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The Alexandria Kleztet – If You See Her, Say Hello
Cordovero – Leah's MY
LITTLE GIRL (JEWISH VERSION)
2 Fantastic Klezmer Songs
Yours to enjoy for free, compliments of Klezmerica - Please support them by purchasing their music at http://frozenchozen.com/download.html
The Bulkas Song
Various Opportunities Keep Jewish Art Thriving
Author: Mark Etinger
Jewish art has adapted throughout thousands of years. It has followed the Jewish people wherever they went. As a culturally rich community, Jews have always combined their religious actions with cultural achievements. Over the years, the scope of artists in the Jewish community has always been limited by the social conditions in it. Too many times, Jews were forbidden to indulge in communal arts out in the open. But that never stopped Jewish artists inside the community. Just like the restrictions never stopped celebrations of important holidays and special events like Bar Mitzvahs and weddings.
Many Jewish artists use these religious celebrations as an opportunity to display wonderful Jewish creativity. In weddings, there is the Ketubah, which is the marriage contract presented by the bridegroom to the bride as a legal agreement covering his obligations and responsibilities to her. This legal agreement is the perfect opportunity for creative Jewish artists to showcase their strength. Couples like to have some artistic elements on their Ketubah, making it both a visually attractive legal document, and also a genuine piece of Jewish art for them to keep.
Bar Mitzvah, the celebration of a child beginning to own up to his deeds, and thus becoming a man, is also celebrated with his being called up to the reading of the Torah. There is usually a gathering of family and friends to show support and to celebrate the occasion as well. The artistic opportunity here is actually in the invitations themselves. Parents ask a Jewish artist to create a unique invitation with Jewish elements. This process allows for creative artists to showcase the beauty and richness of their heritage and to notify and invite people in a most fitting way.
Beyond the religious events and their connection to Jewish Art, there is also the creation of manuscripts. Traditionally, Jews like to have writings or manuscripts posted in their homes. This form of Jewish art involves creating elaborate themes in combination with religious scripts and famous quotes. To some, it seems more proper to have artwork related to Jewish themes on their home walls, rather than displaying other forms of art. The blessing of the home is a common inscription that allows people to enjoy artistic elements, combined with this important blessing. When people walk by it, it is the artistic elements that catch the attention to the manuscript. Allowing them to glance and contemplate its significance.
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www.ChaimBernath.com features high quality Jewish art, offering a wide selection of ketubahs and other Judaica Art pieces.
Article Source: http://www.articlealley.com/http://marketinger.articlealley.com/various-opportunities-keep-jewish-art-thriving-2135393.html
About the Author:
Jewish Nobel Prize Winners
Over 15% of Nobel prize winners have been Jewish. Quite an accomplishment considering the % of Jews in the world.
Some of these include:
Ada Yonath (2009) * Elie Wiesel (1986)* Paul Krugman (2008) * Herbert Spencer Gasser (1944) * Emilio Segrč (1959) * Nadine Gordimer (1991) * Gertrude Elion (1988) * Rene Cassin (1968)
THE ARTS
It's Called Jewish Music, But Is It Really Jewish?
Seth
Yisra'el Lutnick
A while back I was driving along the Jerusalem highway scanning radio stations. On one frequency, a very intense dance beat was
exploding out of the speakers. I was about to move the dial some more in search
of a Jewish tune when the vocalist started in. Shock of shocks, he was a
heavily Hassidic singer, complete with eastern European pronunciation. And what
was he singing? "Kumee oy'ree ki va oy-reich.." from 16th century Rabbi Shlomo
Alkavetz' classic Sabbath poem, L'cha Dodi. Before he had began his rendition I
had been expecting something like "Oh baby, the way you move with me
..."!
I had to ask the old question, "Is this good for the Jews?" And I
had to give the old answer, "Does hair grow on the palm of your hand?"
Of
course it's not good for the Jews, I felt. Poor, unfortunate L'cha Dodi, dragged
from the fields of Tsfat on the Sabbath eve and infected with Saturday Night
Fever! Lovingly done by a Hassid, no less!
Speaking of Tsfat, I recall
meandering about their Klezmer festival once and hearing a contemporary setting
of Psalm 126. It was to a funk rhythm, and the words did not fit. The singer had
to split words in two, which rendered them more or less meaningless. Good for
the Jews? Nah.
What bothered me about this so-called Jewish music? To put
it briefly, besides the words, it just wasn't. It was dance, trance, shmantz. It
was hip, driving, suggestive. If this music was asked where it wanted to play,
the synagogue or the sin-skin club, the answer was clear. If Jewish music is to
be defined as such, it must have authentic Jewish roots. And so much
contemporary music simply does not. Where was the source of this tradition?
Nowhere. That's what bothered me.
