Jewish Stereo Types

Let's start old school--very old school indeed, since the words come from paragraphs inserted into prayers during Chanukah (and Purim) and date back to perhaps the 8th or 9th Century, the Gaonic period. (For more details, see this post or perhaps this one .) The melody, from the group Six13 , is considerably more recent. Video posted by Tizmoret A Cappella *** And then there's this one, which is new this year, from the group Clipping--which is to say, by Daveed Diggs (yes, that one), Jonathan Snipes, and William Hutson: Video posted by DisneyMusicVEVO Clearly we must include this song--not only is it a new Chanukah song, but puppy, and also, Klezmer rap! Plus it's awesome to have the diversity of the Jewish community celebrated like this. Of course, the fact that it is a Chanukah song is enough to have it included here, but also...Daveed Diggs's (yes, that one) mother is Jewish , which means that he is Jewish. Which I suppose is obvious by his first n...

I've been deep into some rush jobs the past couple of days, so I don't really have time to write anything. Instead, have a medley of Chanukah (and a few other) songs, from Nir Sarussi and Ariella Zeitlin: Video posted by Nir Sarussi & Ariella Zeitlin Official (And many thanks to my sister Sarah Schwartz for finding this gem!)

This melody was very popular when I was in high school, mumblety-mumble years ago, because you could dance to it. (If you did not attend a Jewish girls' school in your youth and don't know which dance, try the bunny hop. Most of the Jewish dance songs from my youth worked with the bunny hop.) "Al Hanisim," melody by Dov Frimer, sung by Izhar Cohen, lyrics from the 8th or 9th Century --the Gaonic period: Video posted by sha1om As I said last year , the lyrics are the introductory phrases to paragraphs inserted in the daily prayers on the Rabbinic holidays of Chanukah and Purim: And (we thank You) for the miracles, and for the salvation, and for the mighty deeds, and for the victories, and for the battles which You performed for our forefathers in those days, at this time. So, Happy Chanukah! Light a candle, have a latke... Video posted by MaccabeatsVideos ; "Latke Recipe." The song on which this parody is based, "Shut Up and Dance," was wri...

Have another very traditional song: "Al Hanisim"; words from an extra paragraph inserted into the daily prayers on Chanukah (and Purim), melody by Dov Frimer, sung by Shira Kline: Video by ShiraKline Well. The lyrics for "Al Hanisim" are very traditional, anyway--as I said above, the words for this song are those of the introductory phrases of paragraphs inserted into daily prayers on Chanukah and Purim, and it is an expression of thanksgiving for the salvations those two Rabbinic holidays celebrate: And (we thank You) for the miracles, and for the salvation, and for the mighty deeds, and for the victories, and for the battles which You performed for our forefathers in those days, at this time. (Note that miracles and salvation come before victories and battles--in order of importance.) As such, we date it back to the Gaonic period, possibly the 8th or 9th century . The melody, by Dov Frimer, dates back only to 1974 , when it debuted at the Chassidic Son...