The lion roars, so be afraid!

In our current conflict with Iran, our part in it has been named "Operation Roaring Lion". This name is taken from a prophecy by Amos which, as it just so happens, also inspired our musical member Max Stern to compose a piece, more than nine minutes in duration, that captures the ferocity and intensity of the prophet's words "The Lion hath roared, who will not fear?" 

Max composed "Aryeh Shaag" back in 2011 for chorus, shofars and strings. You can listen to it by clicking this link.

By way of a bonus, here are Max's program notes:

The hope of a solution to the age-old historical wandering of the Jewish people, whose presence in the ancient homeland has yet to prove a cure for the perpetual recurrence of persecution throughout Jewish history, today takes on a new guise in the form of exaggerated criticism of the State of Israel.

Generations ago, in a call to faithfulness, the prophet Amos looked into his people's origins and destiny: “You only have I known of all the families of the earth; Therefore, I will visit upon you all your iniquities” (Amos 3:2).

Aryeh Shaag was commissioned for the conference, "Messianism and Madness," premiered at the Ariel University Center of Samaria (this being the locale of the biblical kingdom of Israel, where Amos once prophesied). This recording is performed by a choral and instrumental ensemble under the direction of the composer.

Here, drawn from Amos 3:1-2, 6-8, is the text:

Hear this word that the Lord hath spoken against you, O children of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up out of the land of Egypt, saying: You only have I known of all the families of the earth; therefore I will visit upon you all your iniquities. Shall the horn be blown in the city, and the people not tremble? Shall evil befall a city, and the Lord hath not done it? The Lion hath roared, who will not fear? The Lord God hath spoken, who can but prophesy?

Hava Narisha Rash Rash Rash!

 

Any reader of this blog who has had children, grandchildren or great-grandchildren getting excitedly ready for Purim will almost certainly be word-perfect when it comes to singing "Purim Day" with its infectious chorus "Hava narisha rash rash rash!". Well, here's a very pretty version of it for unaccompanied ladies' voices.* It was recorded in Romania by the Antifonia Choir conducted by Constantin Ripa and the lyrics go like this:

Purim Day, Purim Day, 

Gladsome joyous holiday.

Happy throngs masked and dancing gay.

Havan arisha, rash, rash, rash.

With your gregers play.

It's only 1.24 minutes long and you can listen to it here.

* It is the voices that are unaccompanied, not the women.

Kaddish for a Troubled World

With today being Asarah beTevet, our universal kaddish day, our musical member Max Stern has shared with us a composition to match the mood of the moment, “Kaddish for a troubled world", for solo baritone and choir.

Writing about this work, Max explains:

Kaddish for a troubled world" relates to Kaddish both as a doxology in praise of the Creator and as a eulogy in mourning for the departed. This Kaddish speaks of a "day which is neither day and nor night." It is addressed to our world, to our own time, by the angels: Karev yom, karev yom asher hu lo yom velo laila.

The real question: Is mankind to live in a world of peace and brotherhood, love and concern for the other and finally come together at the dawn of a new era – the Messianic Age? Or is humanity destined to mourn a world moving into a dark night; unable to overcome age-old jealously, fear, and greed; misusing divine gifts, science and technology for perverse ends—the blessing of life destroyed?

You can listen to Kaddish for a Troubled World here.

“Chanukah, Oh Chanukah”

"Oh Chanukah" (also "Chanukah, Oh Chanukah") is an English version of the Yiddish song "Oy Chanukah”. The English words, while not a translation, are roughly based on the Yiddish. The lyrics are about dancing the hora, eating latkes, playing dreidel, lighting the candles and singing happy songs.

Here's another joyous rendition of this cheerful song by our member Max Stern, arranged for unaccompanied women's voices

Jewish ‘rock’ music: Maoz Tzur

"Maoz Tzur" (מָעוֹז צוּר) is probably the best-known and most frequently sung of our festive piyyutim. It is an integral and memorable part of our nightly ceremony for lighting the chanukiyah. The words are believed to have been written in the 13th century in the Ashkenazi Jewish communities of the Rhineland valley, in the aftermath of violence from the Crusades and blood libels. 

