Mah gadlu ma-a-sekha, Adonai
Meh-od amku mach-she-vo-tekha
Ve-ata marom le-olam Adonai
How great are your works, O Lord!
Your thoughts are very deep!
and you, O Lord, are on high for ever.
Hashmi’ini et kolekh
Ki kolekh arev, u’marekh naveh.
Hayoshevet baganim haverim makshivim
Hashmi’ini.
Let me hear your voice;
for your voice is sweet,
and your face is lovely.
O you who dwell in the gardens,
my companions are listening for your voice;
let me hear it.
This month’s song is sung by Rabbi Dr. Minna Bromberg, who led and taught morning worship in Bat Kol, summer 2018. Bat Kol alumni will all be familiar with this melody for the last verse and the last five words in the book of Psalms. If you are singing with a group, this beautiful song can be sung as a three part round (each group begins after the previous group finishes the word ha’neshamah). The word neshamah means “breath” in Biblical Hebrew, and “soul” in Rabbinic, Medieval, and modern Hebrew. Consider what it means to call to every breathing creature, and every soul, to praise God.
This month we have chosen a song from one of Israel’s most beloved performers, Arik Einstein, teaching us that in relationship and partnership, we can make a difference in this world. The first 5 words repeat over and over “you and I will change the world”.
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Lyrics
You and I will change the world.
You and I, and then all will follow
Others have said it before,
It doesn’t matter – you and I will change the world.
You and I will try from the beginning.
It will be hard, no matter it’s not too bad.
Others have said it before,
It doesn’t matter – you and I will change the world.
You and I will change the world.
You and I, and then they will all follow
Others have said it before,
It doesn’t matter – you and I will change the world.
Ani ve-ata, neshane et a-olam
Ani ve-ata, az yavo-u kvar koulam
Amru et ze kodem lefanay
Lo meshane
Ani ve-ata, neshane et a-olam
Ani ve-ata, nenase me-athala
Yi-eye lanu ra, ein davar ze lo nora
Amru et ze kodem lefanay
Ze lo meshane
Ani ve-ata, neshane et a-olam
Ani ve-ata, neshane et a-olam
Ani ve-ata, az yavo-u kvar koulam
Amru et ze kodem lefanay
Lo meshane
Ani ve-ata, neshane et a-olam
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This month’s song is from Deuteronomy 26:8 – four words of thanks to God for the fruits of the land, as we celebrate Shavuot-Pentecost. Originally a pilgrimage feast to thank God for the early gleanings of the first fruits (for this reason the Book of Ruth is read in synagogues on Shavuot), it was later connected to the revelation and God’s gift of Torah to Israel at Mt. Sinai (for this reason many Jews stay awake learning Torah all night on Shavuot).
Eretz Zavat Halav U’Dvash
A land flowing with milk and honey
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Holocaust Remembrance Day (Yom HaShoah) is commemorated in Israel and by Jews worldwide in the month of April, on the 28 Nissan in the Jewish calendar, the anniversary of the Warsaw ghetto uprising in 1943. For more on Yom Ha’Shoah, click here.
We share this video of Holocaust survivors and their families singing Ofra Hazza’s “Hai” to honor the victims and survivors of the Shoah.
Alive, alive, alive
Yes I am alive
This is the song that grandfather
Sang yesterday to father
And today it is me.
I am still alive, alive, alive,
The people of Israel is alive.
This is the song that grandfather
Sang yesterday to father
And today it is me.
Hai, hai, hai
Ken ani od hai.
Ze ha’shir she’sabba
Shar etmol le’abba
Ve’hayom ani.
Ani od hai, hai, hai
Am Yisrael hai.
Ze ha’sher she’sabba
Shar etmol le’abba
Ve’hayom ani.
חַי, חַי, חַי
כֵן, אֲנִי עוֹד חַי
זֶה הַשִׁיר שְׁסַבָא
שַׁר אֶתְמוֹל לְאַבָא
וְהַיוֹם אֲנֹי
אֲנִי עוֹד חַי, חַי, חַי
עַם יִשׂרָאֵל חַי
זֶה הַשׁיר שֶׁסַבָא
שַׁר אֶתְמוֹל לְאַבָא
וְהַיוֹם אֲנִי
Avadim hayinu, hayinu
Ata b’nei horin, b’nei horin
Avadim hayinu
Ata ata b’nei horin, b’nei horin.
