widespread religious practice in several communities in Jerusalem as a communal form of prayer.
In communities such as those of Aleppo, Turkey and Morocco, the singing of Baqashot expanded to vast proportions. In those countries special books were compiled (such as "Shir Yedidot" in Morocco), showing the tunes and maqamat together with the text of the hymns, in order to facilitate the singing of Baqashot by the congregation. In these communities it was customary to rise from bed in the night on Shabbat in the winter months, when the nights are longer, and assemble in synagogue to sing Baqashot for four hours until the time for the morning service.
In Aleppo, Syria this custom seems to go back about 500 years. Most of the community would arise at 3:00AM to sing Baqashot and to listen to the voices of the Hazanim, Paytanim, and Meshorerim. When they arrived at Mizmor Shir LeYom HaShabbat they would break to listen to a sermon by one of the Rabbis who discussed the Perashah of the week. When he concluded they would begin Mizmor Shir LeYom HaShabbat and sing all the rest of the Baqashot.
The Syrian tradition was introduced to Jerusalem by Raphael Altaras, who came to that city from Aleppo in 1845 and founded a Baqashot circle at the Kehal Tsiyon synagogue. In this way the custom of Baqashot became part of the mainstream Jerusalem Sephardic tradition. Another important influence was Jacob Ades (1857-1925), who immigrated to Jerusalem in 1895 and introduced the tradition to the Persian and Bukharan communities. The main centre of the tradition today is the Ades Synagogue in Nachlaot, where the leading spirit was Shaul Aboud, a pupil of Moshe Ashear.
The Aleppian Baqashot did not only reach Jerusalem. The Jews of Aleppo took this custom with them wherever they went: to Turkey, Cairo, Mexico, Argentina and Brooklyn, New York. Each of these communities preserved this custom in the original Halabi style without all the changes and embellishments that have been added to the Baqashot by Jerusalem cantors over the years. Though these communities don't perform the Baqashot on a weekly basis, nevertheless, they use the melodies of the Baqashot throughout Saturday morning prayers."
From his website...
As I matured, my intense interest and activities in the field of Jewish music progressed. I gradually gained experience in the field of Jewish music as a synagogue choir director, cantor and teacher of Jewish music and as a student of cantorial music at Yeshiva University as well as the Theological Seminary of America.
Later, as part of my requirements for my M.A. degree in music composition at Rutgers University, New Brunswick I composed an extensive symphonic work called EZK’ROH ( “I Remember”) based upon a legendary nigun ( a religious Hebrew song) composed by the sainted Modzitzer Rebbe, Rabbi Israel Taub. In 1980 EZK’ROH was performed with great success in Oakland under the auspices of the Jewish Federation of the East Bay.
After EZK’ROH I produced an abundance of Jewish music, including two holocaust memorial symphonies, 301 Chassidic songs and recently my two Yiddish operas, PAGIEL & BATHSHEVA and RACHEL, portions of which have been performed at various venues in Berkeley California."
[Tzur Mishel] does not mention Shabbat. It is based on Birkat HaMazon. The first stanza - HaZan et olamo... He Who feeds His world... we ate His bread and drank His wine, therefore, we must thank Him... This is the theme of the first bracha of Birkat HaMazon. The second stanza announces that we will bless G-d with song and the sound of thanks for the lovely Land He gave our ancestors and for the food which has satiated us... This parallels the 2nd bracha of Birkat HaMazon. The third stanza (that's the one on the AW) relates to part of the third bracha - Jerusalem. We ask HaShem to have mercy on His people (us) and on Zion, the site of the Mikdash (in other words - Jerusalem), and send the Moshi'ach. The other part of the third bracha relates to the Beit HaMikdash. This is the fourth stanza of Tzur Mishelo - Yibaneh HaMikdash... All this over a full cup of wine, as Birkat HaMazon is (should be, can be) recited. The refrain, is like the Birkat HaZimun, the call to join together and bench.I'm thinking I need to learn this one and add it to my families Shabbat zemirot repertoire..
Check out my talk at the Ann Arbor District Library last year. "Ignite Second Stage: The Silver Age of American Jewish Music is Happening Now! And You're Missing It!"
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