The author of the lyrics is anonymous, but the original Hebrew text includes an acrostic of the name Mordechai in the first five stanzas (there are six in total, of which the last is a later addition). As for the tune, it is widely believed to be based on a German folk tune or battle song from the 15th or 16th century.

To hear a version of “Maoz Tzur” for women’s voices, arranged by none other than our member Max Stern, click here.

The Song of the Morning Stars

 In this week's Torah reading, we read (at Bereishit 15:1 to 5) the following passage:

אַחַ֣ר  הַדְּבָרִ֣ים הָאֵ֗לֶּה הָיָ֤ה דְבַר־יְהֹוָה֙ אֶל־אַבְרָ֔ם בַּֽמַּחֲזֶ֖ה לֵאמֹ֑ר אַל־תִּירָ֣א אַבְרָ֗ם אָנֹכִי֙ מָגֵ֣ן לָ֔ךְ שְׂכָרְךָ֖ הַרְבֵּ֥ה מְאֹֽד׃

וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אַבְרָ֗ם אֲדֹנָ֤י יֱהֹוִה֙ מַה־תִּתֶּן־לִ֔י וְאָנֹכִ֖י הוֹלֵ֣ךְ עֲרִירִ֑י וּבֶן־מֶ֣שֶׁק בֵּיתִ֔י ה֖וּא דַּמֶּ֥שֶׂק אֱלִיעֶֽזֶר׃

וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אַבְרָ֔ם הֵ֣ן לִ֔י לֹ֥א נָתַ֖תָּה זָ֑רַע וְהִנֵּ֥ה בֶן־בֵּיתִ֖י יוֹרֵ֥שׁ אֹתִֽי׃

וְהִנֵּ֨ה דְבַר־יְהֹוָ֤ה אֵלָיו֙ לֵאמֹ֔ר לֹ֥א יִֽירָשְׁךָ֖ זֶ֑ה כִּי־אִם֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר יֵצֵ֣א מִמֵּעֶ֔יךָ ה֖וּא יִֽירָשֶֽׁךָ׃

וַיּוֹצֵ֨א אֹת֜וֹ הַח֗וּצָה וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ הַבֶּט־נָ֣א הַשָּׁמַ֗יְמָה וּסְפֹר֙ הַכּ֣וֹכָבִ֔ים אִם־תּוּכַ֖ל לִסְפֹּ֣ר אֹתָ֑ם וַיֹּ֣אמֶר ל֔וֹ כֹּ֥ה יִהְיֶ֖ה זַרְעֶֽךָ

1.       After these things the word of the Lord came to Avram in a vision, saying: “Fear not, Avram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.”

2.       But Avram said, “My Lord, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?”

3.       And Avram said, “Look, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir.”

4.       And look, the word of the Lord came to him, saying: “This man shall not be your heir; only your very own son shall be your heir.”

5.       And He brought him outside and said, “Look toward the heavens, and count the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then He said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”

 Our member Max Stern (whose surname appropriately means "star") has composed a cosmic song of praise based on another reference to stars in Tanach, this time from the Book of Iyov (Job 38:7):

 בְּרָן-יַחַד, כּוֹכְבֵי בֹקֶר;    וַיָּרִיעוּ, כָּל-בְּנֵי אֱלֹהִים

"When the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy".

Max adds: These are the stars which shed their light after all the other stars have ceased to shine, and while the sun yet delays to rise. Are these too the stars that Avram saw when he gazed into the sky--and would he have heard their song?

Max's composition, "Song of the Morning Stars". can be accessed here. This recording is performed by the Israel Sinfonietta (Beer Sheva) under the baton of Uri Mayer, conductor.  

