Music teachers everywhere agree about the importance of educating with culture. What do you need to know about “Hava Nagila”? TLDR: Here’s a steady beat playalong with no lyrics to play with your students! How to Use “Hava Nagila” Use this song in your music room! If you haven’t, grab the book “The Kugel Valley Klezmer Valley” by Joan Betty Stuchner and Richard Row from Amazon. It explores the sound, instrumentation and role of Hebrew music. Study the instruments, rhythms, and improvisations within different recordings. Grab this resource to supplement your lessons! The History “Hava Nagila” is a Hebrew folk song that is often performed at celebrations such as bat/bar mitzvahs, weddings, and others. This is because it originated as a song of praise throughout the Jewish tradition. The lyrics often contained Bible verses as well as the words “We Rejoice!” It was composed in 1918, during World War 1 as celebration when the British Government officially declared Palestine (an Ottoman region) the national home of the Jewish people. Following this even, much ambiguity and confusion last over the declaration due to British allies and foes. Meanwhile, questions about civil and political rights of Palestinian inhabitants took the stage. However, we are here for the music! Despite the confusion of the declaration, there are and continue to be a lot of questions about who truly wrote the song. The Popularity Professor Abraham Zevi Idelsohn worked at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (co-founded by Albert Einstein, by the way). He studied and taught about Jewish music from around the world. As he did, he recorded and catlogued all of the music he was studying. He is credited with preserving much of written Jewish musical culture. One of his techniques was to assign historical oral chants to his students, requiring them to match and notate rhythms to the folk songs. Consequently, one of his students, a composer named Moshe Nathanson, is often arugably accredited with the original composition. The Transformation Over time, there have been many covers of “Hava Nagila”. Some names include Benny Goodman, Celia Cruz, Bob Marley, Harry Belafonte, Bob Dylan, Deep Purple and countless other Jewish artists. The result of so many covers caused the song to fall into two different genres. The first is called “Nigun” which is still traditionally religious. The second genre is called “Klezmer” which is secularly used and has the religous lyrics replaced with vocalized syllables such as “ai”, “ya”, or “bi”. As a result, this is also probably the version that you have encountered most. The Klezmer song has been incorportated in movies, theater, sporting events, etc. Let’s Connect. . . As always, let me know if you have any questions or ideas about “Hava Nagila”! I’d love to hear from you about your experiences, tips and other resources you use to teach about Jewish culture. Insta: @mrsvsmusicroom FB: Mrs. V’s Music RoomPinterest: @MrsVsMusicRoom204Youtube: @Mrs_Vs_Music_RoomEmail: [email protected]: Mrs. V’s Music Room