Yom Kippur Starts Tonight - Cantor Yitzchak Meir Helfgot Sings Kol Nidrei

Every year when Yom Kippur comes around, we search the internet for something appropriate to post. Jokes just aren't right for the most serious and spiritual day of the Jewish year, and the music videos that appear in the weeks before the other holidays either don't appear for Yom Kippur or seem inappropriate for the awesomeness of the day.

So we're left with Kol Nidrei, which has been sung and recorded by almost every cantor and singer in the world, including the great Jewish cantors and popular singers such as Neil Diamond, Johnny Mathis, and Perry Como.


Most of our readers will hear Kol Nidre chanted three times tonight when they attend their local house of worship, and the melody will be the same, regardless of whether it's Orthodox, Conservative, or Reform. Today we're posting a version of this traditional start to Yom Kippur because some of our readers can't get to their shul, synagogue, or temple because of illness or physical limitations.

This year we're sharing a version by Cantor Yitzchak Meir Helfgot, Chief Cantor of New York's Park East Synagogue. 

Admired for his incredible range, Chief Cantor Yitzchak Meir Helfgot is beloved and revered as one of the greatest and most important cantorial voices of the 21st century. He enthralls audiences all over the world with his passion and unbounded joy in bringing sacred Jewish music and opera classics to life.

Cantor Helfgot was born in Tel Aviv, Israel. From the tender age of five, after hearing Moshe Koussevitzky’s recording of “Akavia Ben Mahalalel,” Yitzchak Meir knew what his life’s calling would be. At just eight years old, Cantor Helfgot recorded his first works, and then spent much of his childhood and teenage years studying voice and nussach (the art of prayer).

We hope this melody puts you in the proper mood to experience a meaningful day of prayer and reflection. G'mar Chatimah Tovah! 

Welcoming Shabbat with a Dolly Parton Influenced Lecha Dodi at Houston's Congregation Beth Yeshurun

Dolly Parton, the American singer-songwriter, actress and businesswoman who died last week in Nashville had a profound impact on the education of Jewish children worldwide. In 1995 she founded the Imagination Library in honor of her father, who never learned to read or write. It mails one book per month to each enrolled child from the time of their birth until they enter kindergarten. 

The idea inspired Jewish philanthropist Harold Grinspoon to take the concept even further by creating PJ Library using Parton's model to mail free, high-quality books directly to Jewish children, adapting it to focus on Jewish stories, values, and traditions for families worldwide. 

The PJ Library team selects an age-appropriate board book, picture book, or early chapter book every month for kids ages 0 to 8. Older readers ages 9 to 12 get to choose their own middle-grade book each month from a selection of fiction, nonfiction, and graphic novels.

At Congregation Beth Yeshurun in Houston last Friday night, Cantor Rachel Goldman paid tribute to Parton by singing Lecha Dodi to her song, 9 to 5.

Enjoy, and Shabbat shalom!

Welcoming Shabbat with Oseh Shalom as Sung by Cantor Daniel Mutlu of New York's Central Synagogue

Cantor Daniel Mutlu was called to serve as Senior Cantor of Central Synagogue in 2017. Cantor Mutlu is a first-generation American born to Turkish Jewish parents.

 Raised in Worcester, Massachusetts, Cantor Mutlu attended the Yeshiva Academy Achei Tmimim where he forged a strong Jewish identity and a broad religious perspective.

Cantor Mutlu proudly represented Central Synagogue at the 2019 URJ Biennial in Chicago where he led Friday evening Shabbat services for nearly 5,000 worshippers.

Today we join Cantor Mutlu in welcoming another Shabbat with Oseh Shalom.

Enjoy, and Shabbat shalom!

Welcoming Shabbat with Yedid Nefesh at Beth Torah Benny Rok Campus in North Miami Beach

Today we welcome Shabbat with Annie singing Yedid Nefesh at Beth Torah Benny Rok Campus, a Conservative synagogue in North Miami Beach, Florida. 

There is a custom to sing Yedid Nefesh between Mincha (afternoon prayer) on Friday and the beginning of Kabbalat Shabbat (literally: receiving or greeting the Sabbath—a collection of psalms usually sung to welcome in the Shabbat Queen. This custom is believed to have begun in the second half of the 20th century. 

Shabbat shalom!

Welcoming Shabbat with a Nigerian Version of Adon Olam

This is a super fun melody from Nigeria, taught to Cantor Jacob Agar of Beth Shalom Congregation of Elkins Park, Pennsylvania by Moshe Hezekiah, a Hazzan from the Abuja Jewish community of Nigeria. Cantor Agar notated and arranged the melody for this rendition of Adon Olam. 