The Creation: a work in seven parts

The biblical story of the Creation is one of the most beautiful and best-loved parts of the Torah, reflecting the care and attention to detail with which God formatted our daily environment. Inspired by the Creation narrative and taking the text of Bereishit 1:1-31 and 2:1-3, our member Max Stern composed “Creation of the World (Bereishit)” which he scored for soprano, flute, strings and percussion.

This piece, like Creation itself, is structured in seven segments, each representing a day in the process of the world’s formation: 1 darkness-light, 2 seas-heaven, 3 land-vegetation, 4 sun-moon-stars, 5 fish-birds, 6 beasts-man
, 7 Shabbat.

Here we bring you a 1995 recording by the Ashdod Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Luis Gorelik. The soloists are Amalia Ishak (soprano) and Avihai Ornoy (flute). This is a live recording made on Kibbutz Yavneh, Israel, 1995.

You can enjoy Max’s work by clicking here.

Mizmor LeTodah: a song of thanks!

This week has seen an outbreak of unbridled joy and spontaneous gratitude to God that is unprecedented in recent times, when it seemed that almost everyone in our little nation was following the events leading up to the release of the last living hostages and their reunion with families and loved ones. This surge of pure emotion was encapsulated by the recitation in many places of worship -- including our own Beit Knesset Hanassi -- of Mizmor LeTodah (Psalm 100), a chapter of Tehillim that expresses this gratitude in a format that has stood the test of millennia.

Mizmor LeTodah runs like this:

In translation:

Our member Max Stern has provided his own cheerful, effervescent musical version of Mizmor LeTodah. You can enjoy it on his YouTube channel here.

"Give Ear, O Heavens, and I Will Speak!"

This coming Shabbat our Torah reading—Ha'azinu—is a song. And who better to put it to music than our own Max Stern?

The Song of Moses (Devarim 32) comes in two versions. The original is set for contrabass and orchestra. Max explains:

The contrabass takes on the role of the Lawgiver, justifying the ways of God to man. Heaven and Earth are portrayed by the orchestra. "Give ear O heavens and I will speak; and hear O earth, the words of my mouth”. 

You can listen to it here. In this, the first recording of Max’s piece, Gary Karr plays contrabass, and the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra provides the backing under the baton of Arthur Fagen.

The second version has Max playing it himself back in 1996, accompanied by a harp and organ. According to Max, his work draws upon Jewish traditional and ethnic musical sources in order to illuminate epic biblical poetry to trace the dramatic trajectory of the text of Ha'azinu.  In this instrumental characterization of Moses’ farewell song to the children of Israel, the narrative foretells the history and prophetic mission of the Jewish people. You can listen to it here. This version comes with the text on-screen.

Hannah's Song of Thanksgiving

Hannah's prayer from the Book of 1 Samuel is read as the Rosh Hashanah Haftarah: its themes of longing, heartfelt supplication, and the promise of dedicating a child to God's service resonate with the spiritual focus of the High Holidays. Hannah’s prayer exemplifies the need to approach God with deep sincerity, pouring out one's true desires and struggles, even when feels that one is submerged in a quagmire of unending disappointment.

In setting this prayer to music, our member Max Stern describes it as “ a paroxysm of praise and ecstasy filled with awe, wonder, love, and visceral confidence by a woman, joyous beyond her senses at the birth of a son”. It is, he maintains, the most important prayer uttered by a woman in the Bible.

This recording was made almost exactly 30 years ago, on 13 September1995 at the Maisel Synagogue, Prague. The musicians are Kristyna Valouskova (soprano) and Yuri Likin (oboe).

You can listen to this intense, emotionally charged composition here.

God will fetch us back!

The prayer for the State of Israel was introduced in 1948 by both the Sephardic and Ashkenazic Chief Rabbis of the newly-established State—Rabbi Ben-Zion Meir Hai Uziel and Rabbi Yitzhak HaLevi Herzog. This Shabbat coincides with the 77th anniversary of the day it was first published in the HaTzofeh newspaper, 20 September 1948. 

