Welcoming Shabbat with Adon Olam Sung by Rabbi Ron Li-Paz of the Valley Outreach Synagogue

The Valley Outreach Synagogue in Calabasas, California is a nondenominational house of worship and Center for Jewish Life that serves more than 2,000 Jews from some 600 families in the San Fernando Valley, Conejo Valley and Malibu-area communities.

Its spiritual leader, Rabbi Ron Li-Paz, served as its cantor for a decade before becoming its rabbi. Prior to synagogue leadership, Rabbi Li-Paz served in the United States Air Force. He subsequently completed a bachelor’s degree at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London before working in theater, television and international broadcasting for the BBC.

Today we're welcoming another Shabbat by sharing Rabbi Li-Paz's rendition, accompanied by the synagogue choir, of one of the most popular versions of Adon Olam by Uzi Hitman.

Enjoy, and Shabbat shalom!

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Welcoming Shabbat with Lecha Dodi by Shelly Fox at Temple Israel of Hollywood

Once again it's time to welcome Shabbat with Lecha Dodi, the centerpiece of the Kabbalat Shabbat evening service. Today's version is performed by Cantorial Soloist Shelly Fox of Temple Israel of Hollywood, California.

Shelly Fox has served Temple Israel of Hollywood as Cantorial Soloist since 2015 and as Music Director since 2017. Shelly is deeply interested in exploring the balance between tradition and innovation in worship music and encouraging people to discover and develop their own voice in prayer and song.

Before focusing on Classical Music, Shelly was a folk singer-songwriter in Upstate New York and Nashville, Tennessee. She enjoys bouncing between styles and in any worship service one can hear her lead the congregation in song with her guitar and also fill the room with old synagogue classics.

Enjoy, and Shabbat shalom!

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A Coronavirus Lament: Nobody Comes to the Minyan No More

Getting a quorum of ten every day for early morning or evening services has always been a problem and a subject for discussion in too many synagogues.  Since most shuls have been closed until the coronavirus crisis passes, the situation is affecting many more worshippers.

Now we have a song to add a humorous musical dimension to this unfortunate situation. It's Country Yossi's 2011 song Nobody Comes to the Minyan No More, a parody of Day-O (The Banana Boat Song), one of Harry Belafonte's most popular calypso songs in the 1950's.  

It was written by Joseph Toiv, known professionally as Country Yossi, an American Orthodox Jewish composer, singer, radio show host, author, and magazine publisher. A pioneering composer and singer in the Jewish music genre, Toiv has to his credit three albums as a member of the group Or Chodosh ("New Light") circa 1971–73, seven albums under the name Country Yossi and the Shteeble Hoppers, and a series of six albums for children called Kivi and Tuki. He also released "Country Yossi's Classic Calls" a humorous collection of actual on-air phone calls to his radio show.

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Welcoming Shabbat with a Motown Version of Shalom Aleichem

Every Friday we try to welcome Shabbat with a musical variation on the liturgical poems that comprise the Kabbalat Shabbat service. Over the years we've posted 30 versions of Shalom Aleichem, 28 versions of Lecha Dodi, 52 versions of Adon Olam, and many other renditions of familiar Shabbat melodies.

They represent all points on the Jewish spectrum, from Reform to Orthodox. But no one synagogue or group has given us more to post than the Los Angeles community known as Beit T'shuvah. In addition to regular weekly services, it's mission is to guide individuals and families towards a path of living well, so that wrestling souls can recover from addiction and learn how to properly heal.
 
The Beit T'Shuvah faith-based model, founded on authenticity and wholeness, integrates spirituality, psychotherapy, Jewish teachings, the 12 Steps, and the creative arts. They are a compassionate, supportive community, devoted to building an empowering sense of belonging and purpose to everyone who seeks it.
 
They also have a knack of fitting the familiar Shabbat tunes to different pop music genres, including, Rock and Roll, Country and Western, The Beatles, and most recently, the Motown Sound.
 
Here's an excerpt from last week's service with the shul band welcoming Shabbat with Lecha Dodi set to the 1961 Motown song Please Mr. Postman, the debut single by the Marvelettes and the first Motown song to reach the number-one position on the Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart. 

Please Mr. Postman became a number-one hit again in early 1975 when the Carpenters' cover of the song reached the top position of the Billboard Hot 100. It has been covered several times, including by The Beatles in 1963.
 
