Performed and taught by Sarah Myerson at YNY 2021, based on the recording by Diana Blumenfeld (1906-61) at the Hotel Marseilles in New York City, 1948, for the Ben Stonehill archive.
English translation by Sarah Myerson and Ethel Raim
In the cold winter nights 
My grandmother, my old one, used to
Tell a world through stories,
And I heard and swelled with pride
How to the rabbi, the pious one,
Used to come on Shabbes 
Angels from heaven [came along],
And the rabbi’s wife used to give
The angels and our rabbi
Peppered fish with horseradish.
And I myself haven’t seen this,
It happened years ago,
I heard about it from my grandma,
And my grandma from my great-grandma,
I didn’t make it up,
I only heard about it from my grandma.
To the rabbi the pious one,
Hasidim used to come.
The feast was very big,
Like at the Caesar's house,
The nights one use to see
How by the rabbi there was
Reb Moses, our dear little rabbi,
And the rebetsin used to host
Apart from her old righteous one,
Elijah the Prophet as a guest.
And I myself haven’t seen this...
In the difficult times,
During the time of the big plague
It is told that the rabbi did a feat;
How he saved them from the sickness,
The sickness he drove away;
He used to sit and write
The landowner in heaven, quickly,
He who yesterday was sleeping,
Until the plague ran away
And it took the rabbi along.
And I myself haven’t seen this...

In di vinter nekht kalte (in the cold winter nights)

Arranged and recorded by Cantor Sarah Myerson (voice)
Hassidic nigun (melody and text)

גיטס אַרײַן א נחמה’לע
אין א יידישע נשמה’לע
גיטס אַרײַן א חיות אין א ייד

Pour a little comfort into a Jewish soul, pour a life into a Jew
Give us comfort, give us life

www.cantorsarahmyerson.com

Gits Aran

Composed, arranged and recorded by Cantor Sarah Myerson and Ilya Shneyveys
Text: liturgical by Shlomo HaLevi of Alkabetz

לְכָה דוֹדִי לִקְרַאת כַּלָּה
פְּנֵי שַׁבָּת נְקַבְּלָה

לֹא תֵבֹשִׁי וְלֹא תִכָּלְמִי 
מַה תִּשְׁתּוֹחֲחִי וּמַה תֶּהֱמִי 
בָּךְ יֶחֱסוּ עֲנִיֵּי עַמִּי 
וְנִבְנְתָה עִיר עַל תִּלָּהּ. לְכָה

וְהָיוּ לִמְשִׁסָּה שֹׁאסָיִךְ 
וְרָחֲקוּ כָּל מְבַלְּעָיִךְ 
יָשִׂישׂ עָלַיִךְ אֱלֹהָיִךְ 
כִּמְשׂוֹשׂ חָתָן עַל כַּלָּה. לְכָה

יָמִין וּשְׂמֹאל תִּפְרֹצִי 
וְאֶת ה' תַּעֲרִיצִי 
עַל יַד אִישׁ בֶּן פַּרְצִי 
וְנִשְׂמְחָה וְנָגִילָה. לְכָה

בֹּאִי בְשָׁלוֹם עֲטֶרֶת בַּעְלָהּ 
גַּם בְּשִׂמְחָה וּבְצָהֳלָה 
תּוֹךְ אֱמוּנֵי עַם סְגֻלָּה 
בּוֹאִי כַלָּה בּוֹאִי כַלָּה. לְכָה

Come, my beloved, to greet the bride, let us welcome the presence of Shabbat.
Be not ashamed, nor be confounded. Why are you cast down, and why are you disquieted? The poor of my people trust in you, and the city shall be built on her own mound.
And they that spoil thee shall be a spoil, and all that would swallow thee shall be far away: thy God shall rejoice over thee, as one member of a wedding couple rejoiceth over the other.
Thou shalt spread abroad on the right hand and on the left, and thou shalt reverence God. Through the offspring of Perez we also shall rejoice and be glad.
Come in peace, thou crown of thy spouse, with rejoicing and with cheerfulness, in the midst of the faithful of the chosen people: come, O bride; come, O bride.

