Born and raised in Israel, Cantor Azi Schwartz has sung with prestigious orchestras and choirs around the world, including the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and the Berlin RIAS Kammerchor. He has performed in the United Nations’ General Assembly Hall, the United States Capitol Rotunda, and the Knesset, as well as in Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center and the Mann Auditorium.
Today we join Azi Schwartz in welcoming Shabbat with Oseh Shalom.
Enjoy, and Shabbat shalom!
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!
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!
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!
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!
Israeli pop artist Rivka Zohar is a great performer. Her music fits
under the popular pop category, which is distinguished by catchy
melodies and approachable lyrics. Rivka's music is joyful and emotional
at the same time, focusing on universal themes and personal experiences
that connect with listeners.
Rivka has a special talent for
engaging her listeners with her music. Her music is filled with an
openness and sincerity that speaks to the human condition. Rivka's music
is consistently relevant and extraordinarily touching, whether she is
singing about love, loss, or personal development.
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!
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!
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!
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!
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!
Cantor Agar is also a composer and arranger and is inspired by a wide variety of music. He was inspired to become a cantor by his love for Judaism, Jewish music, and his interest in using music to uplift people and bring them closer to Judaism.
Tonight we welcome another Shabbat by joining Cantor Agar in a Sephardic version of Lecha Dodi. Enjoy, and Shabbat shalom!
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.
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!
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!
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!
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!
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!
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!
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!
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