Welcoming Shabbat with Adon Olam Sung by Temple Kol Emeth to Chicago's "25 or 6 to 4"

Temple Kol Emeth, a Southern Reform congregation in suburban Atlanta, Georgia has been conducting Shabbat services with popular musical themes.

We previously posted excerpts from their Beatles Shabbat, with most of the familiar Shabbat prayers sung to famous Beatles songs. Last Shabbat the temple's Ahavat Torah Band played and sang the Kabbalat Shabbat liturgy to the melodies of Chicago.

Today we're sharing their rendition of Adon Olam, to the Chicago song 25 or 6 to 4. The original song was written by Robert Lamm, one of the founding members of the band. It was recorded in 1969 for their second album, Chicago, with Peter Cetera on lead vocals. Lamm said the song is about trying to write a song in the middle of the night. The song's title is the time at which the song is set: 25 or 26 minutes before 4 AM, i.e. 03:34 or 03:35.

The performers are Blake Singer, Cantorial Soloist and guitar, Jon Warner bass and harmony, Ira Wajsman keyboard, Wayne Menick drums, Burt Kann vocals, Gil Estes trombone, Herbie Dorfzaun sax, and Jason Rones trumpet and flugelhorn.

Enjoy and Shabbat shalom!

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Welcoming Shabbat with Shalom Aleichem at Chicago's Anshe Emet Synagogue

With Pesach in the rear view mirror, and freshly baked challah returning to our dining room tables, we're ready to welcome another Shabbat with a Kabbalat Shabbat service including Shalom Aleichem. 

After a busy week of Passover, it's time for another restful Shabbat. Today's Kabbalat Shabbat includes Shalom Aleichem, the liturgical poem that we sing on Friday evening at home before a traditional Shabbat dinner.

It's the 57th version of Shalom Aleichem that we've posted on Jewish Humor Central. This traditional version is sung by the clergy of Anshe Emet Synagogue of Chicago.

Anshe Emet is one of the oldest Conservative congregations in Chicago. Founded in 1873, Anshe Emet has a long history of being a center for Torah study, cultural activity, and Israel and social justice advocacy.

Enjoy, and Shabbat shalom!

A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.  

Tumbalalaika Around the World: Chicago's Maxwell Street Klezmer Band

The Yiddish folk love song Tumbalalaika originated in Eastern Europe in the 19th century, but its exact origin is hard to pinpoint. That hasn't prevented it from being sung and played over and over, not only in places where Yiddish songs are sung, but just about everywhere in the world, in vocal and instrumental versions, in cabarets and in the movies.

Just as we have followed the songs Hava Nagila, Adon Olam, Hevenu Shalom Aleichem, and Abanibi as they took different forms as interpreted by a wide variety of singers, musicians, and dancers, we're continuing the series today that we started back in 2012, bringing you many interpretations of this universal courting and love song.

Today we're sharing a version of Tumbalalaika by Chicago's Maxwell Street Klezmer Band. Founded in 1983 by Lori Lippitz, it's named for Chicago's old Sunday morning Jewish marketplace. 

In the years since, Maxwell Street has become the Midwest's most popular klezmer band, touring seven times in Europe and performing throughout the U.S., including Carnegie Hall. Audiences of all backgrounds have been delighted by Maxwell Street's high-energy performances that glow with warmth and humor.

Enjoy!

A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO. 

Lively Hanukkah Mashup Hits the Streets of Chicago

Elliot Dvorin and the Key Tov Orchestra are at it again. The Chicago-based wedding band likes to use the large plaza in front of a Chicago office building as a stage for their musical productions.

We have featured them before, performing a flash mob version of Hashem Melech in downtown Chicago, and with the Kol Ish a cappella singers in a bluegrass version of Yigdal.

Their latest production is a mashup of Chanukah songs old and new, sung by Dvorin and danced to by an ensemble of dancers in the streets of Chicago. The songs included are Adam Sandler's Chanukah Song, Sevivon, Ocho Candelas, Candlelight, and Chanukah oh Chanukah.

Enjoy!

(A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.)      

Chicago Dancing Flash Mob Adds New Twist to Shabbat Liturgy

Last week the complex of office buildings in Chicago's Federal Plaza was the scene of a flash mob arranged by the Key Tov Orchestra, a Chicago-based wedding band. The troupe of men and women dancers performed in front of Alexander Calder's Flamingo sculpture to the delight of passers-by.

The song that they're dancing to is Hashem Melech, popularized last year by Israeli singers Benny and Gad Elbaz. The lyrics are taken from the Ein Kamocha prayer recited in synagogue on Shabbat as the Torah is removed from the ark.

Shabbat Shalom!

(A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.)