Our Torah reading this week, Parashat Nitzavim, is the source of a substantial part of its text. At Devarim 30:4-5 we read:

אִם-יִהְיֶה נִדַּחֲךָ, בִּקְצֵה הַשָּׁמָיִם--מִשָּׁם, יְקַבֶּצְךָ יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ, וּמִשָּׁם, יִקָּחֶךָ

וֶהֱבִיאֲךָ יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ, אֶל-הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר-יָרְשׁוּ אֲבֹתֶיךָ--וִירִשְׁתָּהּ; וְהֵיטִבְךָ וְהִרְבְּךָ, מֵאֲבֹתֶיךָ

If any of you who are dispersed should be in the utmost parts of heaven, from there will the Lord your God gather you, and from there will He fetch you.

And the Lord your God will bring you into the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it; and He will do you good and multiply you beyond your fathers.

The full text of the Prayer for the State of Israel, including these words of comfort and reassurance, has been set to music by our member Max Stern.

You can listen to Max’s version of this prayer (sweetly sung by the Kecskemet Singing Circle conducted by Peter Erdei) here.

Arise, Shine!

The haftarah that goes with this week's Torah reading of parashat Ki Tavo, is drawn from Isaiah 60:1-22, is one of the best-known passages of prophetic comfort and consolation in the Bible. Opening with the words 

“Arise! Shine! For your light has arrived, and the glory of the Lord has shone upon you”, 

This haftarah continues with warm words of positive reassurance and effectively restores our relationship with God after the tumultuous, tortuous text of Ki Tavo’s tochachah. 

Our member and distinguished composer Max Stern, inspired by those words, has composed “Arise, Shine!”, played here by the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. For a link to this piece,  click here.

Important message for music-lovers

In much the same manner as the dawn breaks, with the light creeping out by infinitesimal increments, this piece opens with a passage that is very, very quiet -- so much so that you might be misled into thinking that it hasn't begun at all. If you are a user of a hearing enhancement device, be sure to be wearing it and to switch it on, or the opening passage may escape you entirely.

Time for Tehillim: Hallel for orchestra

Standing at the threshold of Rosh Chodesh Elul, we are about to recite our last Hallels for six weeks--the longest gap between Hallels in the Jewish calendar. This is because Rosh Chodesh Tishrei is also Rosh Hashanah, far too solemn and momentous an occasion for the singing of Hallel, and the next chance we get to say it is at the beginning of Sukkot, when we begin a straight run of eight days of full Hallel that culminate with Shemini Atzeret/Simchat Torah (that's nine days for members who are spending the Chag chutz la'aretz).  

We have two days' Rosh Chodesh Elul ahead of us, on Sunday 24 and Monday 25 August.

To get you into the mood to celebrate Hallel in all its joyful majesty, here's a recording of a new composition, 'Hallel for Orchestra', by our member and leading Israeli composer Max Stern. It's Max who's doing the conducting, and the band is none other than our own Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra.

So what is this piece about?  According to Max:

Hallel for Orchestra is a hymn of jubilant praise inspired after the Hallel Psalms (Tehillim 113-118). Its asymmetric rhythmic motifs are derived from trope-like pronunciations of the Hebrew text to Psalm 113. These alternate with traditional melodies sung to Psalms 114 and 117 in Ashkenaz synagogue liturgy.

You can enjoy Hallel for Orchestra (all 12 minutes and 34 seconds of it) by clicking here.

The text of Tehillim 113, with English translation, runs like this:

Psalm 113 תְּהִלִּים

א  הַלְלוּ-יָהּ

הַלְלוּ, עַבְדֵי יְהוָה;    הַלְלוּ, אֶת-שֵׁם יְהוָה

1 Hallelujah. 

Praise, O ye servants of the LORD,

praise the name of the LORD.

ב  יְהִי שֵׁם יְהוָה מְבֹרָךְ--    מֵעַתָּה, וְעַד-עוֹלָם

2 Blessed be the name of the LORD

from this time forth and forever.

