When the Babylonians destroyed the Temple in Jerusalem ca 586 BCE, it was the end of an era, but also the beginning of a new Edah. The Israelites were taken as slaves back to Babylon during what became known as the Babylonian captivity. Although some of the group of exiles returned to Jerusalem seventy years later, many stayed in the Middle Eastern diaspora. This group became the Mizrahi, or "Eastern" Jews.
We have been learning about the culture and music of this dynamic population of Jews, beginning with Psalm 137, which is a lamentation of the Jewish exiles "by the rivers of Babylon." We learned the song, and even heard the reggae version!
We learned that the Jews of the Middle Eastern Diaspora developed the distinctive beat that is found in many dance tunes today.
We called this the "ride the pony" beat (think of the rhythm when you say those words), and we practiced it on our various percussion instruments, many of which are "found" items.
One of the students' favorite examples of this style is the traditional song "Im Ninalu," performed by Ofra Haza, an Israeli pop star who called upon the musical traditions of her Yemenite background to create a unique blend of eastern and western music that remains popular today. In this video, you can see the traditional musical percussion instrument of the Yemenite Jews, as well as traditional Yemenite costumes.
We wrapped up the unit by listening to, dancing to and evaluating many of the popular "Mizrahit" tunes of contemporary Israel. There is a wide selection that can be found on YouTube (just type in Mizrahit mix). Here is one of our favorite new Yemenite Israeli groups, A Wa:
These three sisters pull inspiration from Ofrah Haza's music and their Yemeni Jewish roots, as well as exploring commonalities with their Arab neighbors, including language; the band usually sings in Yemeni Arabic.
Throughout the unit, we witnessed the life and culture of Mizrachi Jews through videos and film, learned new songs and dances, and made origami Torahs to commemorate the first writings of the Torah during the Babylonian Exile. Finally, each student made their own mizrach to hang on the eastern wall of their homes to know which direction to face when praying.
Many of you may be familiar with the Hanukkah song "Ocho Kandelikas," and you may also know that it is sung in a language other than Hebrew or English, called Ladino, that sounds a bit like Spanish. You may even know that this special language is the primary language of generations of Jews that call themselves Sephardim? However, you might not know that Ladino is NOT just a combination of Spanish and Hebrew, but is a blend of languages from over eight different countries?!
For a quick primer on the history of the Sephardim and their travels, the Shiraniks watched this brief video, all in Spanish!
We have been learning about the Sephardim, their culture and their music. This week, the Shiraniks learned a few phrases in Ladino of their own! Try them on for size, and the next time you are in the situation when you need to say, "Bon Appetit!," try "Kome kon gana!" (KOH-may kon GAH-na), or instead of "Goodbye," try "Sano i rezio!" (SAH-no ee REZ-yo)
IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT FOR ALL SHIRANIKS: Earn PRIZE POINTS!! Since we have two weeks off until we see each other again, (no classes over Thanksgiving Break!), it is the perfect opportunity to learn some of these phrases at home. I will be giving prize points for each phrase learned!! 2 points for all phrases except... 5 points for the Ladino version of "Bless You!," which is really long!
Come prepared to recite your phrase to the class and earn points!!
You must:
1. Pronounce it correctly
2. Tell what it means
Here are a few more we learned in class:
Ladino Pronunciation Guide
j as in French “bonjour”
h as in English “hot”
dj as in English “joy”
1. Ijo de ken sos tu? ?איז’ודיקיןסוסטו
Pronunciation: EE-jo de ken sos tu
Meaning: You are the child of whom?
How to use it: You meet someone, realize you might know people in common, and begin playing Sephardic Jewish geography with the question: “Ijo de ken sos tu?”
2. Haberes buenos! !חאביריסבואינוס
Pronunciation: ha-BEAR-es BWE-nos
Meaning: Good news!
How to use it: This can be used either to announce good news or as a way to ward off bad news.
Sample uses: You aced your exam and tell you parents: “Haberes buenos! I got an A!”
Or… You find out Nona (grandma) broke her hip and, to ward off the bad news, reply, “Haberes buenos!”
3. Dezmazalado de mi!!דיזמאזאלאדודימי
Pronunciation: dez-ma-zal-A-do de MEE
Meaning: Pity me! I’m out of luck.
Sample use: You haven’t texted me in weeks! Dezmazalado de mi!
4. Djente de pironג’ינטידיפירון
Pronunciation: DJEN-te de pee-ROAN
Meaning: The one percent (i. e. rich folks)
Literal translation: “People of the fork”: owning a fork (and not just a spoon) was once a sign of high-class status.
5. Kome kon gana! !קומיקוןגאנה
Pronunciation: KO-may kon GA-na
Meaning: Bon appetit!
Literal translation: “Eat with desire.”