Lekha Dodi II

Music and lyrics by Cantor Sarah Myerson
Arranged and recorded by Ilya Shneyveys and Cantor Sarah Myerson 

If you find it, don’t leave it! 
Take it, and return it
Because that’s a mitzvah in the Torah, Deuteronomy 22:1-3

If you find your neighbor’s dog, don’t ignore it,
Take it home to your neighbor who adores it.
And if you’re scared of the welp?
Ask a grown up for help!

What if you find something and you don’t know whose it is?
Take it somewhere safe and shout out loud, “hey, whose is this?”
To try to find the owner, you’ll have to make a plan;
Put up public signs and do the best that you can!

www.cantorsarahmyerson.com

If You Find It (Deuteronomy 22:1-3)

Vaykhulu (Genesis 2:1-3)
Chanted using Torah cantillation and a variation on Rabbi Israel Goldfarb's nusah-based composition.
Recorded and arranged by Ilya Shneyveys (electric guitar) and Cantor Sarah Myerson (voice).
www.cantorsarahmyerson.com
www.shneyveys.com

The skies and the earth were finished, and all their array. On the seventh day God finished the work that had been undertaken: [God] ceased on the seventh day from doing any of the work. God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, having rested on it from all the work of creation that God had done. (Genesis 2:1-3)

וַיְכֻלּ֛וּ הַשָּׁמַ֥יִם וְהָאָ֖רֶץ וְכׇל־צְבָאָֽם׃ וַיְכַ֤ל אֱלֹהִים֙ בַּיּ֣וֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִ֔י מְלַאכְתּ֖וֹ אֲשֶׁ֣ר עָשָׂ֑ה וַיִּשְׁבֹּת֙ בַּיּ֣וֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִ֔י מִכׇּל־מְלַאכְתּ֖וֹ אֲשֶׁ֥ר עָשָֽׂה׃ וַיְבָ֤רֶךְ אֱלֹהִים֙ אֶת־י֣וֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִ֔י וַיְקַדֵּ֖שׁ אֹת֑וֹ כִּ֣י ב֤וֹ שָׁבַת֙ מִכׇּל־מְלַאכְתּ֔וֹ אֲשֶׁר־בָּרָ֥א אֱלֹהִ֖ים לַעֲשֽׂוֹת׃

Vaykhulu

Regn-bogyn (Rainbow)
Composed and recorded by Cantor Sarah Myerson (voice, harmonium, ukulele) www.cantorsarahmyerson.com
Text based on Yehoash’s Yiddish translation of Genesis chapters 6 & 7

Gekumen iz der sof fun ale layber, vayl di erd iz ful mit umrekht durkh zey.
Ikh breng zey um mit der erd, ikh breng a mabul vaser.
Di velt iz fardorbn, oy vey.

Kuk arof, kuk arof tsu dem himl, tsi zestu di volkns? Se shmekt mit regn. 
Tsi zestu di zun, di zun un di khmares? 
Ergets vu iz do a regn-boygn.

Di fentster fun himl veln zikh efenen, s’vet faln a regn fertsik teg un fertsik nekht, 
Ale kvaln fun groysn thom veln brekhn oys,
Vayl di mentshn zenen gevorn azoy shlekht.

Noyekh, lebn, makh zhe dir a teyve, un mit dayn gantse mishpokhe gey arayn.
Nem tsvey fun ale layber, fertsn fun di reyne;
Zorg zikh nisht, ir vet ale besholem zayn.

The end of all flesh is come, for the earth is full of injustice because of them. 
I will destroy them with the earth, I will bring a flood of water.
The world is corrupted, O woe.

Look up, look up at the sky, do you see the clouds? It looks like rain. 
Do you see the sun, the sun and the rainclouds? 
Somewhere, there’s a rainbow.

