High Holy Day Music from throughout the Jewish World JNUL - Jewish National & University Library

As we start another year of studies, I invite my students and their families to check out this wonderful database of Jewish music from around the world for Selichot, Rosh Hashanah, and Yom Kippur.

JNUL - Jewish National & University Library

Miracle - Matisyahu Hanukkah Song Music Video

Keith Kahn-Harris: Let's hear it for Jewish metal music | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk

During my sixth grade class this past Sunday, one of the students mentioned that Gene Simmons is Jewish. (BTW This comment was actually on topic.) My sister then mentioned how one of her neighborhood carpool moms was wearing a "Heavy Shtetl" (vs. "Heavy Metal") t-shirt. I WANT that shirt. I Googled "Heavy Shtetl" and discovered two things: a really cool article about Jews and metal music (Keith Kahn-Harris: Let's hear it for Jewish metal music | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk) and the My Space page of an actual band called Heavy Shtetl (http://www.myspace.com/heavyshtetl). Still no "Heavy Shtetl" t-shirt, though.

MUSIC VIDEO: Amonai Shamati—Moroccan High Holy Day Piyyut

This beautiful melody is from the Sephardic-Moroccan musical tradition. A piyyut is a prayer in prayer form, usually composed on the specific theme of an older prayer and being chanted before or in the middle of that prayer. This piyyut--asking for God to hear the singer's prayer--is chanted just before the Amidah on both Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.