Purim has “Dreidel, Dreidel.” Chanukah has “Maoz Tzur.” But what songs are associated with Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur? Actually, the Days of Awe have some of the most inspiring melodies found in Jewish liturgy … and even one tune that gained fame in popular culture. As we approach the High Holy Days, you can now preview the melodies that will soon be heard in synagogues around the world.
The most famous poem associated with the High Holy Days must be “Unetaneh Tokef.” “On Rosh Hashanah will be inscribed and on Yom Kippur will be sealed how many will pass from the earth and how many will be created; who will live and who will die.” The poem is attributed to Rabbi Amnon who lived in Mainz, Germany, about a thousand years ago and met a tragic end when he refused to convert to Christianity — www.ou.org/chagim/roshhashannah/unetaneh.html.
A version of “Unetaneh Tokef” entered popular culture in 1974 when Leonard Cohen released “Who By Fire.” “And who by brave assent, who by accident, who in solitude, who in this mirror … and who shall I say is calling?” Cohen explained that he derived his song “from the melody which I heard when I was sat in a synagogue. And of course the ending of my song is something different. Who shall I say is calling? This is my kind of prayer: Who is it, or what is it, which determines man’s life?” — www.ckk.chalmers.se/guitar/who.by.fire.html.
Let’s finish with the best music page I’ve come across in years, www.inn.co.il/hebrew/radio/jukebox/eretz-yisrael.htm.
Hosted by Israel National News (aka Arutz Sheva), this page has links to hours and hours of al kind of Israeli and Jewish music that you can listen to whenever you are in the mood. For Rosh Hashanah alone, there are dozens of Chassidic, Israeli, and Mizrachi tunes. Aside from that, there’s music for practically all the chagim (holidays) as well as Naomi Shemer and Shlomo Carlebach tunes, and much more.
This page is in Hebrew but even if only have a basic grasp of the language, you should be fine. And if your browser has a difficult time displaying Hebrew characters, try downloading the free Firefox browser, which usually does a fine job of displaying Hebrew letters with minimal fuss — www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/all.
Shana Tovah.