Enjoy and Shabbat shalom!

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Welcoming Shabbat with Anim Zemirot by the UK Shabbaton Choir

London's Shabbaton Choir first took to the stage in 1986 as the B’nai Brith Festival Singers. It was formed by a young and talented musician, Stephen Glass, who sought a modern alternative to traditional choral music and composed new arrangements that brought out the mood and meaning of the prayers. 

In 1989 Lionel Rosenfeld, who had returned from Jerusalem to become Chazan of Marble Arch Synagogue, was introduced to Stephen Glass by Chazan Naftali Herstik. Lionel & Stephen found that they shared a common interest in developing innovative Friday night and Shabbat morning choral services, so that prayers that too often were said and sung as if by rote could be given new life. 

And so after six months of composing and rehearsing, the renamed Shabbaton Choir under Stephen Glass held its first ever Choral Shabbaton in April 1990 with Chazan Rosenfeld, at the Marble Arch Synagogue. Stephen & Lionel then continued to compose new music for Choral Selichot services.

Lionel has been joined over the years by Chazanim Steve Robins, Robert Brody, Shimon Craimer, Steven Leas, Jonathan Murgraff and, for the past thirteen years, by Jonny Turgel. Every year until his retirement, Chief Rabbi Sacks would set the mood with an inspirational address before the Service.

 

Anim Z'mirot is the Shabbaton Choir's newest album and was released in January 2016 to mark its 25th Anniversary. The title track, written by Musical Director Stephen Levey, features the Shabbaton Choir singing with children from Hertsmere Jewish Primary School as well as Chazanim Shimon Craimer, Lionel Rosenfeld and Jonny Turgel. It was recorded on Sunday 10 May 2015 at JCoSS in London.

Enjoy, and Shabbat shalom! 

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Welcoming Shabbat with Adon Olam by Cantor Azi Schwartz

With another Shabbat rapidly approaching, we're giving it a special welcome with the 48th version of Adon Olam that we've posted on Jewish Humor Central. This one is sung by Cantor Azi Schwartz of New York's Park Avenue Synagogue.

The tune used is Hashem Melech, another popular melody from the liturgy. Enjoy, and Shabbat shalom!

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Welcoming Shabbat with Adon Olam in a Hungarian Synagogue

We have been posting versions of Adon Olam from all over the world, 43 so far. Every week we search the Internet for new interpretations of this classic Shabbat morning hymn. 

And today we're posting our 44th Adon Olam, this one from the Leo Frankel Synagogue in Budapest, Hungary. The occasion was a festive concert on September 3, the 130th birthday of the Synagogue.

There are 400 seats in the synagogue that was built in 1888. In the 1920’s a block building was built around it to protect it. It's a Neolog synagogue which is the mainstream denomination in Hungary. It’s somewhere between Conservative and Modern Orthodox.

– Men and women sit separated but without a mechitzah.
– It is not egalitarian: women are not counted to the minyan neither called for aliyah.
– Most congregants celebrate rather than keep Shabbat.

And they are very enthusiastic, as you can see from the joyous singing of Adon Olam.

Enjoy, and Shabbat shalom!

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Welcoming Shabbat with Adon Olam at Touro Synagogue Jazz Fest in New Orleans

From its beginning in 1828, New Orleans' Touro Synagogue has evolved through changes in location, liturgy, clergy leadership, and the way New Orleans Jews view their religion.

 The synagogue bears the name of Judah Touro, son of Isaac Touro, the cantor who founded the oldest synagogue in the United States in Newport, Rhode Island in 1763.

With historic roots and a progressive heart, Touro Synagogue is a community that is filled with beautiful contradictions – a grand, historic sanctuary and an intimate, embracing chapel; an active group of knowledgeable sages and a vibrant young adult community; a love of enduring Jewish traditions and a drive for spiritual innovation and forward motion; a commitment to the inner life of the congregational family and a constant energetic force that engages with the renewal of greater New Orleans.

