It’s geshmak to read this column! Why do I say that? What’s the connection? I’ll explain in a bit.
In this week’s parsha, Yaakov gives berachot to all his children, and also to Yosef’s sons, Ephraim and Menashe, his grandchildren.
Some very popular lyrics are taken from the berachot of Yaakov in Parshat Vayechi. These songs, composed over 30 years ago, have aged well and are still being played and sung. They may have started as chassidic songs, but they have become part of classical Jewish music over the years.
The Torah tells us how Yosef brings his two children, Ephraim and Menashe, to his father Yaakov so that he’ll bless them.
Which takes us to the first song.
“Hamalach Hago’el” was introduced on the Dveykus – Volume 4 album in 1990 and was composed by Abie Rotenberg. It has a slow rhythm and is quiet and very touching. Rotenberg has been an active composer in the Jewish music scene since the early 70s. Over the years, he’s collaborated with the big names in the Jewish music, including Avraham Fried, Mordechai Ben David, and Yaakov Shwekey.
“Hamalach Hago’el” actually has two tunes that became popular over the years, the one by Rotenberg and another one by Shloime Dachs.
In 1996, about six years after Rotenberg had composed his song for the lyrics of Yaakov’s beracha, Dachs introduced a new tune for “Hamalach” composed by a teenage bochur named Yisrael Boruchov. Dachs released Boruchov’s tune on his album One Day at a Time, which was released in 1996. The album has some other famous songs that became popular over the years. One is “Chamol,” composed by Rabbi Akiva Homnick, that is still played during Yamim Noraim and has been performed over the years by other singers. There’s also “Yerav,” which I remember used to be a hit when I was younger. The music for the album was performed by the Neginah Orchestra – which brings me to that (silly) trivia question again: At whose wedding did Neginah Orchestra play? (If you’ve read my previous columns, you know the answer…)
“Hamalach hago’el oti mikol ra yevarech et hane’arim v’yikareh bahem Shemi” – May the angel who redeems me from all evil bless these boys and may My Name be declared upon them.
“B’shem avotai Avraham veYitzchak, v’yidgu larov b’kerev haAretz” – In the name of my fathers, Abraham and Isaac, may they multiply greatly in the Land.
Over the years, the song became very popular and was performed by other singers and bands, such as Mordechai Ben David. One of my favorite performances is the one by Gilad Potolsky and Shalhevet Orchestra from their first album in the Haneshama Lach series, Haneshama Lach 1.
Potolsky and Shalhevet Orchestra also perform Dachs’s tune on their Haneshama Lach 2 album. Both performances are very moving.
Yaakov Avinu continues the beracha with the words “Yisimcha Elokim k’Ephraim u’k’Menashe” – Hashem should make you as Ephraim and Menashe. The song “Yisimcha,” composed by Yossi Green, is the fifth song on the album Brocha V’Hatzlocha by Avraham Fried, which was released in 1995. The lyrics are from this beracha of Yaakov, followed by Birkat Kohanim. These words are also known as Birkat HaBanim, which many Jewish fathers give their children every Leil Shabbat (Friday night) when they return home from synagogue.
The song begins with a soft electric piano solo accompanied by an acoustic guitar arpeggio (which is considered one of the most beautiful guitar techniques); a flute continues the intro which takes you into the atmosphere of the song. Then Fried enters with his special voice, while the acoustic guitar arpeggio continues in the background. He is accompanied by kids singing parts of the song with him. The whole vibe is very soft and relaxed. During the song, the flute sounds again together with strings. What a beautiful, sweet song.
Over the years, many popular Israeli music lyrics have been taken from the Mekorot (Torah sources). One of the famous poets, lyricists, and authors whose songs were influenced by the Tanach was Yoram Taharlev. One of Taharlev’s songs, composed by Moni Amarilio and performed by Yehoram Gaon, is “Ben Porat Yosef,” the lyrics of which are inspired by Yaakov’s berachot to his children in the parsha. Gaon is considered one of the greatest Israeli singers. He has recorded over 900 songs and he’s also an actor, TV and radio host, comedian, and producer. I remember learning and singing the song “Ben Porat Yosef” in school. It used to be very popular back in the day in Israel. I encourage you to find it on Gaon’s YouTube channel.
Right after Yaakov concludes his beracha to Ephraim and Menashe, he blesses their father, his beloved son, Yosef. “Va’ani natati lecha sh’chem echad al acheicha…” – And I gave you sh’chem echad – sh’chem in Hebrew means shoulder. But in Yaakov’s beracha, it means that he gave Yosef more, something extra above his brother. There’s a popular chassidic song I like whose lyrics are the words of this beracha that Yaakov gives Yosef. The song is very upbeat and has a cool rhythm. But something interesting happened when I looked it up online.
In last week’s column, I mentioned that one of the fun things that happens when I speak with musicians is that although I prepare questions in advance and plan what I want to discuss with them, once we start speaking the conversation goes to places I didn’t expect, and I learn new things. The same thing sometimes happens when I plan to write about songs I think I already know – songs which I have known for years. I think I know who performed or composed the song, but then I like to check and verify before I write about it, and I suddenly discover new information.
For years, I thought that the song “Va’ani Natati Lecha” was by Dov Shurin. And on YouTube, it says in the song description that it is by Dov Shurin. That is possible, but I couldn’t verify it. I looked on the song lists for Shurin’s albums and couldn’t find the song. Could it be that he released it as a single, or that another band or musician released the song? I don’t know. It’s a popular wedding song in Israel. It could be that the popular version was released by a wedding band, but I couldn’t find much information. Either way, it’s a cool song that you can find on YouTube and listen to.
Here’s the thing: Americans who listen to this song will be familiar with the tune because it will probably immediately remind them of a popular American chassidic song which is “Geshmak to Be a Yid” by Moshe Storch.
For a long time, I thought that “Geshmak to Be a Yid” was kind of the English version of Shurin’s “Va’ani Natati Lecha.” It turns out that the tune is actually a classic Chabad niggun, “Yifrach B’yamav.” According to Chabad’s website, “This song was introduced at the farbrengen on Nissan 11, 5733, commemorating the 71st birthday of the Lubavitcher Rebbe.”
I happen to like this tune because it’s very upbeat and happy. Both Shurin’s and Storch’s versions begin with a distortion guitar sound and jumping rhythm. If you are not familiar yet with this song, I encourage you to listen to both the Hebrew (“Va’ani natati lecha”) and the English (“Geshmak to Be a Yid”) on YouTube and start dancing.
And here’s my small contribution to the tune: (Did I already mention that I’m a big fan of it?) I like to play the song on my keyboard, so I decided to compose my own intro to it which you can find and listen to on my YouTube channel – Mendi Glik Music. Let me know if you like it!