The Lectures and the Website
"Jewish Folksongs" is a series of lectures given in either English or Hebrew about the ways folk songs reflect different themes of Jewish heritage. The songs mainly cover Yiddish and Ladino-speaking cultures, and I also look at a few piyutim, hasidic and Israeli folksongs. In the lectures I speak about the songs, sing them with guitar accompaniment and invite the audience to sing along with me.
The website complements the material in the lectures. It includes music videos and detailed information and sources, mainly from the Internet, as well as a reference section regarding different aspects of Jewish musical heritage with brief surveys and additional references to online information sources. Lyrics of the songs dealt with in the lectures are also included on the website.
In this introductory lecture, I take a few representative songs and, together with the audience, develop criteria to define the characteristics of Jewish folksongs. On this webpage, we enter the doors opened by each of the songs – one by one – and see which aspects of Jewish heritage they lead us to. | |
| Shabbat: | Shabbat is a songfully joyous festival - and it comes around 52 times a year! |
| Hanukkah: | Take a quiz and come to the lecture for the answers. Also - a bonus quiz for Internet addicts! |
| Tu Bishvat: | The "tree of life" is a rich source of folklore, cultural history, religion and folksong. |
| Purim: | Eat, drink and be merry - and share the fun with others! |
| Pesach: | What is the significance of the kid in this kids' song? |
The songs reflect the many faces of this festival: revelation, sacred marriage, harvest festivities - and cheese cake! | |
| Is there such a thing as a Jewish mother? What about Jewish fathers and Jewish grandparents? Learn about the many different topics covered in this lecture on the Jewish family. | |
| In-laws | Whatever the language, mothers-in-law (especially mothers of the groom) are reviled. Listen to the folksongs to find out why. |
As in the Introductory Lecture, we enter the doors opened by each of the songs and see which aspects of Jewish and world culture they lead us to. | |
| Upcoming lectures | Boys and Girls; Places; Occupations; Hasidim; Eliahu, the Messiah, and the world to come; Jew and Gypsy |
| The Golden Peacock | In which way does the golden peacock symbolize Yiddish literature? |
| Trees | The "tree of life" is a rich source of folklore, cultural history, religion and folksong. |
| One Only Kid | What is the significance of the kid in this kids' song? |
| Upcoming lectures | Seasons; Flowers |
| Weddings | What do Ladino and Yiddish folksongs tell us about the way Sephardic and Ashkenazi weddings used to be celebrated? |
| Upcoming lectures | Love and Courtship; Lullabies; Food; Drink |
See you at the lectures!
["The Fiddler" - M. Chagall]
