Songs For Parashat Noach

This week we’ll read Parashat Noach. Now, of course musicians can’t ignore such a great story – and indeed they do not. Many songs have been written about the story of Noach. Most of them fall into the category of popular Israeli music.

In the past, there were many popular Israeli songs – I’m not talking about classical chassidic music – that were influenced by Tanach and other Torah sources. Songwriters such as Naomi Shemer, z”l, Yoram Taharlev, z”l, and other composers were very influenced by the Tanach and the Mekorot. Even though they were not frum, they were very connected to tradition. For example, Naomi Shemer wrote the song “Shirat Ha’asavim” which is based on Rabbi Nachman of Breslov’s writings. One of Yoram Taharlev’s most popular songs is called “Noach,” performed by Matti Caspi. The song is influenced by the story of Teivat Noach (Noah’s Ark).

There are more songs in Israeli music about the story of Noach. Some of them have a political agenda, as one of the symbols from the story of Noach is a yonah im aleh shel zayit – a dove with an olive leaf – and this motif was used by the Israeli Left over the years when they spoke about “peace.” This motif can be found in some leftist songs about “peace.”

While many of the secular Israeli songs were influenced by the Bible and respected Jewish tradition, some of them were totally inappropriate and disrespectful, and made a mockery of our tradition. I don’t want to mention examples here, because I don’t think there’s a need to give these songs publicity, but it is something we’ve seen over the years in Israeli music. There are various reasons for this – from ignorance to intentional anti-tradition philosophies. As I always like to say, music has power, and music also tells a story.

Today I’d like to review songs about Parashat Noach from the chassidic genre. To find songs about the story of Noach in Chassidic music was a little bit more challenging. I assume the reason is that the story is, after all, not a happy story, and also perhaps because the Jewish nation begins with Avraham Avinu, not with Noach.

The first song I want to highlight is “Every Yid’s A Big Tzaddik” by Mendy Worch and TYH (Thank You Hashem) Nation. If you are still not familiar with this cool, upbeat song, go on YouTube and find and listen to it. There’s a high chance that once you listen to it, you’ll notice that you’ve probably already heard your kids singing it to themselves after coming back from day camp in the summer or on other occasions.

It goes like this: “Kinderlach, this week is Parshas Noach. The Rebbe has a special song that I sing on Parshas Noach: “Every Yid is a Tzaddik. Noach was a big tzaddik. From his kepele till his feesele (from his head to his foot), Noach was a big tzaddik…”

Another popular song is “Tz’e Min Hateiva” (Come Out of the Ark) by Aaron Razel. The song was released in 1997 on the Hasneh Bo’er (The Burning Bush) album, which was also Aaron Razel’s debut album. It was released in Safed where he used to live.

The song begins with an upbeat piano intro and later you can hear the flute in the background, which adds to the atmosphere of the song.

“Tz’e min hateiva ata v’e’ishtecha u’vanecha,” Come out of the ark, you, your wife, your sons and their wives.

I also like the video of the song which features pictures of Razel when he was younger in Safed. The old streets, the views… It makes you want to go and visit there.

I once heard a shiur by Rabbi Baruch Rosenblum on TorahAnytime.com in which he explains that Noach was actually the first to build a bayit (home) for Hashem. He says that Noach built a Mishkan: If you change the order of the letters that spell teiva, which are taf, yud, bet, and hei, you get Beit Hashem. Noach also was ordered to use special wood to build the ark, similar to the Mishkan.

In this connection, Bini Landau released an album in 2018 called Mishkan, and one of the songs on the album is also called “Mishkan.” It’s a nice quiet song. It begins with a piano intro with some guitar touches, and as the song progresses, you can hear the strings in the background with the drums, keyboard, and guitar.

Other nice songs on the album which are worth checking out are “Birkat Kohanim” and “Ashrei Ha’ish.”

Obviously, when we talk about songs for Parashat Noach, we can’t forget the popular piyyut from the Zemirot Shel Shabbat, “Yonah Matz’ah Vo Mano’ach.” This special piyyut got the attention of many musicians and there are a number of performances. One of my favorites is the one by the Shalhevet Orchestra. They were one of the most popular wedding bands in Israel in the early 2000s. They released many albums which I highly recommend that you purchase. Their album series Haneshama Lach is very popular and has many beautiful classical chassidic songs.

Shalhevet Orchestra’s “Yonah Matz’ah Vo Mano’ach” is from their Zemirot LeShabbat – The Collection album. The album itself has many of the popular songs of Shabbat and it’s a beautiful album. “Yonah Matz’ah” begins with a beautiful clarinet intro and the band sings the song in the traditional tune. It’s a really nice performance.

For those who prefer the Chasidic style of this piyyut, there’s the beautiful performance of Evyatar Banai and Halev VeHamaayan (The Heart and the Wellspring) Quintet, which features a quieter and slower tune. Chilik Frank is on clarinet in the background.

Remember Asaph Neve Shalom from the Songs of Return column, where I recommended his performance of “Banayich Merachok?” He also performs “Yonah Matz’ah.” His version starts with a sax intro, and along the way the piano is active in the background, as well as upbeat percussion instruments and some touches of electric guitar. I wouldn’t call it an acoustic version, but the combination of piano, sax, and percussion instruments creates a unique result.

Back to Aaron Razel – you should also check out his performance of “Yom Shabbaton.” Razel composed a new tune for this piyyut. As in his other songs, he makes use of piano, percussion instruments, and guitar. Another nice performance of that song is by Yitzchak Meir from his album Atika Kadisha Volume 2: Yitzchak Meir and Friends – Songs of Shabbos Day.

Looking at the haftarah of Parashat Noach, we find there the lyrics for two songs. One is “B’Shetzef – He’s Just Turned Around,” which I wrote about last year in the column for Holocaust Remembrance Day (Yom HaShoah v’Hag’vurah). The other is “An Everlasting Love” by Shlomo Katz, which was released in 2019. A nice, quiet song, it begins with an acoustic guitar in the background, which continues throughout. I don’t need to translate the words, as Katz sings them both in Hebrew and English. (Thank you, Shlomo Katz.)

Shabbat Shalom.