Tonight, after sundown, we count the following day of the Omer:
Today is 49 days, which is 7 weeks of the Omer
Omer Learning: Day 48
Tonight, after sundown, we count the following day of the Omer:
Today is 48 days, which is 6 weeks and 6 days of the Omer
How to: the blessings and procedure for counting the Omer.
From Our Community:
Contributed by: Eva Kleederman. Gott Fun Avrom by Unknown.
I first heard this sung by a young friend and found it very affecting…..a Havdalah prayer in Yiddish, rather than Hebrew!….a direct address to God, rather than praise for the Sabbath!
Havdalah is normally understood as highly symbolic i.e., sanctification of Shabbos by wine, sweetness of Shabbos by spices, the “gathering in” for Shabbos by twisted candle, and the separation of Shabbos from the mundane by lighting, then extinguishing the twisted candle.
What strikes me about Gott Fun Avrom is the immediacy of the prayer; it is not symbolic, it is literal….a plea to God for protection, luck, blessings, health, success … and sung in the Jews’ own vernacular. It dates back at least to the early 1700’s, in Ashkenazi Western Europe, and there are several versions. In traditional Yiddish-speaking households, it is the penultimate prayer of the Havdalah service.
The singer here learned the prayer from Sheva Zucker, a well-known Yiddishist.
Click the Learn More link to see a wonderful clip from the 1939 film of Shalom Alechem’s story “Tevye” (of Fiddler on the Roof fame). In it, the mother sings Gott fun Avrom at the end of Shabbos. Learn More.
Omer Learning: Day 47
Tonight, after sundown, we count the following day of the Omer:
Today is 47 days, which is 6 weeks and 5 days of the Omer
How to: the blessings and procedure for counting the Omer.
From Our Community:
Contributed by: Ken Ackerman & Jay Cherlow. Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh by Allan Sherman.
Every Jewish kid of a certain age who went to summer camp will remember and identify with this song and say thanks!! Every Jewish kid under a certain age will have never heard of it. This is for all the baby boomers in the group.
Omer Learning: Day 46
Tonight, after sundown, we count the following day of the Omer:
Today is 46 days, which is 6 weeks and 4 days of the Omer
How to: the blessings and procedure for counting the Omer.
From Our Community:
Contributed by: Deborah Meyers & Tod Cohen. B’yado by David Paskin .
I met David Paskin when we were both freshman at Brandeis long ago, and I have loved listening to the songs he writes, sings, and plays ever since.
.
This one is helpful for falling asleep
Omer Learning: Day 45
Tonight, after sundown, we count the following day of the Omer:
Today is 45 days, which is 6 weeks and 3 days of the Omer
How to: the blessings and procedure for counting the Omer.
From Our Community:
Contributed by: Anonymous. I gotta feeling by Black Eyed Peas.
A song written by a west coast hip-hop group, a Catholic pop star and a French DJ become a Jewish dance tune second in popularity only to the hora Learn More.
Omer Learning: Day 44
Tonight, after sundown, we count the following day of the Omer:
Today is 44 days, which is 6 weeks and 2 days of the Omer
How to: the blessings and procedure for counting the Omer.
From Our Community:
Contributed by: Anonymous. We are still here (Am Yisrael Chai) by Maccabeats.
A great Jewish Anthem
Omer Learning: Day 43
Tonight, after sundown, we count the following day of the Omer:
Today is 43 days, which is 6 weeks and 1 day of the Omer
How to: the blessings and procedure for counting the Omer.
From Our Community:
Contributed by: Rose-Ella Slavin. V’shamru by Unknown.
Alan Youkeles was the first person I met at CEH. He was so warm and welcoming and he is the reason that I started getting involved at the synagogue (he put Adam Cohen and me on a strategic planning committee that he was running). V’Shamru is his favorite Friday night prayer – always sung loudly and with his whole body moving from side to side. Singing this on Friday nights reminds me of him and encourages me to follow his example and welcome people to the shul. May his memory be for a blessing.
Editor’s note: we had two submission for V’Shamru. So thanks to Rose-Ella and an anonymous submittor for highlighting this piece of music. Learn More.
Omer Learning: Day 42
Tonight, after sundown, we count the following day of the Omer:
Today is 42 days, which is 6 weeks of the Omer
Omer Learning: Day 41
Tonight, after sundown, we count the following day of the Omer:
Today is 41 days, which is 5 weeks and 6 days of the Omer
How to: the blessings and procedure for counting the Omer.
From Our Community:
Contributed by: Suzanne Gold. The Sound of Silence by Simon and Garfunkel.
It was written by Paul Simon when he was 21. It is part of an album I owned on cassette as a teenager, one of my favorite albums with its haunting melodies and beautiful harmonies.
Omer Learning: Day 40
Tonight, after sundown, we count the following day of the Omer:
Today is 40 days, which is 5 weeks and 5 days of the Omer
How to: the blessings and procedure for counting the Omer.
From Our Community:
Contributed by: Stephen Schwartz. Kol ha’olam kulo Baruch Chait, Inspired by Rabbi Nachman of Breslov.
The song adapts a saying of a Hasidic rabbi: “The whole world is a very narrow bridge, and the main thing is to have no fear at all.” In a traditional view of the committed Jewish life, we are all on a spiritual journey from one place to another. Jewish practice gives us a particular path to follow. The path is narrow, and departing from it carries risks. But that turns out to be at least as liberating as it is frightening: All you need to do, ultimately, is be brave enough to keep on the way laid out in front of you.
The tune brings a sense of combined tension and excitement that complements the text’s meaning. Learn More.
