Shira Performs!

Congratulations on a fantastic performance. Here's a clip from "Matchmaker":

Family Program

The Shira family program is coming up! On December 2nd we will perform Matchmaker, If I Were a Rich Man and the Greenhorn Cousin. Here are some videos of these songs:

Di Grine Kuzine (The Greenhorn Cousin)

Here's a video featuring a performance of the song by Theodore Bikel, followed by a rewritten version by Benny Goodman and Peggy Lee. The clips are from Barbara Streisand's Jewish musical film, Yentl.

Tzu mir is gekumen a kuzine
Shein vi gold iz zi geven, di grine.
Bekelach vi roite pomerantzn,
Fiselach vos betn zich tzum tantzn

Herelech vi zaidn-veb gelokte
Tzeindelech, vi perelech getokte
Eygelech vi himl-bloi in friling
Lipelech vi karshelech a tzviling

Nisht gegangen is zi, nor geshprungen,
Nisht geredt hot zi nor gezungen
Lebedik un freilech yede mine
Ot aza geven is main kuzine!

Un azoi ariber zainen yorn
Fun main kuzine is a tel gevorn
Peydes (Hasonim) hot zi vochenlang geklibn
Biz fun ir iz gornisht nit geblibn

Haint az ich bagegn main kuzine
Un ich freg ir: "s'machstu epes, grine?"
Ziftzt zi op, un ch'leien in ir mine:
"Brenen zol Colombus'es medine!"

TRANSLITERATION
My green cousin came to me.
Beautiful like gold is my green cousin,
With cheeks like red apples
And her little feet just begging for a dance

Her curly hair was like silk,her white teeth - like
pearls,
her eyes - like the blue skies in springtime
and her lips like
cherries
in the summer.

She didn't walk, she jumped,
she didn't speak, she sang,
lively and happy every minute,
that was my cousin.

What a beauty my cousin used to be.
Many years passed.
Her judgment of young men was too strict
And she remained single

Today, I meet my cousin and ask her,
"How are you doing, my green cousin?"
She only sighs, and replies,
"Let this Columbus's land burn!"

Families and stories and... rabbis, oh my!

Last Wednesday, the students began sharing their family histories. Many of our ancestors came out of the Russian Empire during the Great Migration, fleeing poverty and persecution. Some came to America to escaper the Nazis. Some were Italian or Irish. Whatever their origins, most came to America seeking new opportunities.

This week we will switch gears. We will go back 2,000 years to the time of the early rabbis and the birth of the Jewish tradition as we know it. We will begin to study the wisdom of the Pirke Avot (Ethics of the Fathers). Having explored our roots, it's time to start exploring our values.

What are your roots?

This week in Shira, we discussed the Great Migration. We learned that more than two million Jews emigrated from Eastern Europe to the United States between 1880 and 1924, fleeing poverty and injustice. Many (though not all) of our own ancestors were a part of the Great Migration. What are your roots? Use the survey we handed out in class to explore your own family history. Be prepared to share next Wednesday!

Here is a copy of the survey for those who didn't get one:


Shira Family Activity – What Are Your Roots?

Please take this survey home and discuss your family history with someone who

can help you answer the questions below. Take some time to learn about what

your family roots are, when and why your family immigrated to America, and what

challenges your immigrant ancestors may have faced in their native countries and

here in the U.S.A.


What country or countries did your family come from before coming to the U.S.A.?

Mother’s Family:

Father’s Family:

Approximately when did they arrive?

_______________________________What year?_______

_______________________________What year?_______


1.

Why did your family immigrate to North America?

Mother’s side:

Father’s side:


2. Where did your family first settle in North America?

Mother’s side:

Father’s side:


3. What was your family’s occupation before/after immigrating?

Mother’s side:

Father’s side:


4. Did your family affiliate with a religious community? If so, which movement/faith community were they affiliated with?

Mother’s side:

Father’s side:


5. What challenges did your family face as new immigrants to North America?

Mother’s side:

Father’s side:


6. Do you have any family stories or traditions from the “Old Country” that

have been passed down to you or your parents? If so, feel free to share one

or two here!

Rachamim, Minhag, Music!

This week in Shira, we learned about rachamim, or compassion. During the High Holy Days, we ask God to show us compassion because, hey, nobody's perfect. How do we act with compassion in our own lives? 

We also learned about minhag. What is minhag? Let's see what the people of Anatevka have to say about it:

[TEVYE]
Tradition, tradition! Tradition!
Tradition, tradition! Tradition!

[TEVYE & PAPAS]
Who, day and night, must scramble for a living,
Feed a wife and children, say his daily prayers?
And who has the right, as master of the house,
To have the final word at home?

The Papa, the Papa! Tradition.
The Papa, the Papa! Tradition.

[GOLDE & MAMAS]
Who must know the way to make a proper home,
A quiet home, a kosher home?
Who must raise the family and run the home,
So Papa's free to read the holy book?

The Mama, the Mama! Tradition!
The Mama, the Mama! Tradition!

[SONS]
At three, I started Hebrew school. At ten, I learned a trade.
I hear they've picked a bride for me. I hope she's pretty.

The sons, the sons! Tradition!
The sons, the sons! Tradition!

[DAUGHTERS]
And who does Mama teach to mend and tend and fix,
Preparing me to marry whoever Papa picks?

The daughters, the daughters! Tradition!
The daughters, the daughters! Tradition!

Tradition

"Because of our traditions, we've kept our balance for many, many years. Here in Anatevka we have traditions for everything... how to eat, how to sleep, even how to wear clothes. For instance, we always keep our heads covered and always wear a little prayer shawl... This shows our constant devotion to God. You may ask, how did this tradition start? I'll tell you - I don't know. But it's a tradition... Because of our traditions, everyone knows who he is and what God expects him to do."
      --Tevye, Fiddler on the Roof

Today we watched the opening of Fiddler on the Roof and discussed the ways in which life in our time and place differs from life in a turn-of-the-century Russian shtetl. While our world is certainly different from that of Fiddler on the Roof, we still practice many of the same traditions that have supported Jewish identity for thousands of years.

Why is tradition important to you? What are some of your favorite traditions? How do you feel when you practice traditions as a family? Discuss this together at home. Students, be prepared to share your favorite traditions next week when we sing the "Tradition" chorus.

It was great meeting everyone on Sunday!

I had a great time getting to know everybody yesterday and I was impressed with how well you all sang that tongue-twisting round! I'm excited to be working with so many creative and talented young people. Here's a teaser for Wednesday's class (again, I encourage anyone who has never seen Fiddler on the Roof to do so):

Extra! Extra! Read all about it!

Shira! The Musical has arrived. Welcome, bokhers (boys) and meydls (girls)!