The windows of the sky will open, it will rain 40 days and 40 nights. 
All the fountains of the great deep will burst apart,
Because humanity has become so evil.

Noah, dear one, please make yourself an ark, and go inside with your entire family.
Take 2 of all flesh, 14 of all the kosher ones;
Don’t worry, you’ll all be safe.

Regn-boygn (Rainbow)

Composed and recorded by Cantor Sarah Myerson (voice)
Genesis 21:7
מִ֤י מִלֵּל֙ לְאַבְרָהָ֔ם
הֵינִ֥יקָה בָנִ֖ים שָׂרָ֑ה
כִּֽי־יָלַ֥דְתִּי בֵ֖ן לִזְקֻנָֽיו׃
Who would have said to Abraham
That Sarah would suckle children!
Yet I have borne a son in his old age.
I wrote this setting for voice and string quartet in 2017, and recorded just the solo voice part. In 2022, I adapted the string quartet arrangement for SSAA choir and recorded this version.
(Image by Jacques James Tissot)

Sarah Laughs (choral)

Lyrics Psalm 136:1-4
Music composed and recorded by Cantor Sarah Myerson

הוֹדוּ ליי כִּי־טוֹב כִּי לְעוֹלָם חַסְדּוֹ׃ 
הוֹדוּ לֵאלֹהֵי הָאֱלֹהִים כִּי לְעוֹלָם חַסְדּוֹ׃ 
הוֹדוּ לַאֲדֹנֵי הָאֲדֹנִים כִּי לְעוֹלָם חַסְדּוֹ׃ 
לְעֹשֵׂה נִפְלָאוֹת גְּדֹלוֹת לְבַדּוֹ כִּי לְעוֹלָם חַסְדּוֹ׃ 

Give thanks to God, who is good, whose loving kindness is everlasting.
Give thanks to the God of gods, whose loving kindness is everlasting.
Give thanks to the Ruler of rulers, whose loving kindness is everlasting.
Who alone does great marvels, whose loving kindness is everlasting.

Hodu (Psalm 136)

Recorded by Cantor Sarah Myerson, voice, keyboards, percussion, 2020.
Text: Liturgical, Sefardi, unknown author (also unknown composer)
Alphabetical acrostic piyut

אֲדוֹן הַסְּלִיחוֹת בּוֹחֵן לְבָבוֹת
גוֹלֶה עֲמוּקוֹת דּוֹבֵר צְדָקוֹת
חָטָאנוּ לְפָנֶיךָ רַחֵם עָלֵינוּ

הָדוּר בְּנִפְלָאוֹת וָתִיק בְּנֶחָמוֹת
זוֹכֵר בְּרִית אָבוֹת חוֹקֵר כְּלָיוֹת
חָטָאנוּ לְפָנֶיךָ רַחֵם עָלֵינוּ

טוֹב וּמֵטִיב לַבְּרִיּוֹת יוֹדֵעַ כָּל נִסְתָּרוֹת
כּוֹבֵשׁ עֲוֹנוֹת לוֹבֵשׁ צְדָקוֹת
חָטָאנוּ לְפָנֶיךָ רַחֵם עָלֵינוּ

מָלֵא זְכֻיוֹת נוֹרָא תְהִלּוֹת
סוֹלֵחַ עֲוֹנוֹת עוֹנֶה בְּעֵת צָרוֹת
חָטָאנוּ לְפָנֶיךָ רַחֵם עָלֵינוּ

פּוֹעֵל יְשׁוּעוֹת צוֹפֶה עֲתִידוֹת
קוֹרֵא הַדּוֹרוֹת רוֹכֵב עֲרָבוֹת
שׁוֹמֵעַ תְּפִלּוֹת תְּמִים דֵּעוֹת
חָטָאנוּ לְפָנֶיךָ רַחֵם עָלֵינוּ

Tracks by Cantor Sarah Myerson