Rhino Records prides itself on making things available that the big record companies don't think are sufficiently commercial. Whether it's rescuing pop's old one-hit wonders from obscurity or producing comprehensive box sets of cult-favorite singers and groups, Rhino can be counted on to give music buyers things that the mainstream is currently ignoring, a classification that's much broader than the stereotypical "underground college-radio stuff" most people think about when phrases like "non-mainstream" are bandied about. In 1998, Rhino decided that Jewish holiday music was one of the musical needs they ought to be filling.

A short time ago, I wrote a "Family Values" editorial that, among other things, argued that the United States was not a "Christian Nation". Well, I still stand by this with regard to our political system, but where holiday music is concerned that label does seem to hold. Anytime from Halloween through New Year's Day, if you want Christmas music, there's no need to go seeking it out; it will find you. On the radio, at the mall, on street corners, and in record stores that devote whole large sections to displaying the Christmas albums of practically everybody who's ever been a recording artist, you can't escape it. On the other hand, if you want music to celebrate the Jewish festival of lights, Chanukah, it's a much more difficult search. The Jewish people have had millennia to create distinctive music related to holiday traditions, but you're not likely to hear any of it unless you go out of your way to seek it out.

Rhino commissioned executive producer David McLees (a non-Jew who's married to a Jewish woman, and hence has an interest in the holiday music of two different cultures and religions) to create a Jewish holiday music collection. He first tried to find classic out-of-print recordings that could be licensed and reissued in the usual Rhino manner, but found nothing to his liking, so he decided to create new recordings himself. For this he assembled a talented group of performers, including singer/actress Nell Carter (known for her Gimme a Break sitcom role), who is Jewish by conversion.

The songs on To Life! cover not only Chanukah, but also other Jewish holidays including Passover, Rosh Hashanah, and Shabbat (the Jewish Sabbath, observed from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday). Thus, it's not a CD to play in December and then put aside until next year; it can be used year-round.

Over their millennia of history, Jews have spoken many different languages, including Hebrew, Aramaic, Yiddish, and Ladino, so lyrics in several languages can be found in the songs here, sometimes in the form of foreign-language verses alternating with English verses (presumably translated from the other language, but since I'm not fluent in those other languages I can't judge the faithfulness of the translation). One nit I have to pick is that the liner notes don't always identify what language the passages are in; I'm sufficiently linguistically challenged that I don't trust my own ability to tell which language is which without a "cheat sheet." Well, you can tell Yiddish because it sounds like German, but Hebrew and Aramaic are Semitic languages fairly similar to one another.

There are 27 tracks in all, and they're not mostly really short ones just to inflate the track count; they average about 3 minutes, giving you nearly an hour and a half of music. They start with Chanukah and work their way around the Jewish calendar from there; here they are:

Chanukah

1) Chanukah Joyous Holiday (Chanukah, Chag Yafeh Kol Kach): One of the Chanukah classics, essential to any Jewish holiday song collection. As with many old songs, its English verse has been victimized by the changing English language: it says "Old and young are gay," which has a totally different perceived connotation to younger listeners than its songwriters intended.

2) Chanukah, Oh Chanukah: Probably the most famous Chanukah song, the one that goes "Chanukah, Oh Chanukah, come light the menorah...". This version has its first verse in Yiddish, its second in English, and its third in Hebrew (I think... :))

3) The Dreydl Song: (I usually spell it "dreidel", but it's spelled "dreydl" here. Lots of Jewish words have variant spellings because they're transliterated from the Hebrew alphabet.) Another well-known song, about a dreidel made out of clay. The dreidel, a top with Hebrew letters on its sides, is used for a low-stakes gambling game during Chanukah, where kids win and lose pennies or other small things based on which letter comes up. (Most dreidels these days are made of wood or plastic, not clay, however.)

4) Sevivon (Spin Little Dreydl): Another dreidel song.

5) Ocho Kandelikas (Eight Candles): An interesting song in the Jewish Spanish dialect of Ladino. Most people are unaware that there is a Jewish Spanish dialect, but Spain had a large community of Sephardic Jews until 1492, when the Inquisition forced them to either convert to Christianity or leave the country. Some converted, but secretly continued the practice of some Jewish customs -- there are families in remote parts of Spain to this day who regard themselves as Christians but who have some strange family customs of forgotten origin that parallel Jewish tradition, such as lighting candles at sundown Friday night -- these are the descendants of these forcibly-converted Jews, who no longer even remember that they're Jewish, but preserve some cultural traits of it nevertheless. However, many more fled into exile outside Spain, where they continued to speak a language which, cut off from the mainstream Spanish-speaking community, preserved some features in vocabulary and pronunciation of archaic Spanish which are lost in the modern Spanish language, making the surviving Ladino community useful to modern scholars trying to interpret old Spanish writings. Like Yiddish, Ladino is in the process of dying out now, as Israel has brought back Hebrew as its national language, and Jewish communities elsewhere in the world have assimilated into the local cultures and languages. Modern liberal tolerance, ironically, is largely responsible for this loss of culture and language; Jewish communities that are heavily persecuted have more motivation to preserve their distinct culture than those who are accepted by the surrounding community. Anyway, this song counts the candles of Chanukah, which in Ladino goes "una", "dos", "tres", "kuatro", "sintyu", "seysh", "siete", "ocho". Fans of Latin music should note that some of its musical style derives from that of the Sephardic Jews, who in turn got some of it from the Moors who occupied Spain in the middle ages.

6) Maoz Tzur / Rock of Ages: Not to be confused with the Christian hymn of that name, "Rock of Ages" (translated from "Maoz Tzur") is a traditional Jewish song connected with Chanukah, celebrating the overcoming of tyranny. This version is sung by Nell Carter and Jay Levy.