There are currently four Igbo Jewish synagogues in Abuja: Gihon Synagogue, headed by Elder Ovadia Agbai; Tikvat Israel Synagogue, headed by Sar Habakkuk Nwafor; Plant for the Growth of Israel Synagogue, headed by Remy Ilona; and Igbo Israel Heritage Synagogue, headed by Dr. Michael Caliben. All four congregations have been studying and practicing Judaism for some years. 

Enjoy, and Shabbat shalom!

Welcoming Shabbat with a Jazzy V'Shamru by Cantor Sydney Michaeli of Virginia's Temple Rodef Shalom

Temple Rodef Shalom is a Reform Jewish congregation located in the Northern Virginia suburbs just outside Washington, DC. Since its founding in 1962, it has grown into the largest Jewish congregation in Virginia, serving over 1,800 households from close–by communities like McLean, Arlington, Falls Church, and Vienna.

Cantor Sydney Michaeli served for two years as the Student Cantor at Temple Shaaray Tefila, and two years as the Cantorial Intern at Park Avenue Synagogue, both on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. While in school, Cantor Michaeli was a JDC Weitzman Fellow for Global Jewish Leadership and a UJA Federation Graduate Fellow. She has led multiple Birthright trips and participated in the iCenter’s Birthright Israel Fellowship. Cantor Michaeli was ordained from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in May 2023 upon completing her thesis and recital about the intersection of baroque oratorio and Jewish music. 

Today we join Temple Rodef Shalom in welcoming Shabbat with a jazzy version of V'Shamru, part of the Friday evening service.

Enjoy, and Shabbat shalom!

Welcoming Shabbat with Lecha Dodi as Sung by Coleen Dieker and Clergy of Temple Israel in Michigan

Coleen Dieker isn’t your typical Jewish soul singer.

As Uriel Heilman wrote in The Jerusalem Post, 

A Korean-American musical prodigy who plays everything from violin to guitar to piano, Dieker was raised in a devout Catholic home where she played church music every Sunday with her three siblings.

But after a rebellious stint in her 20s in which she struggled with addiction and depression and gave up religion, Dieker stumbled into an unusual gig with a traveling Jewish prayer band in Kansas City.

Dieker got sucked into the world of bar mitzvahs, Jewish holidays and Shabbat, and before she knew it was rediscovering spirituality – this time from a Jewish vantage point.

Dieker started working at a Reform synagogue in 2012 as a pianist, quickly picking up Hebrew and helping lead songs during services. A year later she became the musical director at The Temple-Congregation B’nai Jehuda in Overland Park, Kansas, working with the rabbi to redesign the congregation’s High Holiday services.

Her interest in Judaism deepened, and she took her first trip to Israel.

On Hanukkah 2016 she formally converted to Judaism. She chose for herself the Hebrew name Rafaela Zimra.

In this video, Dieker joins the clergy of Temple Israel in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan in welcoming Shabbat in a most unusual way with Lecha Dodi.

Enjoy, and Shabbat shalom! 

Throwback Thursday Tisha B'Av Special: Don McLean Sings "Waters of Babylon" ("Al Naharot Bavel") in 1975

If you were expecting a joke today, we're sorry to disappoint you. Today is Tisha B'Av, an annual fast day in Judaism which commemorates the destruction of the First and Second Temples in Jerusalem and the subsequent exile of the Jews from the Land of Israel.

The day also commemorates other tragedies which occurred on the same day, including the Roman massacre of over 100,000 Jews at Betar in 132 CE. Instituted by the rabbis of 2nd-century Palestine, Tisha B'Av is regarded as the saddest day in the Jewish calendar, a day in which all pleasurable activity is forbidden, and is marked by synagogue attendance the night before and during the day. But that doesn't mean there's no singing, or more accurately, chanting.

The highlight of the day's service is the chanting of the megillah of Eicha (Lamentations), written by the prophet Jeremiah. Eicha is read in synagogues and in groups meeting indoors and outdoors.

If Eicha's dirge-like melody and mournful lyrics don't speak to you, there's another musical way to get into the mood. In 1975 Don McLean performed his hit song Babylon in front of a live audience in Dublin and had them singing along with him. The lyrics are just perfect for Tisha B'Av, adapted from Psalm 137 in Tehilim (The Book of Psalms). 

עַ֥ל נַהֲר֨וֹת ׀ בָּבֶ֗ל
שָׁ֣ם יָ֭שַׁבְנוּ גַּם־בָּכִ֑ינוּ
בְּ֝זׇכְרֵ֗נוּ
אֶת־צִיּֽוֹן׃

By the rivers of Babylon,
there we sat and also wept,
as we remembered Zion. 

