Shivchei Ma'oz - Ma'oz Tsur

Arranged by Leeav Sofer
Shivchei Ma'oz - Music and words by Naomi Shemer
Ma'oz Tsur - Ashkenazic Folk Hymn


(Shivchei)
Ma'oz tsur y'shu'ati
L'cha na'ei l'shabei'ach
Harcheik harcheik l'yad beiti
Hapardesim natnu rei'ach

Avo baminharot uvam'tsadot uvam'arot
Uv'nikrot tsurim uvim'chilot afar
Ei sham b'lev halaila daruch vacharishi
Tsofe bi m'vakeish nafshi. 
Lev hailaila daruch vacharishi
Tsofe bi m'vakeish nafshi. 

(Ma'oz Tsur)
Ma'oz Tzur Yeshu'ati, l’kha na'eh leshabe'akh.
Tikon beit t’filati, v’sham toda n’zabe'akh.
L'et takhin matbe'akh mitzar hamnabe'akh.
Az egmor b’shir mizmor khanukat hamizbe'akh.


(Shivchei Ma’oz Translation)
Fortress, Rock of my salvation
How fitting to give praise
Far far away beside my house
The orchards waft their scent

I shall come through tunnels, citadels and caves
Clefts in rocks and dusty cavities
Somewhere in the heart of the night, tense and silent,
Someone who seeks my life is looking at me. 


The Israeli poet and songwriter, Naomi Shemer, wrote “Shivchei Ma'oz” by drawing a connection between the Jewish hymn Ma’oz Tsur and the military positions that were attacked in the War of Attrition (1967-1970). This impassioned anthem resounds with the energy of a generation that grew up with the young nation of Israel. The music transitions to the very hymn that Shemer references, Ma’oz Tsur, a traditional song for the festival of lights, Chanukah. It is thought that this hymn was written in the 13th century during the Crusades. Radiating from both pieces is the Jewish soul persevering through hardships and celebrating triumphs. 

My refuge, my rock of salvation! 
'Tis pleasant to sing your praises.
Let our house of prayer be restored. 
And there we will offer you our thanks.
When You will have vanquished the conquering foe.
Then we will celebrate with song and psalm the altar's dedication.

“A great nation fights so that all the world may have these things that we think are the right of every human being.”
-Eleanor Roosevelt

Shivchei Ma'oz - Ma'oz Tsur

Taken from the history of American Southern folksong, the first melody of this track, "Crawdad Hole", had accompanied the 'play parties' of the 19th century. These play parties were a gathering of dance and song intended to bypass the strict religious practices of the time banning dancing and playing of musical instruments. This jump-rope and playground inspired tune quickly merges into the flavor of Eastern European Jewish culture. The violin merges the Crawdad melody with the tune of Reb Dovidl, a 19th century Yiddish folksong telling the story of a famous Rabbi scholar and his bits of wisdom. Both melodies inspire energy and dance as Mostly Kosher merges the cultures into one.

Crawdad Bulgar

"Oygn", meaning "Eyes", is a Yiddish theater love song, beautiful and melancholy in its lyrical meaning. Mostly Kosher brings the song out of the 1930s, merging jazz and hip hop into the bones of the music. 

Lyrics by Molly Picon
Poetic translation by Leeav Sofer
[English Translation]

Eyes …
for your dark eyes …
before them the bright sun
bows down.

Eyes …
for your dark eyes …
they pulled my heart to you, and I
became enslaved for life,
captured and amazed.…
And I will aspire
to fulfill all their desires.

Eyes …
for your dark eyes …
the world will no longer have any worth
without your dark eyes.

Oygn

Cuando El Rey Nimrod
Traditional Ladino Folk Song
Arranged by Leeav Sofer & Eric Hagstrom

Cuando El Rey Nimrod tells the story of the biblical prophet Abraham, and is sung in the traditional Ladino, the Judaeo-Spanish language. This lively Sephardic tune originated in Northern Africa, as opposed to so many Ladino folks songs of the former Ottoman Empire and Medieval Spain. The instrumental centerpiece of this version features the melody of another Ladino song, La Comida La Mañana.

