Welcoming Shabbat with Ana Bekoach and the Keshet Chaim Dancers

Ana Bekoach is one of the most powerful prayers in the Jewish religion with regard to the energetic frequency it contains within. It is not an exaggeration that it could lift you literally to the sky. Its strength lies in the unique combination of the letters. Its main goal of spiritual work is to elevate beyond the five known senses and to remind ourselves that the materialistic world is not limiting us and our awareness has the ability to go beyond substance.

Keshet Chaim (Rainbow of Life) is an American-Israeli contemporary dance company, dedicated to celebrating the inclusive spirit of Israeli culture and Judaism throughout the world. Founded in 1983 by Artistic Director Eytan Avisar, Keshet Chaim creates, develops and presents original choreography which fuses contemporary Israeli dance with Jewish folk dance traditions from across the Diaspora. They draw from the timeless themes of Jewish culture to preserve tradition and bring our stories to the stage.

Enjoy, and Shabbat shalom!

Welcoming Shabbat with Yedid Nefesh by Nurit Melamed at Machol Italia

Yedid Nefesh (Beloved of my soul) was written by Eliezer Azikri (1533-1600), a disciple of the great mystic Isaac Luria of Safed. He is the author of Sefer Haredim (the devotee's book) on Kabbalistic ethics.  

The Hasidim sing this song at the third dinner of Shabbat (Seuda shelishit), as an expression of great desire for God's closeness, a moment of great yearning for God.

Today we welcome Shabbat with a Jewish dance version of Yedid Nefesh presented by Nurit Melamed at Machol Italia 2019. It's an annual Jewish dance and culture seminar promoted by Terra di Danza, a Reggio Emilia association that deals with spreading the language of folk and ethnic dance through courses for adults, workshops in schools, shows , parties, animations, internships and research trips.

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.

Jewish Traces in Unexpected Places: Mezinke Wedding Dance in Bulgarian Swimming Pool

The Mezinke dance is a dance done at Ashkenazi weddings when a youngest child is married off, after all of the elder siblings are already married.

The parents, siblings and their spouses take part (there are both mixed and separate versions). Each dancer is armed with an ornate tinsel-decorated broom and dustpan. With these festive implements, they mime sweeping the youngest child out of the door as the dance music rises to a joyous, frenzied tempo.

The origins of the Mezinke dance are obscure, but it appears to be a Chasidic custom. There are obviously a number of politically correct reasons not to do the Mezinke dance - it may hurt the feelings of guests who have older, unmarried children, and it suggests that the parents are, heaven forbid, delighted to be offloading their youngest child.

We never expected to see the dance performed, minus the broom and dustpan, in a swimming pool in Bulgaria. But that's exactly where the video below was recorded and posted by folk dance teacher Ira Weisburd.

Enjoy!

A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO IS NOT VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY.  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.  

Jewish Traces in Unexpected Places: Just Jewish Dance in New JCC in Kiev, Ukraine

In response to the onset of World War I and the devastation it wreaked on thousands of Jewish communities in war-torn regions, the newly-formed American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) initiated massive relief projects in pre-Israel Palestine to sustain fragile communities and across Eastern Europe to support communities devastated by the war.

"The Joint," as it came to be known, is still active and was instrumental in creating the Halom Jewish Community Center (JCC), a new 17,000 square foot facility located in central Kiev. The center — a project of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee and Kiev’s Jewish community — serves as a multi-generational hub for Jewish cultural, educational, community, and social service programs and activities.

Among the activities is Just Jewish Dance, a creative program of dance set to Jewish and Israeli music. Here are some of the dancers in a graphical production of Shmor Na Aleinu. Enjoy! 

A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO IS NOT VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY.  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.