We were slaves, we were…
Now we are free people
We were slaves
Now, now we are free people, free people.
“Avadim Hayinu” is one of the best-known songs from the Passover seder. These are the first words of the response to the “Four Questions” which point out the ways that the Passover meal is different from all other meals throughout the year.
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JANUARY 2018
Hebrew:
עברית:
שיר השירים פרק ה, פסוקים י, י”א:
דוֹדִי צַח וְאָדוֹם דָּגוּל מֵרְבָבָה. רֹאשוֹ כֶּתֶם פָּז קְוֻצּוֹתָיו תַּלְתַּלִּים שְחֹרוֹת כָּעוֹרֵב.
אנגלית:
English:
My beloved is clear-skinned and ruddy,
Preeminent among ten thousand.
His head is finest gold,
His locks are curled
And black as a raven.
Transliteration: as it is sung
Dodi, dodi tzach ve-adom dagul me-revava. (x2)
Rosho ketem paz, kvutzotzv taltalim
Shechorot (x3) ka-orev
Dodi (x3) ve-rei … (=my beloved)
Dodi, dodi tzach ve-adom dagul me-revava…..
This song is taken almost word by word from Song of Songs. When we sing it, we add only one word : רֵעִי which is a synonym to the word דוֹדִי= my beloved, my friend, my closest friend. The girl describes her beloved one a handsome person especially his skin and his hair, and also as an outstanding person that can be seen even among ten thousand people. If the Song of Songs was only a love song it would not be in the Tanakh (Bible). Rabbi Akiva said, “All the writings are holy, but the Song of Songs is the holy of holies.” Jews have a custom to recite the Song of Songs on Shabbath evenings as Shabbath serves as a renewal of the love relationship between God and the Jewish People.
HEBREW SONG OF THE MONTH – DECEMBER
בָּאנוּ חוֹשֶךְ לְגָרֵש.
בָּאנוּ חוֹשֶךְ לְגָרֵש. Banu choshech le’garesh
בְּיָדֵינוּ אוֹר וָאֵש. Beyadenu or va-esh
כָּל אֶחָד הוּא אוֹר קָטָן, kol echad hu or katan
ו כוּלָנוּ אוֹר אֵיתָן. Ve-chulanu or eitan
סוּרָה חוֹשֶךְ. Sura choshech
הָלְאָה שְחוֹר. Hal’a shchor
סוּרָה! Sura!
מִפְּנֵי הָאוֹר. Mipney ha’or.
We came to drive out the darkness.
We have light and fire in our hands.
Everyone is a small light,
And all of us (together) are a strong (stable) light.
Move away darkness ( black)
Go further on from the light!
This is a children’s Hanukkah song, and is also a dance.
The idea of the song is that the light can drive out and expel the darkness.
If we do good things together we can overcome the evil!
The light represents the pureness and brotherhood between people all over the world.
The song reminds us that when God created the world, the light was the first thing God made, and before it the world was all dark with no light at all.
You can also hear the song on YouTube via this link
Sarah Israeli
MAY THE LORD BLESS YOU FROM ZION
יְבָרֶכְךָ ה’ מִצִּיוֹן וּרְאֵה בּטוּב יְרוּשָלַיִם כֹּל יְמֵי חַיֶיךָ.
וּרְאֵה בָנִים לְבָנֶיךָ שָלוֹם עַל יִשְרָאֵל.
תְּהִלִים, קכח ה-ו
Yevare’checha hashem mi’tziyon ur’e betuv yerushalayim,
Yevare’checha hashem mi’tziyon, kol yemey ,yemey chayecha.
Ur’e vanim le-vanecha, shalom al yisra’el (X2)
May the Lord bless you from Zion;
May you share the prosperity of Jerusalem
All the days of your life, and live to see your children’s children.
May all be well with Israel. Psalms 128, 5-6
This song is very popular in Israel. People sing it in weddings and in other occasions to express happiness. The song is comprised of these two verses from Psalms, without the words :”all the days of your life”. (in Hebrew: כֹּל יְמֵי חַיֶיךָ.).
The verses are a blessing and explain the idea that if you are lucky to see the children of your children (your grand-children), then there will be peace on Israel, and on the rest of the world.
Sarah Israeli