Cuando El Rey Nimrod

Dodi Li
Music by Nira Chen
Arranged by Leeav Sofer
Words from Shir Hashirim (Song of Songs) Verses 2:16, 3:6, 4:9, 4:16

This version of Dodi Li, though an instrumental, was very much inspired by the poetry of the lyrics, based on a song from the Hebrew Bible, Song of Solomon. The exchange of melody between the lead instruments represents the exchange between two lovers:

Who is this, rising up from the desert
Who is she, rising up?
Perfumed with myrrh and frankincense
My beloved is mine and I am his,
The shepherd grazing his flock among the lilies.
You have captured my heart, my sister, my bride.
You have captured my heart, my bride.

This is truly a symphonic poem with the instrumentation of a klezmer ensemble, starting with a fugue and developing into an energy-driven unison. The valleys and hills found in love, as well as in the landscapes in which shepherds keep their flocks, are echoed in the rich musical textures of this haunting and romantic melody.

Dodi Li

Papirosn
Music by Herman Yablokoff
Arranged by Leeav Sofer

This song by Herman Yablokoff tells the tale of an orphaned cigarette peddler, a young boy, freezing in the rain on a street corner. Papirosn long ago entered the folk tradition with several variants: One is the doina or lament in Rumanian-
Yiddish style; another is a rollicking dance-band version in Klezmer style. Only when we translated this piece, word for word, could we fully grasp the depth of this child’s anguish: “un zayne oygn behtn yedn shtum,” (his eyes beg everyone silently) and “oysgeyn vel ikh muzn vi a hunt,” (I will have to
perish like a dog).

Popirosn

Oyfn Pripetshik
Words and music by Mark Markovitch Warshavsky
Arranged by Mostly Kosher

Oyfn Pripetshik, one of the most famous of all Yiddish songs, paints a heartfelt picture of a rabbi teaching his students the alphabet. This lullaby is by the Russian folk poet and  composer, Mark Warshavsky (1848-1907), considered to be the father of Jewish operetta. After the great Yiddish writer Sholem Aleichem heard Warshavsky’s songs, he wrote, I simply hugged him and kissed him! Then I said, “Villain! Why do not you print such songs! If I would not know that those are your own songs, I would swear that I heard them sometime performed by my mother!”

Oyfn Pripetchik

Dos Keshenever Shtikele
Music by Moishe Oysher / Traditional
Arranged by Leeav Sofer
English interpretive lyrics by Leeav Sofer

This song epitomizes the casting aside of sorrow and strife in order to celebrate life to its fullest!

Dosh Keshenever Shtik

A Yor Nokh Mayn Khasene
Music by Isaac Reingold

Featuring our guitarist, Will Brahm, this instrumental rendition pays homage to the song’s tradition of being used to start the party at many celebrations. The great irony of this tune is that the Yiddish lyrics are riddled with the resentment-filled angst of a woman in an unhappy marriage:

What happiness do I have? Why was I in such a hurry?
I dreamed of mine being the next wedding, 
I hoped for good luck.I got a husband that I'd only wish on my enemies.

Like a pendulum, her words swing back and forth, from stabbing jokes about her husband to unbridled bitterness about her situation. It's too bad I can't undo what I did….
God blessed me with a premature baby as big as an onion,
It's better to stay unmarried.

Oy! Let the party begin!

A Yor Nokh Mayn Khase

Rozhinkes Mit Mandlen
Music by Abraham Goldfaden

Abraham Goldfaden, (1840-1908), often labeled “The Father of Modern Jewish Theater,” authored over forty plays and is also remembered as a renowned poet, actor and director of the Jewish Theater. We are honored to have Hazzan Faith Steinsnyder close our collection of songs with this beautiful Yiddish lullaby.

Dodi Li

Mostly Kosher

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