 

   #Throwback Thursday     #TBT

Welcoming Shabbat with V'Shamru at Ottawa's Kehillat Beth Israel Congregation

Kehillat Beth Israel is simultaneously Ottawa’s oldest and newest congregation. While its legacy congregations have more than 100 years of history, Kehillat Beth Israel Congregation was founded on July 1st, 2016 through the amalgamation of Agudath Israel Congregation and Congregation Beth Shalom. The congregation has become “stronger together” and has become a flagship congregation for Canada’s National Capital Region.

A native of Montreal, Canada, Cantor Jason Green (lyric tenor) began singing at age 6 as a child soprano in his Synagogue’s choir.  He became its conductor at age 15, under the tutelage of Stephen Glass. He continued his vocal development and knowledge of repertoire by joining the Shaar Hashomayim Synagogue Choir in 1992, soon afterwards becoming its associate conductor. 

In this video Cantor Green sings V'Shamru, part of the Friday night service.

Enjoy, and Shabbat shalom!

Welcoming Shabbat in South Africa with Lecha Dodi by Singer Leigh Nudelman

Leigh Nudelman is an Ashkenazi South African Jewish singer, who is single-handedly reviving Yiddish music in Johannesburg. A fourth generation South African, Leigh eloquently describes the power of Yiddish to connect her to her ancestors, just as she expresses the struggles and joys of being Jewish in South Africa today.

In this video, Nudelman and her Beis Clef ensemble sing the traditional Kabbalat Shabbat song Lecha Dodi. Beis Clef is a Johannesburg-based Jewish community that explores Jewish identity through music, ritual and creative expression. Their monthly Friday night gatherings bring together traditional liturgy, contemporary arrangements and communal singing in an intimate home setting.

Enjoy, and Shabbat shalom!

Welcoming Shabbat with Adon Olam as Sung by Cantor Marcus Feldman of Temple Sinai in LA

Recognized as one of “The Top Five Best New Voices in Jewish Music” by The Forward, Marcus Feldman is the Senior Cantor of Sinai Temple in West Los Angeles.

His voice has been heard at Dodger Stadium, The Getty Center, and all over the world via his YouTube channel. Training in opera as a tenor, Cantor Feldman graduated from the University of Southern California’s Thorton School of Music and the Marshall School of Business as a Renaissance Scholar in 2007.

Ordained as a cantor in 2011 at the Academy for Jewish Religion, California, Cantor Feldman holds a Master’s of Jewish Sacred Music degree from the same institution, where he now serves as a Professor of Cantorial & Liturgical Studies. During his Cantorial studies, Cantor Feldman spent half a year in Jerusalem, Israel, studying Hazzanut with Cantor Naftali Herstik, formerly of the Great Synagogue of Jerusalem, and taking courses at Hebrew University and the Conservative Yeshiva.

This rousing version of Adon Olam by Aminadav Aloni brings a vibrant rhythmic energy to the traditional closing prayer.  

Welcoming Shabbat with Adon Olam to "Summer Nights" at Temple Rodef Shalom

Tonight we welcome another Shabbat with the singing of Adon Olam by the congregation of Temple Rodef Shalom, a Reform shul in Falls Church, Virginia. The congregation welcomes the start of summer with an outdoor service called Hot Shabbat. 

Last week they started the summer season with a version of Adon Olam set to the song Summer Nights from the Broadway show and movie Grease.

Enjoy, and Shabbat shalom! 

Welcoming Shabbat with Eshet Chayil Sung by Yeshivah of Flatbush Elementary School Choir

Traditionally sung on Friday night during Shabbat dinner, Eshet Chayil (A Woman of Valor) is a tribute to the strength, beauty, and dignity of righteous women. 

Eishet Chayil is a twenty-two verse poem with which King Solomon concludes the book of Proverbs (Proverbs 31). The poem has an acrostic arrangement in which the verses begin with the letters of the Hebrew alphabet in regular order. The poem describes the woman of valor as one who are is energetic, righteous, and capable.

This version is sung by the Yeshivah of Flatbush Elementary School Choir.

Shabbat shalom!

Welcoming Shabbat with Lecha Dodi at the New Orleans Jazz Festival Shabbat

Tonight we welcome Shabbat with a version of Lecha Dodi sung by two cantors from two Reform synagogues in New Orleans. 

