Songs

One thing that has always been important to me is using music to create bridges between people of different backgrounds. In honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, I wanted to share this amazing collaboration between Laurie Akers, Cantor Rachel Goldman and Cantor Rachel Brook (a.k.a. Shul Sisters) and Tyrell Belle, Zuumah Gayeman and Ian […]

January is “New Year’s Resolution” season, another opportunity to dream in color about our lives and what we need to do to live them in the best way possible. Part of that is also dreaming in color about the whole world, and how we can make it a better place. Erica Rabner is a new […]

I’ve shared other covers of the Israeli folk song “Bashanah Haba’ah” for Song of the Week before — it’s a popular song at Rosh Hashanah and at Passover, reminding us to be optimistic about the year ahead. Well, 2023 is ahead of us and I’m feeling hopeful and I hope y’all are too! So here’s […]

You might be asking yourself, “Rick, why did you pick a song about synagogues at a time of year when most people are on vacation?” So glad you asked! It’s these times of year when the hustle and bustle of our special community gathering places slows down and we have the opportunity to see them […]

Chanukah time is truly magical — when the days are darkest, we light tons of candles and fill our homes with sweet light! The imagery and symbolism of ‘light’ has inspired a TON of amazing contemporary Chanukah songs, including this beautiful tune from my friend Eric Hunker. “More Like a Candle” captures what it means […]

When it comes to Jewish songs about food, Chanukah songs win by a landslide! While most of that singing is about crispy golden-fried potato latkes — there are also quite a few songs about sufganiyot, or jelly-filled doughnuts. My friend and Jewish early childhood music maven Ellen Allard has a SUPER fun “Sufganiyot” song I […]

It’s time for the Season of Light! With Chanukah just a couple weeks away, I thought I’d share a song about bringing light into the world. “Rise Up” by the amazing Elana Jagoda (and sung here with her super-talented husband, Saul Kaye) is a musical interpretation of a reading that appears in the Reform prayer […]

There’s a famous Rebbe Nachman quote: “The whole world is a very narrow bridge, and the most important thing is not to be afraid.” Many contemporary Jewish artists have found this quote really resonates, and there have been a TON of beautiful melodies set to these words. Michelle Citrin’s take is a LOT of fun […]

It’s good to give thanks! That’s what Psalm 92, which we most often sing on Shabbat, tells us. My friend Todd Herzog has a beautiful song interpreting this idea in a modern context, with a message that stresses how important it is to pause and take a moment from the busy grind of our lives […]

Thanksgiving is a time of year when many folks ‘come home,’ whether you define that as a place or the people you’re with. The prayer “Ashrei” begins with the words “happy are those who dwell in Your house,” and while the ‘house’ meant in this instance is our spinning blue planet, the sentiment of finding […]