Jewish Song of the Day #18: Am Yisrael Chai
Comments:
Happy Chai day!!! We made it to day 18!!!
Am Yisrael Chai basically translates out to "The Jewish People Live," and is a significant phrase because of just how many times people have tried to kill the whole Jewish people.
The original R. Shlomo Carlebach version popularized the phrase as a song a lot more recently than folks might realize, but the sentiment dates back ages. The specific phrase is said to have originated with a British Jewish army chaplain who reportedly called it out at the liberation of Bergen-Belsen after World War II.
There are several versions that I enjoy, but this version has the cute and funny story intro that reminded me of this cross-cultural conversation, so it won.
For those who do not know, 18 is a special number in Judaism, because it represents life and living. This is because every Hebrew letter also has a numeric value, and the Hebrew word for "life" is "chai" / חי and the letters that make it up have the numeric value of 18.
There are many things that one could say about this song, but the bottom line from my perspective is this: it's a celebration of the fact that the people who have tried to kill us off?
They have always failed.
They will, I"YH always fail.
עם ישראל חי!
Here's the one that started it all:
Bonus versions:
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if you had to name three songs that captured what you liked to write, could you do it? i mean like—three songs that capture what you write. the stuff you try to do with your words. ok. let’s say you can. can you name three songs that capture what someone else writes? 👁️ what changes? of course naming songs for someone else’s work is gonna be harder—you’re filtering what you’re taking away from their pieces through your own bias, your own taste in music. but would it tell the same story, if they lined up the songs they picked for themselves with the songs you picked for them? would it be the same for you?
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Jewish Album of the Week: Simu Lev
Y'ALL
It's finally out!! Simu Lev is here, and it's exactly as amazing as I'd hoped!!!
Please listen to this and enjoy this with me, I promise you won't regret it!!!
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@frost-and-snow day 5: festival
it feels like i've known you for a lifetime
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