But, as Tevye reminds us, there's
another hand. After all, go listen to classic Hassidic nigunim (melodies). Then
go listen to Russian folk songs. Eerie, no? Weren't
those folk songs the "dance" of their day?
Even stronger, go watch the
religious kids. They love contemporary popular music and all its villains. What
these new Jewish groups do is take what's hip and put Jewish content into it.
Isn't that what the original Hassidic nigunim were all about? If we don't want
to lose our young people in the culture war, we have to compete. Didn't Rabbi
Samson Raphael Hirsch bring the choral works of Lewandowsky and Japhet in to the
synagogue service, even though they were completely in the style of the German
composers of the age, such as Schubert and Mendelssohn (he needs an asterisk because he was
halakhically Jewish)? So maybe I should not only calm down, I should applaud
this phenomenon.
Hold on. We're both right, I believe. Here's how I
reconcile the difference, and my earnest appeal to all who create Jewish music.
The most important thing is to ask, "To be or not to be?" That is the question.
Every song has a purpose, a message. It can be joy, faith, pensiveness,
determination, anything. The message is in the melody and rhythm, which create
the atmosphere. It's in the text, which gives articulation to the message. And
it's in the performance, which makes the message personal between the performer
and the listener. If the message is congruent, if the music and the lyrics are a
perfect union that inspires the performer, then you have a great piece of music.
If the message is mixed, if there's a battle going on between the rhythm and the
words, then we are troubled. That was why that "kumee oy'ree" was so absolutely
awful. It was a mixed message of licentious music with holy texts.
We
love to set verses from the liturgy to music, and that's wonderful. Composers
have a special responsibility to make sure that the music conveys the message
and colors the words with deeper meanings. Do that, and I'm fascinated, I'm
inspired, even if it's a contemporary style.
But be very, very careful with
verses. We tend to ask, "Do you think Adon Olam goes to this?", when we would do
better to ask, "What is this melody saying?". If it says Adon Olam, good. If it
does not, then WRITE YOUR OWN WORDS. To keep with the idea of message, if you
have a great tune that can say something worthwhile (something human and real,
not negative or immodest), say it your way. That satisfies.
The
foundation of Jewish music has always been expressing what's in our hearts as a
prayer to God. That expression must be congruent, pure, sincere. There is room
in the Jewish music world for great innovation, if it comes from our
hearts
, not from the charts.
Source: Free Articles from ArticlesFactory.com
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Seth Yisra'el Lutnick is a singer and composer who has performed on stage
and screen. His CD is called Gesharim, and he is also a trained cantor. Visit
his website, http://www.greatjewishmusic.com for music and more.
Rock and Roll and Payos.
All about Jewish Singer-Songwriters
By: Mark Etinger
There's a new music scene developing in Israel and spreading throughout the world. It's got folk-rock roots and lyrics such "it's fun to be a Jew." It's the new original Jewish music.
Jewish music was always around, and flourished in the 60's with folk singers like Reb Shlomo Carlebach. The famous troubadour was a great performer and composer - but he wasn't a songwriter. Like Carlebach, most Jewish musicians that were working until recently - only composed Verses from the Torah and did not write their own material. But in the last few years we see more and more Jewish musicians who turn into real singer-songwriters and write about their religious and daily lives as Orthodox Jews.
They say that the trend began with Adi Ran who started his musical career back in the 1990's in Tel-Aviv's underground bar scene. His songs were heavily critical, humorist and even anarchistic, influenced with punk music, Bob Dylan and Led Zeppelin. In 1993 Ran became a baal teshuva and got closer and closer to the Breslov Hasidim that dance around the streets of Tel Aviv and spread the word of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov.
But Ran's music only got better and better. He kept his rock influence and humorist spirit (he's got a song titled "It's so fun to be a Jew) and began recording albums that can only be defined as Hasidic Underground. Today, Adi Ran leads the Jewish original alternative music, and proudly carries the title "the Rocker" of Jewish music. Adi Ran's recommended albums are: Don't Hit the Rock ("Al Takeh Basela") and Nothing to Worry About ("Ma Yesh Lachem Lid'og").
"You know what year it is?" asked me once the singer-songwriter Aaron Razel. "This is 5765" he then said, "we're in the 60's of the Jewish people!" Razel was born in New York and grew up in Jerusalem. After his army service, he received a Master's degree in Music and started making music in the city of Tsfat. Razel incorporates his own jewish driven texts with modern day music that is influenced by Israeli music, reggae, jazz, Funk and Rock. Razel's recommended albums are Redemption
Time ("Zman Hageula") and Song of Zion ("Shir Tzion").