This Lecha Dodi was recorded earlier this month at a Jazz Festival Shabbat at New Orleans' Touro Synagogue. The singers are Touro's Cantor Kevin Margolius and Cantor Rebecca Garfein from nearby Temple Sinai.

Shabbat Shalom!

Welcoming Shabbat with Yedid Nefesh - as Sung in the Israeli City of Tzfat (Safed)

Yedid Nefesh (Friend of the Soul) 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). Azikri's philosophy centered around the intense love one must feel for God, a theme that is evident in this piyyut. The first letters of each of the four verses make up the four letter name of God, known in English as the tetragrammaton.

This version of Yedid Nefesh was sung two weeks ago by a group of Chasidim at the grave of Rabbi Elazar Azikri in the Israeli city of Tzfat (Safed).

Shabbat shalom! 

Welcoming Shabbat with Lecha Dodi Sung by Students of the Efrata School in Jerusalem

It's time to welcome another Shabbat, with Lecha Dodi, the central part of the Kabbalat Shabbat service.

 This version was sung by students in the schoolyard of the Efrata School of Jerusalem on Family Day, as their parents and grandparents sang along with them.

Enjoy, and Shabbat shalom!

Welcoming Shabbat with Ana Bekoach - A Brazilian Version

After a week of Pesach liturgy and celebration, it's time to welcome just another Shabbat. This week we're sharing a version of Ana Bekoach that comes from Brazil. 

Known as the 42-letter Name of God, Ana Bekoach is a unique formula built of 42 letters written in seven sentences of six words each. Each of the seven sentences correspond to the seven days of the week, seven specific angels, and to a particular heavenly body. The letters that make up Ana Bekoach are encoded within the first 42 letters of the book of Genesis.

The kabbalists explain that this combination of letters takes us back to the time of Creation, and each time we meditate on a particular sequence, we return to the original uncorrupted energy that built the world. By performing the Ana Bekoach meditation, we enrich our lives with unadulterated spiritual Light and positive energy. 

Enjoy, and Shabbat shalom!

Welcoming Shabbat with Lecha Dodi Sung by Cantor Jenna Sagan

In the summer of 1976, a small group of Jews banded together to form a Reform congregation in the Fountain Valley – Huntington Beach community in California. 

They were firmly committed to the idea that a synagogue should not only preach justice, but should endeavor to make that principle its guide in every facet of its operation. Congregation B’nai Tzedek is a Reform Synagogue with a love for tradition.

On this Shabbat we join cantor Jenna Sagan of Congregation B'nai Tzedek in the Kabbalat Shabbat service with a Sephardic version of Lecha Dodi.

Enjoy, and Shabbat shalom!

Welcoming Shabbat with Ein Keloheinu by Israel's Service Community Choir

Piyyut is poetry that combines a rich musical tradition together with a live language of emotion, which draws from layers of depth of Jewish thought, from the Bible to the Midrash, to the Midrash, to the Mishna and Kabbalah. The unity created by the combination of the words and the melody, gives the piyyut a new expression and here lies the secret of its magic. 

Israel's Service Community Choir performs a unique variety of lyrical piyyutim: Morocco, Algeria, Ashkenazi Hasidic, Cochin, Persia, Tunisia, Yemen and more. The choir performs musical programs full of thought and emotion, combining piyyutim and melodies from a variety of traditions with innovative arrangements for old piyyutim, and composing piyyutim in surprising and inspiring combinations. 

In this video, the choir performs Ein Keloheinu in Ladino.

Enjoy, and Shabbat shalom! 

Welcoming Shabbat with L'Cha Dodi by Beth Reinstein at Central Synagogue

Beth Reinstein is a Cantorial Intern at New York City's Central Synagogue with a mission to craft community through music. Born and raised in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Beth’s first introduction to music came through joining Temple Beth Emeth’s youth choir. It was there that she discovered and experienced how music can bring a community together.

Through Temple Beth Emeth’s music program, Beth fostered a love and passion for music that blossomed into her work. 

While pursuing her secular music career, Beth began to serve the greater Chicago area as a Cantorial soloist and song leader. Beth has served as a Cantorial soloist and song leader at Beth Emet the Free Synagogue, Temple Sholom, Anshe Emet Synagogue, Sukkat Shalom, and several other Chicago communities. She also performs with Jewish Rock Radio’s group “Chicago Sings” and had the opportunity to debut her own liturgical compositions at URJ’s Biennial in 2019. It was through her work as a Cantorial soloist that Beth realized her heart lay in Jewish music, and it was time to pursue the Cantorate.  

In this video, Beth sings L'Cha Dodi, a traditional part of the Kabbalat Shabbat service.

Shabbat shalom!