Passover:

7) Dayenu (It Would Have Been Enough): Who is this "Eynu", and why do you want him to die??? Actually, "Dayenu" means "it would have been enough," meaning that the singer would have been satisfied with what he/she already had, even if he/she hadn't received something more afterward. The lyrics run through various things which were given to the ancient Jewish people by God according to the teachings and traditions of Judaism, such as the Sabbath and the Torah, saying that each "would have been enough". It's traditionally sung during Passover seders (the ceremonial dinner of the first or second night of this eight-day holiday).

8) Chad Gadya (One Kid): This is in the format common to folk and children's music of many cultures, where each verse builds on the previous in sequence, like the pyramiding gifts of "The Twelve Days of Christmas" or the growing animals of "The Old Lady who Swallowed a Fly". This one starts with a kid (the goat variety, not a human child) purchased for two zuzim (an ancient very small currency unit, equivalent to a few cents in current money, indicating that this was a really cheap goat); it gets eaten by a cat which is bitten by a dog, and so on, until the Holy One finally arrives to destroy the Angel of Death in the climactic conclusion to this escalating battle.

Purim:

9) Ani Purim (My Name Is Purim): Purim is a less-familiar holiday to most of the public than Chanukah or Passover. It celebrates the liberation of the Jews from the wicked ruler Haman who wished to exterminate them (foreshadowing the Holocaust of the 20th century), as chronicled in the book of Esther. It is a time of merrymaking for Jews (including getting drunk!). This CD has three (fairly short) Purim songs.

10) Hop Mayne Homentashen: "Homentashen" are triangular pastries served during Purim in remembrance of the shape of Haman's hat.

11) Chag Purim: Another Purim tune.

Rosh Hashanah:

12) Medley: Apples and Honey, Tapuchim Udvash, L'Shana Tova (For a Good Year): A combination of songs celebrating several traditions of the Jewish New Year, which begins the High Holy Days that end with Yom Kippur, the day of atonement. Apples and honey are a traditional food served on Rosh Hashana to welcome in the new year of the Jewish calendar.

13) Avinu Malkeinu (Our Father Our King): Traditionally sung during High Holy Day synagogue services, this is usually sung at a point when the worshippers have had to remain standing for an extended series of liturgical passages, and on Yom Kippur also fasted for the better part of a day. On this CD you can hear it in a much more comfortable, less irritability-provoking position! However, it's meant to be experienced in a state somewhat removed from "at ease," since it's humbly appealing to the deity who is both parent and ruler to forgive our human sins and imperfections.

Simchat Torah:

14) Medley: Torah, Torah; Sisu V'Simchu (Rejoice and Be Happy); V'taher Libyenu (Purify Our Hearts): Simchat Torah commemorates the receiving of the Torah (the first five books of the Bible) by the ancient Jewish people in the time of Moses. At this point, synagogues complete the yearly cycle of Torah passage readings and start over at the beginning.

General Celebration:

A few songs not associated with any holiday in particular.

15) Tzena, Tzena, Tzena: Performed by The Weavers with vocal harmonies and acoustic guitar.

16) Hava Nagila: A famous Jewish song performed here by the Barry Sisters.

17) Rabbi Elimeylekh: Performed by Mandy Patinkin.

18) Tayre Malke (Dearest Queen): The liner notes call it "A fun toasting song, appropriate for Passover, Purim, or any other joyous occasion when the mood is right and glasses are raised." It seems to be related stylistically to polka music (not surprisingly, since the countries where polka came from were also the locations of large Jewish communities until the Holocaust).

19) Siman Tov, Mazel Tov / Heiveinu Shalom Aleichem (We Have Brought Peace): Another medley of traditional songs, these being songs of greeting and celebration.

20) Hinei Ma Tov (It Is So Good): Another song of friendship and greeting.

21) Al Sholsha D'Varim (Upon Three Things): A song that commemorates the basic foundations of Judaism: Torah, work, and deeds of loving-kindness.

22) In Meina Oigen Bistie Shain: Performed by the Barry Sisters. Mostly vocals, with a very restrained musical accompaniment.

Shabbat (Sabbath):

23) Medley: Bim Bom; Shabbat Shalom (Sabbath Peace); Yism'chu (Rejoice); Lo Yisah Goy (Nations Shall Live In Peace): Several traditional Sabbath songs.

24) Shalom Aleichem (Peace Be Unto You): A 17th-century song traditional to open the Sabbath meal.

25) Shabbes Zol Zayn (Let There Be Sabbath): A Yiddish song expressing a hope for peace throughout the world.

26) Sabbath Prayer / To Life: Theodore Bikel performs this song from Fiddler on the Roof which rapidly became traditional for Jewish weddings. (Everything traditional had to start out as something new once; this one is just newer than most others.)

27) Eliyahu (Elijah the Prophet): The prophet Elijah is traditionally believed to be returning to announce the coming of the Messiah; Jews pour an extra glass of wine for him at Passover. This song wishes for him to come soon.

This CD has been criticized for not breaking any new ground in Jewish music, but that's not its intended role; it's simply trying to make more widely available some of the past tradition of music for Jewish holidays and celebrations. At this it does a very good job. It's up to Jewish songwriters of the present and future to create some new traditions for future compilations to collect; they have often neglected this task, as some famous 20th century Jewish songwriters, like Irving Berlin, Jerry Herman and Mel Torme, have actually written some of the best-known Christmas songs -- preferring to "go where the money is" rather than reflect their own tradition.




Recommended: Yes