Matthew Paul Miller, you might recognize him as Matisyahu, has brought the word outside of the gates Israel and Jewish people. His Hasidic Jewish reggae is a worldwide phenomena and a number 1 hit amongst all cultures and religions. Matisyahu's music has a unique mix of rap, reggae and rock and in his songs and listeners can even find words in Hebrew and Yiddish.
Of course that it takes a lot of effort to keep things kosher as a Jewish star. Matishyahu for example, does not put his glasses on while he performs so he won't see all the dancing ladies, and he has to keep his payos, hat and long beard - even when they're not in the height of fashion.
|Jewish inspired music is relatively new. But with the success of Matisyahu, we can anticipate musical growth and more artists hitting the scene. If you are interested to discover more about new Jewish music or get yourself a CD by one of the artists above, then visit www.Eichlers.com for a full catalog of original Jewish music. For all your Judaica needs, just drop in to www.eichlers.com - and start enjoying
being Jewish.
About the Author
www.Eichlers.com - whether you need a Tallis, Book, or the latest in Jewish music http://www.eichlers.com is the place to shop.
(ArticlesBase SC #1074515) Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/ - Rock and Roll and Payos. All about Jewish Singer-Songwriters
Israeli Literature: Truly the Nation's Pride
By: Prasen Dutta
About the Author: Tour Israel for Holydays & Spend Vacations – Travel to Israel live in beautiful Resorts & Hotels near Israel Beaches. Travel to Jerusalem, Haifa & Tel Aviv.
Literature is a fundamental element of any nation's culture. It serves as a reflection of the universal thoughts, feelings and experiences of the people sharing the same custom, tradition, mores, ethnicity and boundary. Israel is famous for a significant number of well-renowned names in literature. Once visitors take a tour to Israel, the literary ambience could be evident amongst the many streets and roads in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. They are named after the legendary institutions like Yosef Hayim Brenner, Nahman Bialik and Shaul Tchernikowsky.
Yosef Hayim Brenner, a contemporary Hebrew literary figure, was born on 1881 in a poor family at Novi Mlini, Russia. He became famous for his zealous works and criticisms of Zionism. He is notable for writing realistic portrayals of life stories especially among Jewish characters. One of his celebrated novels, Breakdown and Bereavement, depicts the lives of young Jewish pioneers under Ottoman rule in Palestine before the World War I. In search for spiritual identity and confirmation, Hefetz, the hero of the novel, meets sufferings and tragedies of life. Brenner was murdered in Jaffa during the Arab riots on May of 1921.
Another famous literary figure in the field of poetry is Rachel Blewstein, or simply called Ra'hel. She was born on September 20, 1890 in Russia and immigrated to Palestine where her works flourished. Her poems were set into songs that made them more popular to the entire Israeli population. Many of her works were written in Hebrew but some were translated in English. Some of her poems were placed in the famous poetry collection Flowers of Perhaps: Selected Poems of Ra'hel. On April 16, 1931, at the age of 40, Rachel died and was buried on a grave near the Sea of Galilee.
Dubbed to be as Israel's greatest contemporary poet, Yehuda Amichai, is notable for his works on the day-to-day encounters of people dealing with the ironic imagery of life and death. He was born on 1924 and died in 2000 at the age of 76 because of cancer.
Nobel is a very prestigious award-giving body that recognizes exceptional people representing their various fields. In 1966, one of the Israel's pride Shmuel Yosef Agnon (1888-1970) was given a Nobel Prize for Literature. The general theme of his literary works centers on the Jewish culture and history involving their struggle towards adapting their beliefs and customs to the contemporary time.
Being Israel's first Nobel Prize laureate for literature, Shmuel Yosef Agnon, surfaced as a prominent literary name for his insightful features of narration that centers on the life and culture of Jewish people as they struggle to the demands and pressures of the modern times. He was born on July 17, 1888 in Galicia, now Ukraine. His most famous work is The Bridal Canopy (1931) which is an epic about the 19th century foundation of Galician Judaism. He died on February 17, 1970, receiving many commemorations and tributes from his country, Israel.
Other renowned modern prose writers are David Grossman, AB Yehoshua and Amos Oz. Oz is famous for his essays that contain political and literary tones. His famous work My Michael (1968) was translated to 30 languages, adapted to a movie and named as one of the 100 best novels of the 21st century. It talks about the misery of love and marriage of a young woman during the gloomy days of Jerusalem in the 1950s. He was born on May 4, 1939. AB Yehoshua, on the other hand, is famous for his work, The Lover, that depicts the story of a man's obsessive hunt for his wife's lover during Yom Kippur War in 1973.
Aside from the wonderful sceneries in the tour to Israel like Tel Aviv Beaches and the historical sites seen when tourists travel Holy Land, literature is another honour of the land. The experience of seeing the culture through man's ingenious creation, that is literature, is indeed a great reward to have. Tour to Israel and the feel of its literature is truly the nation's pride.