ג  מִמִּזְרַח-שֶׁמֶשׁ עַד-מְבוֹאוֹ--    מְהֻלָּל, שֵׁם יְהוָה

3 From the rising of the sun unto the

going down thereof the LORD'S name is

to be praised.

ד  רָם עַל-כָּל-גּוֹיִם יְהוָה;    עַל הַשָּׁמַיִם כְּבוֹדוֹ.

4 The LORD is high above all nations; His

glory is above the heavens.

ה  מִי, כַּיהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ--    הַמַּגְבִּיהִי לָשָׁבֶת

5 Who is like unto the LORD our God,

that is enthroned on high,

ו  הַמַּשְׁפִּילִי לִרְאוֹת--    בַּשָּׁמַיִם וּבָאָרֶץ

6 That looketh down low upon heaven

and upon the earth?

ז  מְקִימִי מֵעָפָר דָּל;    מֵאַשְׁפֹּת, יָרִים אֶבְיוֹן

7 Who raiseth up the poor out of the

dust, and lifteth up the needy out of the

dunghill;

ח  לְהוֹשִׁיבִי עִם-נְדִיבִים;    עִם, נְדִיבֵי עַמּוֹ

8 That He may set him with princes,

even with the princes of His people.

ט  מוֹשִׁיבִי, עֲקֶרֶת הַבַּיִת--    אֵם-הַבָּנִים שְׂמֵחָה

הַלְלוּ-יָהּ

9 Who maketh the barren woman to

dwell in her house as a joyful mother of

children. Hallelujah.

Ode to Zion

There is a famous kinah, penned by Rabbi Yehudah HaLevi. It’s called "Tzion Halo Tishali" (“Zion, will you not ask?”), and we recited it in shul yesterday morning following a beautiful explanatory introduction by Eli Friedwald.  A prominent part of the Tisha b'Av liturgy, it expresses the poet's deep love and longing for the Land of Israel and Jerusalem. The author, a 12th-century Spanish Jewish poet and philosopher, wrote this kinnah while yearning for a return to the Land of Israel. 

Max Stern took this kinah as his inspiration for composing a two-part Ode to Zion for violin solo, woodwind quintet and strings. Max describes this Ode as a tone poem in two parts. The opening section, “Ani Kinnor”, is the song of a bird awaiting the dawn while it poses the question “O Zion, will you not ask how your exiles are?” The second section, “Dawn”, describes the breaking forth of the light:  "Happy is he who waits to see your dawn breaking forth".

You can listen to Ode to Zion on Max’s YouTube channel here.

A year earlier, Max wrote a shorter Ode to Zion, for flute and viola, that you can listen to here.

Beaten, but never down

 In this week's Torah reading we revisit the story of Balak, Balaam and his talking donkey. The whole episode of Balak and his failed attempt to get Balaam to curse the People of Israel is a departure from the hitherto unbroken narrative of the departure from Egypt and the increasingly problematic period that leads to the long-awaited entry to Canaan, our Promised Land. While humour and irony abound, this episode is loaded with deeper meaning and also with vivid imagery, as the wicked prophet Balaam unwillingly pours out his blessings upon the wandering tribe. But, before he does so, he receives some astringent mussar at the hands of his donkey and a sword-brandishing angel.

Never losing its freshness nor its fascination, the tale of Balaam and his donkey has inspired art, literature and music. Here, in this YouTube clip, in "Balaam and the Ass", our member Max Stern depicts it as what he calls "a contemporary duo for trombone and percussion".  Referencing the biblical passage of Bemidbar 22:21-35, Max writes:

Beaten because she strays from the way, the dumb animal -- on beholding an angel -- miraculously speaks back. More than a humorous animal tale, this is a commentary on what it means to be human. 

Credits: Contemporary Duo for Trombone and Percussion (played by Stewart Taylor, trombone and Gene Cipriani, percussion).