6. Engleneate!!אינגליניאטי
Pronunciation: en-glen-AY-a-te
Meaning: Have fun!
Literal translation: Entertain yourself!
7. Hadras i baranasחאדראסאיבאראנאס
Pronunciation: HAD-ras ee bar-an-AS
Meaning: An outrageously big fuss. Being pretentious and really noisy at the same time.
How to use it: When someone is really making a scene: “Look at all that hadras i baranas!”
8. Bavajadas de benadamבאב’אז’אדאסדיבןאדם
Pronunciation: ba-va-JAD-as de ben a-DAM
Meaning: Human foibles
Literal translation: Stupidities of mankind
Sample sentence: Gossip the bavajadas de benadam.
9. Bivas, kreskas, engrandeskas, komo un peshiko en aguas freskas! Amen!
Pronunciation: BEE-vas, KRES-kas, en-gran-DES-kas, KO-mo un pesh-EE-ko en AG-uas FRES-kas! a-MEN!
Meaning: An elaborate “bless you” after a sneeze (or multiple sneezes)
Literal translation: Live; thrive; grow; like a little fish in fresh water! Amen!
10. Kaminos de leche i miel!קאמינוסדיליג’יאימייל
Pronunciation: Ka-MEE-nos de LE-che ee MEE-el
Meaning: Bon voyage!
Literal meaning: May you follow paths of milk and honey
11. Sano i rezio!סאנואיריזייו
Pronunciation: SA-no ee REZ-yo
Meaning: Farewell!
Literal meaning: May you be healthy and strong
To show off their new Ladino skills, the students created skits showing how they might use these phrases in real life.
MUSICAL NOTES
Throughout out unit on the Sephardim, we have been listening to various forms of music from the Sephardic Jews that descend from Spain and Northern Africa. The students have been learning about the various Sephardic "genres," including the Romancero (romantic ballads, often lamenting a lost love - a metaphor for the lost homeland of Spain), the Cancion and
You guys are superstars! Here are the unedited videos from our Sunday recording sessions of your latest hit, "The Praying Bunch." If we have time, we may add visuals and subtitles, but in the meantime, here are your awesome lyrics and vocals. You guys rocked this project!
Also, this week, prepare to dive into Sephardic culture. We will be learning about the Jews from Spain and North Africa, and how their music, language and culture set them apart from their Ashkenazi peers. If you or your family have Sephardic heritage, and are interested in sharing family stories, memorabilia, songs (especially songs!) that reflect your heritage, please let me know. It would be great to add to our Sephardic repertoir!
This week, we worked on our project that shows what we know about the last unit about music and worship in the Tabernacle, Temple and Synagogue. The students listened to the Brady Bunch theme song (yep, it's an oldie but a goodie!), and came up with their own lyrics to illustrate how the Jews evolved from sacrificing animals at the Tabernacle, First and Second Temples to "sacrificing" prayers today. Shiraniks, we will be recording these lyrics on Sunday, so please try to be here and prepared to sing! Here's the song, followed by a video of the original theme song and the karaoke version to practice to:
The Praying Bunch - Parody of the Brady Bunch Theme
Our High Holy Day season was filled with activities centered around the Yamim Noraim (Days of Awe) and the music associated with the beginning of the Jewish year. Once we had finished with Sukkot and Simchat Torah, we began our unit on the Temple and the earliest forms of Jewish music. We learned that the original "offerings" to G-d took the form of animal sacrifice (ew!) in the Tabernacle and the Temple. The priests were the only ones who prayed directly to G-d, in the Holy of Holies, the most sacred part of the Temple, where the Ark of the Covenant resided. They also used many musical instruments, including the lyre, the timbrel, the trumpet and the shofar. Priests were also singers! However, once the first Temple was destroyed, and the Jews began to spread out into the Diaspora, the first synagogues were built, and instead of animal worship, they began to send prayers to G-d. Over the centuries, the liturgy developed into what it is today, in its various forms, to include the leadership of a rabbi or rabbis, and a cantor to lead the congregation in prayer.
Some of our recent activities include:
Learning about Nusach
(the different tunes that we use in Jewish liturgical music)
Our class definition of nusach
We compared the various holiday tunes - the High Holy Days vs. Purim, for example
Making Honey Cake!
Learning about Teshuvah in Tefillah
Making musical decorations for the sukkah and shaking the lulav!
Making seasonal fruit salad with yummy pomegranates!
Making our own timbrels and using them in the sukkah!
Making Simchat Torah flags and using them during our Simchat Torah celebration!
Making our own lyres, just like they used in the Temple (well, sort of!) and tuning them to various scales!
Look for some videos of the Shiraniks learning new songs with Ben and creating a brand new parody song of their own, to the tune of The Brady Bunch!