In 1991, Touro decided to invite guest musicians and a Jazz band to create the first Jazz Fest Shabbat, a special tribute to one of New Orleans’ greatest traditions, the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. Since then, this unique and nationally recognized worship fills the historic main sanctuary each year. Special guests have included Ellis Marsalis, Jeremy Davenport, Henry Butler, Theresa Andersson, Kermit Ruffins and his Barbecue Swingers, Marcia Ball, Allen Toussaint, Irma Thomas, John Boutté, Dr. Michael White, the Joe Krown Trio with Walter Wolfman Washington and Russell Batiste, Jr., and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band. Each of them has added their own unique talents, making Jazz Fest Shabbat special every year.

Here's the congregation singing Adon Olam to When the Saints Go Marchin' In at the 2018 Jazz Fest Shabbat in May 2018.

Enjoy and Shabbat shalom!

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Welcoming Shabbat with "Yedid Nefesh" by Los Angeles Cantor Shira Fox

Yedid Nefesh is a piyyut (poem) usually sung on Friday night just before the Kabbalat Shabbat (Welcoming Shabbat) service begins.
 
According to Wikipedia, this beautiful poem is commonly attributed to the sixteenth century kabbalist, Rabbi Elazar ben Moshe Azikri (1533-1600), who first published it in Sefer Charedim (published in Venice 1601), but Azikri did not claim authorship of it and there have been other suggested authors (e.g. Judah Halevi, or Israel Nagara).  
The first letters of each of the four verses make up the four letter name of God, known in English as the tetragrammaton.

The lead singer in this video is Cantor Shira Fox, the daughter of two Los Angeles cantors -- Herschel Fox, the Yiddish stand-up comedian we profiled in 2011 and his wife Judy, the cantor in the Synagogue for the Performing Arts in Los Angeles (where Joseph Telushkin is the rabbi). In this video she is joined by Deborah Jenkofsky.

This version of Yedid Nefesh was sung last month at Beit T'shuvah, a Los Angeles based synagogue community with a mission to guide individuals and families towards a path of living well, so that wrestling souls can recover from addiction and learn how to properly heal.

They also have a band, and in 2015 they recorded a Beatles Shabbat service with all the familiar songs in the Friday night liturgy sung to some of the most popular Beatles songs. We previously posted their version of Lecha Dodi set to Let it Be and V'Shamru set to Hey Jude.
   
Beit T'shuvah is led by Rabbi Mark Borovitz, described on the synagogue website as "spiritual leader, author, Senior Rabbi, ex-con, recovering alcoholic, and overall anomaly."

Enjoy and Shabbat shalom!

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Unexpected Traces in Jewish Places: Welcoming Shabbat with Operatic Versions of Adon Olam

Last Friday, congregants of the Park Avenue Synagogue in New York experienced an unusual conclusion to the Kabbalat Shabbat service.

Peter Gelb, General Manager of the Metropolitan Opera, attended the service, so Cantor Azi Schwartz took some operatic license and and paid tribute to the greatest operatic high tenor arias, incorporating them into his version of Adon Olam.

If you recognize the arias and the operas they come from, please share the information in the comments section below this post.

Here's one to start: La Donna e Mobile, from Verdi's Rigoletto.
And the others????

Enjoy, and Shabbat shalom!


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Welcoming Shabbat with a Liverpool Version of Shalom Aleichem

Last month the Friday evening service at Congregation Shir Shalom in Buffalo, New York welcomed Shabbat with traditional lyrics, and music by the Beatles.

Congregation Shir Shalom is a merged Reform and Reconstructionist synagogue, the first in the world. They are diverse, multigenerational and inclusive of traditional, non-traditional and interfaith couples.

The service included traditional parts of the Friday night service, set to familiar Beatles tunes. In the video below, the congregation sings Shalom Aleichem set to the Beatles song With the Help of My Friends.

If you don't remember the Beatles' original version, the video appears below, after Shalom Aleichem.

Enjoy and Shabbat shalom.

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Welcoming Shabbat with L'cha Dodi at Sinai Temple in Los Angeles

Last year we started a new Friday tradition at Jewish Humor Central of posting a new version of L'cha Dodi, Shalom Aleichem, or Adon Olam to welcome Shabbat. Some of the melodies are new, some are familiar, and some are sung in places that you wouldn't expect. 

This week we didn't have to travel too far to find an energetic version of L'cha Dodi sung at Sinai Temple, the first Conservative congregation in Southern California. 

This version of L'cha Dodi, led by Cantor Marcus Friedman with music by Daniel Raijman, was taken from a live recording on Shabbat Shirah, Friday January 22nd 2016 at Sinai Temple in Los Angeles.

