The Sound of the Omer

While discussing a topic for this year's Omer Learning project, my Rabbi suggested the theme of Jewish Music. I was skeptical; will Jewish Music resonate with our community?

As you'll see below, I couldn't have been more off-base. Entries poured in, and we covered both this year and next year's Omer Learning project with ease.

A key question, of course, is what is Jewish Music? We intentionally went with a very broad definition: Jewish Music is whatever the contributor felt was Jewish Music. Over and over, I encouraged people to not overthink it. If it strikes you as Jewish Music, I'd say, share it. The hope was that we'd get a wide spectrum of submissions, and boy did we ever.

Below is each day of the Omer's submission, including a link to where you can read a bit of context about why the song was selected. And below that is a YouTube playlist where you can listen to all the selections.

Enjoy--I know I did!

Day 3: Hallelujah - sung by Milk and Honey, music composed by Kobi Oshrat and Hebrew lyrics written by Shimrit Orr

Day 4: Heal Us Now - Leon Sher

Day 5: Kehilos Hakodesh - Shulem Lemmer

Day 6: Sing Unto the Lord a New Song - Camerata Singers

Day 9: King Without a Crown - Matisyahu

Day 10: Tree of Life - Nefesh Mountain

Day 11: Ofyn Pripetchik - M.M. Warshawsky

Day 12: Close Every Door to Me - Andrew Lloyd Webber

Day 13: All Right Now - Free

Day 15: Ariel - Dean Friedman

Day 16: Pretty Fly for a Rabbi - Weird Al Yankovic

Day 17: Im Nin'alu - Ofra Haza

Day 18: Romeo and Juliet - Mark Knopfler

Day 19: On a Clear Day - Barbara Streisand

Day 20: Ride 'em Jewboy - Kinky Friedman

Day 22: Bashana Haba'ah - Shir Soul

Day 23: White Christmas - Irving Berlin, performed by Bing Crosby

Day 24: Latke Recipe (based on Shut Up and Dance) - The Maccabeats (via Walk the Moon)

Day 25: Living on a Prayer - Bon Jovi

Day 26: Dust in the Wind - Kansas

Day 27: U'vashofar Gadol - Beth Abraham Synagogue Youth Choir, Dayton, Ohio

Day 29: Kol Nidre - A setting of Kol Nidre by the (non-Jewish) composer Max Bruch for solo cello and orchestra - Composer: Max Bruch Performer: Misha Maisky, Frankfurt Radio Symphony

Day 30: Papa, Can You Hear Me? - Barbra Streisand

Day 31: Send in the Clowns - Stephen Sondheim

Day 32: Blowin’ in the Wind - Bob Dylan (Robert Allen Zimmerman)

Day 33: Habib Galbi - A-Wa (i.e. the Chaim sisters and their band)

Day 34: Tapestry - Carole King

Day 36: Vihznitser Nign - Yale Strom & Hot Pstromi

Day 37: Valerie live at BBC Radio. This is a very relaxed version and reminds me of a day at the beach. - Amy Winehouse

Day 38: Keep Going - Nissim Baruch Black

Day 39: Avodath Hakodesh (Sacred Service) - Composer: Ernst Bloch Performers: NY Philharmonic, Leonard Bernstein; Choir of the Metropolitan Synagogue; Choir of the Community Church of NY

Day 40: Kol ha'olam kulo - Baruch Chait, inspired by Rabbi Nachman of Breslov

Day 41: The Sound of Silence - Simon and Garfunkel

Day 43: V'shamru - Unknown

Day 44: We are still here (Am Yisrael Chai) - Maccabeats

Day 45: I Gotta Feeling - Black Eyed Peas

Day 46: B’yado - David Paskin

Day 47: Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh - Allan Sherman

Day 48: Gott Fun Avrom - Unknown