The Song of Miriam's Well

This coming week’s parashah says different things to different people. Many of us are preoccupied with the mystery of the Red Heifer, but others focus on the death of Miriam and Moses’ punishment for hitting the water-bearing rock instead of speaking to us. But for our member and distinguished composer Max Stern the stand-out feature is a curious song with puzzling words, apparently sung by a well. This episode inspired Max to write a short work, The Song of Miriam's Well, which you can listen to here.

Let Max tell you about it in his own words. He writes:

The Well of Miriam was a sieve-like rock out of which water gushed forth and supplied the Children of Israel with water on their 40-year wanderings in the desert. Legend has it that the Well itself sang while the people responded as a chorus.

This composition recreates the sparkling joy of the Well, and the spirit of universal goodwill that accompanied it.

צִדְקָתְךָ, כְּהַרְרֵי-אֵל

מִשְׁפָּטֶיךָ, תְּהוֹם רַבָּה

 אָדָם וּבְהֵמָה תוֹשִׁיעַ יְהוָה

Thy righteousness is like the mighty mountains; Thy judgments are like the great deep; Man and beast Thou preservest, O LORD. (Ps.36:7)

 וְצִדְקָתְךָ אֱלֹהִים, עַד-מָרוֹם

אֲשֶׁר-עָשִׂיתָ גְדֹלוֹת; אֱלֹהִים, מִי כָמוֹךָ

Thy righteousness, O God, reacheth unto high heaven; Thou who hast done great things, O God, who is like unto Thee? (Ps. 71:19)

 צִדְקָתְךָ צֶדֶק לְעוֹלָם; וְתוֹרָתְךָ אֱמֶת

Thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and Thy law is truth. Ps.119:142)

The piece is scored for a two-part choir, two-part speaking chorus, and contrabass. It was recorded and edited by Shalom Kinnory.

***** ***** ***** ***** *****

As a footnote, some of you may be thinking there's something wrong here. The Song of the Well in parashat Chukkat comes well after the death of Miriam and the end of her well -- so how can the well in question be Miriam's well?  For an excellent answer, click here.

Prophet or King?

This coming Shabbat our haftorah is taken from the First Book of Samuel. While the Torah reading addresses the leadership crisis that occurs when Korach challenges the authority of Moshe, the haftorah depicts the prophet Shmuel confronting a people bent on setting a man over themselves as king.  

Prophet or King, another composition by our member Max Stern, vividly sets this confrontation to music, drawing upon the attitude and mindset of mass protest. As Max himself explains:

Reaching beyond the purely historical, this episode marshals power from the voice of the angry mob of all times by placing it within a contemporary context. Strikers, protesters, agitators, and grumblers of all sorts, add their voices to the ancients in demanding the needs of the moment, while ignoring the call of Eternity. 

How ironic is it that challenges to leadership so often lead to divisions in society and to the destruction of achdut, unity, while the ability of any orchestra or choir to function properly depends upon its individuals coming together and accepting the leadership of a single conductor.

Max's piece is scored for baritone soloist, narrators, choir and various instruments. It was first performed on 28 May 2007. The text is based on 1 Samuel, chapters 8, 11, 12 and Psalm 146:10. 

You can listen to this dramatic composition here.

Nishmat Kol Chai: A special song for 23 Sivan

Earlier this week we posted this piece by Rabbi Paul Bloom on the significance of 23 Sivan. Another of our members, Max Stern, has added to this by sharing with us a musical rendition of the first part of Nishmat Kol Chai for female voice, bassoon and piano. 

You can both watch this work (there are some cute visuals) and listen to it on Max's YouTube channel here.

Max has styled his work "Blessing of Song". It was composed during the Covid pandemic as a prayer for all humanity, expressing a profound and immensely topical desire that life should return to normal.