Enjoy and Shabbat shalom!

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Shai Abramson, IDF Chief Cantor, Sings Unetaneh Tokef and Central Synagogue's Angela Buchdahl Sings B'Rosh Hashana

Tonight Jews all around the world will gather in synagogues to usher in Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish year with the Kol Nidrei prayer.

Tomorrow synagogues will be filled for most of the day with congregants saying the traditional prayers in the Yom Kippur liturgy. The focal point of the day's service is Unetaneh Tokef, a two-part liturgical poem, said to have been composed either in the 11th century or the 8th century.

This video clip of the opening prayer was produced especially for the Jewish High Holidays. It shows IDF chief cantor Shai Abramson and IDF soldiers singing it in the Great Synagogue in Tel Aviv. 

The video features footage of the Yom Kippur War and one of its heroes, Brig. Gen. (res.) Avigdor Kahalani, who was a battalion commander in the Armored Brigade, fought in the battle of the Valley of Tears and was awarded a Medal of Valor.

The second part of the prayer, B'rosh Hashana, is sung in the video below by Angela Warnick Buchdahl, the rabbi and cantor of the Central Synagogue in New York.

We'll be at services all day tomorrow and back with more Jewish humor on Thursday. 

May we all be inscribed and sealed for a happy and healthy Year.

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Adon Olam Around the World - A New Version from Mechon Hadar

Mechon Hadar is an educational institution in New York that empowers Jews to create and sustain vibrant, practicing, egalitarian communities of Torah learning, prayer, and service.

On one night in January, a twenty-five person spontaneous Jewish choir came to the choir loft at the Kane Street Synagogue in Brooklyn to sing a new version of Adon Olam by Joey Weisenberg, Mechon Hadar's Creative Director of the Center for Jewish Communal Music.

It's a version of Adon Olam that we haven't heard before, and we suspect it's new to you too. But like many synagogue mainstays, Adon Olam comes in many different flavors. We hope you'll like this one as we welcome another Shabbat.

Enjoy and Shabbat shalom!

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Adon Olam Around the World - A Spoonful of Sugar in Boca Raton

 

If your synagogue is anything like ours, the Shabbat service ends with Adon Olam.  This is usually led by a prepubescent boy with questionable pitch, key, and general singing ability.

This is good for the kid educationally, and should be encouraged.  Musically, however, it's not always the best way to lift spirits for the rest of Shabbat and the week ahead.

But it's not that way around the world.  Adon Olam has become a staple of many singers, choruses, bands, and other musical troupes, both in synagogue and on the concert stage.

Back in 2010 we started a new series, presenting renditions of Adon Olam from performers worldwide, including traditional and eclectic versions.  Since then we have posted 19 different versions to provide you with a fun way to start Shabbat. 

Today we find ourselves back in the USA, at Congregation B'nai Israel in Boca Raton, Florida, where as part of an annual Chocolate Shabbat Cantor Stephanie Shore led a version of Adon Olam set to the tune of A Spoonful of Sugar from the movie Mary Poppins. We can only hope that it helped the cholent go down...in a most delightful way.

Enjoy and Shabbat shalom!


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Weekend Standup Comedy Bonus: Dr. Ed Yisroel Susskind Delivers an 19 Minute Joke Set

We've posted standup comedy routines by a lot of comedians, old and new. But Dr. Ed Yisroel Susskind was an unexpected find for Jewish Humor Central.

We learned that you can't tell a comedian by his or her looks. Dr. Susskind is a case in point. A quick look at him and you expect to hear a d'var Torah - a Biblical lesson, not a succession of old, tried and true jokes. 

But Dr. Susskind, a clinical psychologist, marital therapist and wannabe comedian, was following through on an invitation by Rabbi Pesach Burston of Chabad of Orange County, New York to do an evening of standup comedy.

The jokes in this 19-minute set deal with aspects of being Jewish, Jewish culture, the Jewish mindset, and Jewish religious life.

Enjoy!

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A New Version of Lecha Dodi at New York's Central Synagoue

The song Lecha Dodi is a central part of the Friday night synagogue service of all Jewish denominations all over the world. 

With all of the services that we've attended over the years, we thought we'd heard them all. And we probably have. But musical talent is emerging  in places that we haven't attended. 

