Welcoming Shabbat with Adon Olam...in Margaritaville

Adon Olam is the song that marks the end of the Shabbat service in most congregations. Over the years we have posted 99 versions -- not just Ashkenazic and Sephardic interpretations, but also melodies taken from films, Broadway shows, and pop music.

Today we're sharing a version in the spirit of Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville, as interpreted by Cantor Danny Mendelson of Congregation Kol Ami, a Reform synagogue in White Plains, New York.

Enjoy, and Shabbat shalom!

Welcoming Shabbat with V'Shamru at Stephen Wise Temple in Los Angeles

V'shamru is a verse from the Torah that emphasizes the importance of observing the Sabbath. The text of the blessing is taken from the Book of Exodus (Exodus 31:16-17) and is recited as follows: “V’shamru v’nai Yisrael et haShabbat, la’asot et haShabbat l’dorotam brit olam."

In English, this translates to: “The children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant. Between Me and the children of Israel, it is a sign forever; for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed.”

Tonight we're welcoming Shabbat with a version of V'shamru sung by Danny Maseng, Cantor Emma Lutz, Dr. Tali Tadmor, the Stephen Wise Temple band, and vocal quartet. It was recorded at a Shabbat service in August 2023.

Enjoy, and Shabbat shalom!

Welcoming Shabbat with Adon Olam by Sephardic Music Interpreter Paco Diez

A versatile musician who plays guitar, zanfona (hurdy gurdy), gaita (Galician bagpipes) and countless other folk instruments, Paco Díez curates a musical instrument museum adjacent to his home in Mucientes, Castile. 

He is not only a performer, but also a scholar of Spanish folk music, and has collected songs, melodies, and rhythms from all over the Iberian peninsula, the Mediterranean, and northern Africa.

He is especially well known as a performer of Sephardic music, the heritage of Jewish people who were expelled from Spain in 1492 and dispersed into a diaspora where they maintained the Ladino language (closely related to modern Spanish). He performs all over the world, and in 2016 he was nominated for Spain’s highest honor in the arts, the Premio Princesa de Asturias de las Artes.

Today we're welcoming Shabbat with Paco Diez's interpretation of Adon Olam.

Enjoy, and Shabbat shalom!

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. 

Welcoming Shabbat with the Y-Studs and Evolution of Shabbat

The Y-Studs, the Yeshiva University a cappella group, has produced Evolution of Shabbat, a video that includes most of the Shabbat songs that we know so well. It's a follow-up to their 2017 video Evolution of Jewish Music chronicling the evolution of Jewish music from the 1600s to the present day.

 

In this just-released video, the Y-Studs sing a medley of excerpts from the Friday night Kabbalat Shabbat service, kiddush, zemirot, Shacharit, Torah reading, Musaf, Seuda Shelishit, and Havdalah.

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.

   

Welcoming Shabbat with Yedid Nefesh by the Dina and Zucker Project

Tonight we welcome Shabbat with two versions of the Kabbalat Shabbat song Yedid Nefesh combined into one. It's sung by the two principal singers of the Dina and Zucker Project.

The Dina & Zucker Project's aim is to show Ashkenazi and Sephardic dimensions of Jewish musical culture in one song. The two vocalists are, Dina Pandzarisz, world-famous singer, ambassador of Sephardic music, and Immanuel Zucker, chief cantor from Budapest.

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.