Megillat Ruth: Three Declarations

One of the highlights of the festival of Shavuot is the public reading in shul of Megillat Ruth, a powerful and moving narrative of love, of commitment, of honesty and sincerity. Three of the most famous passages in this Megillah has been the inspiration for "Three Declarations", a piece for solo bassoon and strings that our member Max Stern dedicated to his friend, musician and fellow educator Mauricio Paez, who commissioned them. What is this piece all about? Let Max explain in his own words: 

These Three Declarations for solo bassoon and string quintet encapsulate three scenes from the Book of Ruth in brief musical portraits, which musically synthesize traditional ethnic sources (Yemenite women’s wedding songs) with freely expressive instrumental interpretations of statements by Ruth, Boaz, and “People at the Gate.” The Three Declarations are as follows:

Ruth I: 16-17

וַתֹּאמֶר רוּת אַל-תִּפְגְּעִי-בִי, לְעָזְבֵךְ לָשׁוּב מֵאַחֲרָיִךְ:  כִּי אֶל-אֲשֶׁר תֵּלְכִי אֵלֵךְ, וּבַאֲשֶׁר תָּלִינִי אָלִין--עַמֵּךְ עַמִּי, וֵאלֹהַיִךְ אֱלֹהָי

בַּאֲשֶׁר תָּמוּתִי אָמוּת, וְשָׁם אֶקָּבֵר; כֹּה יַעֲשֶׂה יְהוָה לִי, וְכֹה יוֹסִיף--כִּי הַמָּוֶת, יַפְרִיד בֵּינִי וּבֵינֵךְ

16 And Ruth said: "Entreat me not to leave thee, and to return from following after thee; for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge; thy people hall be my people, and thy God my God; 

17 where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried; the LORD do so to me, and more also, if aught but death part thee and me".

Ruth II: 11-12

וַיַּעַן בֹּעַז, וַיֹּאמֶר לָהּ--הֻגֵּד הֻגַּד לִי כֹּל אֲשֶׁר-עָשִׂית אֶת-חֲמוֹתֵךְ, אַחֲרֵי מוֹת אִישֵׁךְ; וַתַּעַזְבִי אָבִיךְ וְאִמֵּךְ, וְאֶרֶץ מוֹלַדְתֵּךְ, וַתֵּלְכִי, אֶל-עַם אֲשֶׁר לֹא-יָדַעַתְּ תְּמוֹל שִׁלְשׁוֹם

יְשַׁלֵּם יְהוָה, פָּעֳלֵךְ; וּתְהִי מַשְׂכֻּרְתֵּךְ שְׁלֵמָה, מֵעִם יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל, אֲשֶׁר-בָּאת, לַחֲסוֹת תַּחַת-כְּנָפָיו

11 And Boaz answered and said unto her: "It hath fully been told me, all that thou hast done unto thy mother-in-law since the death of thy husband; and how thou hast left thy father and thy mother, and the land of thy nativity, and art come unto a people that thou knowest not heretofore. 

12 The LORD recompense thy work, and be thy reward complete from the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to take refuge".

Ruth IV:11-12

וַיֹּאמְרוּ כָּל-הָעָם אֲשֶׁר-בַּשַּׁעַר, וְהַזְּקֵנִים--עֵדִים; יִתֵּן יְהוָה אֶת-הָאִשָּׁה הַבָּאָה אֶל-בֵּיתֶךָ, כְּרָחֵל וּכְלֵאָה אֲשֶׁר בָּנוּ שְׁתֵּיהֶם אֶת-בֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵל, וַעֲשֵׂה-חַיִל בְּאֶפְרָתָה, וּקְרָא-שֵׁם בְּבֵית לָחֶם

וִיהִי בֵיתְךָ כְּבֵית פֶּרֶץ, אֲשֶׁר-יָלְדָה תָמָר לִיהוּדָה--מִן-הַזֶּרַע, אֲשֶׁר יִתֵּן יְהוָה לְךָ, מִן-הַנַּעֲרָה, הַזֹּאת

11 And all the people that were in the gate, and the elders, said: "We are witnesses. The LORD make the woman that is come into thy house like Rachel and like Leah, which two did build the house of Israel; and do thou worthily in Ephrath and be famous in Beth-lehem;

12 and let thy house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore unto Judah, of the seed which the LORD shall give thee of this young woman".

