Welcoming Shabbat with Yedid Nefesh by Rabbi Josh Warshawsky

This week we welcome Shabbat with a new version of Yedid Nefesh by Rabbi Josh Warshawsky.  

Rabbi Josh Warshawsky is a nationally touring Jewish musician, songleader, and composer. Originally from Chicago, Josh has shared his original melodies with over 100 Jewish communities throughout the US, Canada, the UK, and Israel. He has released four albums of Jewish music with a fifth on the way in 2022, and he has been featured on six Jewish music anthology publications in the last six years.

Yedid Nefesh is a love poem. It is the opening of the Friday night service (Kabbalat Shabbat), where we welcome the Shabbat Queen into our homes, communities, and into our very souls. The melody itself is intended to invoke this feeling of love and yearning. 

The way the melody works is the niggun (wordless melody) first, and then the verse melody is for the first two lines of each stanza. The niggun line comes back in with the words of the last line of each stanza, and then continues as a niggun in between verses. 

The last verse has a sense of urgency to it… the last line, “Maher ahuv, ki va moed,” means, “hurry, my love! The time has come!” and it leads us into the niggun (melody) again, with renewed strength. 

Lyrics יְדִיד נֶֽפֶשׁ, אָב הָרַחְמָן, מְשֹׁךְ עַבְדָּךְ אֶל־רְצוֹנָךְ, אֶל־רְצוֹנָךְ יָרוּץ עַבְדָּךְ כְּמוֹ אַיָּל, יִשְׁתַּחֲוֶה אֶל מוּל הֲדָרָךְ, מוּל הֲדָרָךְ, יֶעֱרַב־לוֹ יְדִידוּתָךְ מִנֹּֽפֶת צוּף וְכָל־טָֽעַם. הָדוּר, נָאֶה, זִיו הָעוֹלָם, נַפְשִׁי חוֹלַת אַהֲבָתָךְ, אַהֲבָתָךְ אָנָּא, אֵל, נָא, רְפָא־נָא לָהּ בְּהַרְאוֹת לָהּ נֹֽעַם זִיוָךְ, נֹֽעַם זִיוָךְ, אָז תִּתְחַזֵּק וְתִתְרַפֵּא, וְהָיְתָה לָךְ שִׁפְחַת עוֹלָם. וָתִיק, יֶהֱמוּ רַחֲמֶֽיךָ, וְחוּס־נָא עַל־בֵּן אוֹהֲבָךְ, עַל־בֵּן אוֹהֲבָךְ, כִּי זֶה כַּמָּה נִכְסֹף נִכְסַף לִרְאוֹת בְּתִפְאֶֽרֶת עֻזָּךְ, תִפְאֶֽרֶת עֻזָּךְ אָנָּא, אֵלִי, מַחְמַד לִבִּי, חֽוּשָׁה־נָּא וְאַל תִּתְעַלָּם. הִגָּלֶה־נָא וּפְרֹשׂ, חָבִיב, עָלַי אֶת־סֻכַּת שְׁלוֹמָךְ, סֻכַּת שְׁלוֹמָךְ, תָּאִיר אֶֽרֶץ מִכְּבוֹדָךְ, נָגִֽילָה וְנִשְׂמְחָה בָּךְ, וְנִשְׂמְחָה בָּךְ. מַהֵר, אָהוּב, כִּי בָא מוֹעֵד, וְחָנֵּֽנִי כִּימֵי עוֹלָם. 

Yedid nefesh, Av harachaman, meshoch avdach el Retzonach. Yarutz avdach kemo ayal, Yishtachave mul hadarach. Ye’erav lo yedidutach, minofet tsuf vechol ta’am. 

Hadoor naeh ziv haolam, nafshi cholat ahavatach. Anah El nah refah nah lah, B’harot lah noam zivach, Az titchazek v’titrapeh, v’hay’tah lah shifchat olam. 

Vatik yehemoo rachamecha v’chus na al ben ohavach. ki zeh kamah nichsof nichsaf, lir’ot betiferet oozach. Anah Eyli, machmad leebee, chooshah nah v’al titalam. 

Higaleh nah uf’ros chaviv alai, et sukkat shelomach. Tair eretz mikevodach, nagilah v’nismechah bach. Maher ahoov, ki va moed, v’choneni kimei olam.

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 Lecha Dodi by Josh Warshawsky

Lecha Dodi is a liturgical poem written by Shlomo Halevi Alkabetz. The first letter of each stanza spells out the author’s name. It is a poem of love, commitment, hope, and Shabbat. We have shared 22 versions of this Kabbalat Shabbat song and we keep finding new ones.

This version is by Josh Warshawsky, created while he was the artist-in-residence at Temple Beth Am in Los Angeles. The young Jews in their 20s and 30s who came to his apartment on Corning Street. They embraced the melody and even after the building was torn down to build a new school, it is remembered as the Corning Street Niggun.

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 An'im Zemirot by Josh Warshawsky

Josh Warshawsky has shared his original melodies with Jewish communities throughout the country. His first full-length album, “Mah Rabu”, features such hits as “Mah Rabu”, “Kol B’Ramah”, and “V’ahavta”, which can be heard at Ramah and URJ summer camps as well as at NFTY and USY conventions across the country.

Josh is currently in Rabbinical school at the Ziegler school of Rabbinic Studies in Los Angeles, and he has spent the last two years as the artist-in-residence and music specialist at Temple Beth Am and Pressman Academy in Los Angeles, CA, where he brought new musical energy to children and adults of all ages. He has transformed his home into a much-needed space in the LA area for Jews in their 20s and 30s of all denominations to celebrate Shabbat and holidays together.
 He is a graduate of Columbia University and the Jewish Theological Seminary with BAs in Religion, Talmud and Rabbinics.

Josh is currently on the faculty of Songleader Boot Camp, where he helped to create a special track to bring together Ramah songleaders for the first time. Over the last six years, Josh has worked as the musician in residence at USY’s international convention, leading ruach, song sessions, and writing original music for the last two conventions.

This summer, he will be embarking on his second Jewish Summer Camp Tour, spending a week to a month in residency teaching and sharing music and Tefillah at Ramah Ojai, Ramah Wisconsin, Ramah Nyack, Ramah in Northern California, and Ramah in the Berkshires.

Anim Zemirot, sung during the Shabbat service, is given a new melody in this excerpt from Josh's album Chaverai Nevarech. 

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.




אַנְעִים זְמִירוֹת וְשִׁירִים אֶאֱרֹג
כִּי אֵלֶיךָ נַפְשִׁי תַּעֲרֹג
נַפְשִׁי חַמְּדָה בְּצֵל יָדֶךָ⁠
לָדַעַת כָּל רָז סוֹדֶךָ⁠

ANIM ZEMIROT V’SHIRIM E’EROG
KI EILECHA NAFSHI TA’AROG
NAFSHI CHAMDA B’TZEL YADECHA
LADA’AT KOL RAZ SODECHA

I will pleasantly sing melodies and weave songs,
For my soul longs for you.
My soul finds comfort in the shade of your palm,
Discovering your endless depths and mysteries
      -Rav Yehudah Hachassid