Jewish Stereo Types

...the OTHER dreidel song! Remember how I ever-so-subtly implied that dreidel is not the most, um, complicated of games? Well, this song does not have the most complicated of lyrics. If you live outside Israel the lyrics translate to: Dreidel spin, spin, spin Chanukah is a good holiday Chanukah is a good holiday Dreidel spin, spin, spin A happy holiday it is for the nation A great miracle happened there A great miracle happened there A happy holiday it is for the nation And if you live in Israel, the second paragraph translates to: Spin, please, spin like this and that A great miracle happened here A great miracle happened here Spin, please, spin like this and that ...because if you happen to live in Israel, the miracle of the oil happened "HERE" rather than "THERE," and both the dreidel and the song reflect that. Now, you'd think that the only way to sing this song written for children would be to have children sing it, like this: Vide...

...It's "I Have a Little Dreidel." Never mind that it's literally a song about a game played by spinning a tiny little top, which is no more exciting than it sounds. It's THE Chanukah song, and it Must. Be. Sung. So here are the Maccabeats, looking for a way to sing it: Video posted by the Maccabeats (I am okay with a Bohemian Dreidel Rhapsody. That is not a bad option.) *** As ubiquitous as the song is, you'd think that it had always been around. Okay, not as "always" as yesterday's 13th Century lyrics set to a 15th Century folk song--it IS in English, for one thing--but still, always. Well, it hasn't been, not unless your definition of "always" is 1927, which is only (almost) Irving Berlin "Always" (1925). We also know who wrote it--one Samuel E. Goldfarb . And as an interesting sidenote, his brother, Israel Goldfarb , composed the equally ubiquitous melody to "Shalom Aleichem" in 1918. Some been-a...

So it's the second night of Chanukah (actually, it will be the second day when most of you will see this, because it is only if I am fast and lucky that I will get this done before I turn into a pumpkin or something) and I thought I would bring you the very traditional "Ma'oz Tzur." Yes, yes, I know. I have brought you Ma'oz Tzur before (and before and before ). But the Jewish people have been singing Ma'oz Tzur at least eight times per Chanukah for...well, for a really quite very long time. I mean, this melody dates back, probably, to the 15th Century or thereabouts, and the lyrics are believed to have be written even further back, in the 13th Century, so yeah. That's a lot of times it's been sung. Three repetitions is NOTHING. So have another. Here's the then-President of Israel, Ruvi Rivlin, lighting candles and leading the audience in singing Ma'oz Tzur on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the Israeli Philharmonic, until he is int...

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 left it a bit late, but it's still Chanukah, and it's still the holiday season, and here we are. So let's have a couple of Chanukah specials, just because we can. I've brought Ma'oz Tzur here a couple of times before ( here and here ), but after all, that is nothing compared to the eight times every year I attempt to sing it, and you definitely don't want to hear that. Trust me. Instead, you can refer to the previous links for more traditional versions, or you can listen to this jazzy version by Leslie Odom, Jr. and Nicolette Robinson, which is not only lovely but surprised me by the really very good Hebrew: Video posted by Leslie Odom Jr. I encourage you to click back to the older posts (again, they are here and here , no one should have to go search for links, amirite?) for a little background on the song, but for those who lack time and/or interest, I shall shove just a little history your way anyway: The melody (otherwise known as "Roc...

(Listen, we've been around for a while, okay?) "Ma'oz Tzur," from the simple (sung by Theodore Bikel with guitar)... Video posted by Theodore Bikel - Topic ...to the sublime (played by the Israel Philharmonic, Zubin Mehta conducting): Video posted by IsraelMusicHistory2 *** I wrote about "Ma'oz Tzur" at greater length last year , and of course you can read about it there , but in case that seems like too much work just now: This melody for "Ma'oz Tzur" (also sometimes known as "Rock of Ages") is thought to date back to a 15th Century German folk song , with some alterations over the centuries and variations from region to region, as one would expect. Unfortunately, none of the alterations have made it easier to sing. The lyrics are believed to have been written during the 13th Century --hence the post title!--and each stanza is about a separate occasion during which the Jews were miraculously saved from destruction (...

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...

In honor of which, I bring you two--yes, two!--Chanukah songs. The first is "Candlelight," sung by the Maccabeats (in their first viral video): Video by Uri Westrich The melody is by Taio Cruz (although he thought it was for a song titled "Dynamite"), and he is not, to the best of my knowledge, Jewish. The parody lyrics, however, are by two members of the Maccabeats (an a cappella group formed of current and past Yeshiva University students), David Block and Immanuel Shalev , and if they (and the singers) are not all Jewish, someone made a serious mistake in their university application. And in case you were wondering about the lines in "Candlelight" that runs: We say "Ma'oz Tzur" Oh, yeah, for all eight nights, that is my second song, a very traditional Chanukah song--"Ma'oz Tzur," sung here by students of Israel's Technion *: Video by Technion This traditional melody for "Ma'oz Tzur" has been...

Chanukah (or Hanukkah, or however you prefer to spell it) starts almost two weeks before Christmas this year, so here's "Hanukkah in Santa Monica" by Tom Lehrer, sung by Tom Lehrer: Video from Tom Lehrer-Topic , Provided to YouTube by Universal Music Group North America Like many of these songs, everybody seems to have covered this song--only the "everybody" in this case are almost all amateurs (This seems to be a major oversight. Seriously, why has no one put this on a holiday album? DO THEY NOT GET THE JOKE?) between which I cannot choose. And then there's this, which I'm not sure how to describe: Video by and of Michael Feinstein *** Tom Lehrer is, of course, Jewish (Upper East Side variety) although he identifies as agnostic. His education is as a mathematician, and he taught mathematics and musical theater (yes, you heard that right) for many years--until 2001, in fact--but he is best known for the satirical/comedic songs he wrote and pe...