You can experience "Three Declarations" as played by Mauricio Paez on YouTube here. 

Chad Gadya! What's the story behind the lyrics?

Does the singing of "Chad Gadyo" feature among your earliest and most powerful childhood Pesach memories? That beloved song -- now rebranded "Chad Gadya" -- remains eternally young even we we grow old. Here's Max Stern's arrangement of Chad Gadya for unaccompanied female voices. It's a real treat -- and it sounds much like the tune this blogger learned when he was a small child.  If you want to know more about the lyrics, read on. The information below is taken from Wikipedia. 

Chad Gadya (Aramaic: חַד גַדְיָא, "one little goat", or "one kid"; Hebrew: "גדי אחד,  gedi echad") is a playful cumulative song in Aramaic and Hebrew. It brings to an end the Passover Seder. Curiously this song first appeared in print in a Haggadah compiled in Prague in 1590, which makes it the most recent inclusion in the traditional Passover seder liturgy.

As with any work of verse, Chad Gadya is open to interpretation. According to some modern Jewish commentators, what appears to be a light-hearted song is deeply symbolic. One interpretation is that Chad Gadya refers to the different nations that have conquered the Land of Israel:

·       The kid symbolizes the Jewish people;

·       the cat, Assyria;

·       he dog, Babylon;

·       the stick, Persia;

·       the fire, Macedonia;

·       the water, Roman Empire;

·       the ox, the Saracens;

·       the slaughterer, the Crusaders;

·       the angel of death, the Ottomans.

At the end, God returns to send the Jews back to Israel. The recurring refrain of 'two zuzim' is a reference to the two stone tablets given to Moses on Mount Sinai (or to Moses and Aaron themselves). This interpretation, first widely disseminated in a pamphlet published in 1731 in Leipzig by Philip Nicodemus Lebrecht, has become quite popular, with many variations of which oppressor is represented by which character in the song.

Though commonly interpreted as an historical allegory of the Jewish people, the song may also represent the journey to self-development. The price of two zuzim, mentioned in every stanza, is (according to Targum Yonatan to I Shmuel 9:8) equal to the machtzit hashekel tax upon every adult Israelite male (in Shemot 30:13); making the price of two zuzim the price of a Jewish soul. 

Also, we have these explanations:

Rabbi Yaakov Emden: a list of the pitfalls and perils facing the soul during one's life.

Rabbi Yonatan Eybeschuetz: a highly abbreviated history of Israel from the Covenant of the Two Pieces recorded in Bereshit 15 (the two zuzim), to slavery in Egypt (the cat), the staff of Moses (the stick) and ending with the Roman conqueror Titus (the Angel of Death).

Rabbi Moshe Sofer (the Chatam Sofer): a description of the Passover ritual in the Temple of Jerusalem. There the goat is purchased for the Paschal sacrifice. The cat is an allusion to the Talmudic notion that dreaming of a cat is a premonition of singing such as occurs in the seder. Likewise, dogs bark after midnight which is the time limit for the seder. The Kohen who led the cleaning of the altar on Passover morning would use water to wash his hands; many people at the Temple that day would bring oxen as sacrifices, and the Angel of Death is the Roman Empire that destroyed the Second Temple.

The Vilna Gaon: the kid is the birthright that passed from Avraham to Yitzchak; the father is Yaakov; the two zumin is the meal Yaakov paid Eisav for his birthright; the cat is the envy of Yaakov’s sons toward Yosef; the dog is Egypt where Yosef and his clan were enslaved; the stick is the staff of Moshe; the fire the thirst for idolatry; the water the sages who eradicated idolatry; the ox is Rome; the shochet is the Messiah; the Angel of Death represents the death of Moshiach; the Holy One is God, who arrives with Moshiach.