Song has always been a tool of education in human society. Music has been a consistent tool in passing on values, heritage, tradition and stories from generation to generation. No exception to this, the Jewish People have had an intimate and mutually formative relationship with its songs and music from t'fillah melodies to Leonard Cohen.
As an educator, what is your favorite "Jewish" song?
-Andrew Fretwell-
ReplyDeleteSo I'm between a few different songs. I think Halleluyah by Leonard Cohen is a beautiful narrative, filled with biblical characters and stories as well as mystic and kabbalistic imagery, is up there. So is "Hamasa L'eretz Yisrael" by Haim Idisis, which tells the story of Ethiopian Jews who walked to Israel.
But right now, I think my favorite "Jewish" song is "Chorshat Haekaliptus" (The Eucalyptus Grove) by Naomi Shemer. It paints a beautiful picture of early Israeli settlement in the north, and portrays the nostalgia for the early days of Israel and simpler times with a purity, which contrasts starkly with modern American life and even Israeli life.