The Internet and YouTube have been instrumental in introducing new music to people who otherwise would not have been exposed to it.

In looking for video clips to share with you in welcoming Shabbat each Friday, we discovered this new one that premiered last year at the Central Synagogue in Manhattan. It was composed by Elana Arian, who plays the guitar and sings it together with Associate Cantor Julia Cadrain and Senior Rabbi Angela Buchdahl.

Enjoy and Shabbat Shalom!

Unexpected Traces in Jewish Places: Lecha Dodi (Let it Be) at a Beatles Shabbat in Los Angeles

Beit T'shuvah is a Los Angeles based community with a mission to guide individuals and families towards a path of living well, so that wrestling souls can recover from addiction and learn how to properly heal.
 
The Beit T'Shuvah faith-based model, founded on authenticity and wholeness, integrates spirituality, psychotherapy, Jewish teachings, the 12 Steps, and the creative arts. They are a compassionate, supportive community, devoted to building an empowering sense of belonging and purpose to everyone who seeks it.
 
They also have a band, and last month they recorded a Beatles Shabbat service with all the familiar songs in the Friday night liturgy sung to some of the most popular Beatles songs.

Here's an excerpt from the service with the shul band welcoming Shabbat with Lecha Dodi set to Let it Be.

Enjoy and Shabbat shalom!

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The Actors' Temple - A Home for Both Theater and Religious Services

Where in New York can you find a cool shul with warm people that caters to comedians and actors? At 339 West 47th Street. It's the Actors' Temple.

Ezrath Israel was originally established as a Jewish Community Center in 1917 by the West Side Hebrew Relief Association, a group of Orthodox Jewish shop owners. The area was known for its busy steamship ports, however, the entertainment business eventually became one of the biggest industries in this part of town. As show business grew, so did the number of congregants, and it became the place of worship for many prominent actors and performers, including Sophie Tucker and Shelley Winters.

The Actors' Temple continued to thrive until shortly after WWII when people in the industry began journeying across the country to Hollywood. The synagogue then found its membership slowly decreasing. By 2005, there were only twelve members left in the congregation. A year later, when Jill Hausman became the rabbi, she found herself resuscitating what had once been a proud shul. Rabbi Hausman was pleased to report to us that in the eight years that she has been there, membership has increased to about 150, a marked improvement. Still, she has hope that the Actors' Temple will continue to grow. “We are a well-kept secret,” she says, “but we don’t need to be.”

To help maintain the synagogue, the sanctuary is shared with an Off Broadway theater company that performs on their “stage,” just a few feet in front of their sacred arc and collection of eleven torahs. Today, Rabbi Hausman welcomes all denominations of Judaism, even those who are “on the fringes of society.” She is a warm, sweet, bright woman who not only has her door open to everyone, but her heart as well. She emphasizes the importance of love and acceptance in her sermons and is adamant that the Actors' Temple is a “no-guilt synagogue.” People should come if they feel compelled to pray – Rabbi Hausman’s only goal is to have them leave with a desire to return.



Members of the Actors' Temple have included Sophie Tucker, Red Buttons, Al Jolson, Milton Berle, Henny Youngman, Eddie Cantor, Shelley Winters, Edward G. Robinson, and the Three Stooges.

If you walk into their Shabbat service, you'll probably hear something like this version of Adon Olam.

Enjoy and Shabbat shalom!

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Unexpected Traces in Jewish Places: Adon Olam (Pharrell Williams' "Happy") in Paris Synagogue

Since Pharrell Williams' hit song Happy was nominated for an Academy Award in 2014, it's been the basis for many parodies. We posted a few, including exuberant dance moves by residents of Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, and Efrat.

We even posted a Sukkah hop version of the song last month. But we were unprepared for its appearance as the melody for a new version of Adon Olam in the La Victoire Great Synagogue in Paris.

This is a video that we just had to post because it fits perfectly into two series that we've been running over the last few years, Adon Olam Around the World and Unexpected Traces in Jewish Places.

So if you feel especially happy as you leave your synagogue tomorrow, why not surprise your friends by launching into a few choruses of this up to date version of a Shabbat classic?

If you missed the performance of the original Happy song at the 2014 Oscar awards show, you can see it by clicking here.

Enjoy and Shabbat shalom!

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