Video of our First Educators’ Webinar
We are very excited to present our first Lishmoa Educators’ Webinar! In commemoration of Yom Hashoa, we presented the webinar “Eprhyme’s ‘Pride and Prejudice’ and a Jewish View of Assimilation,” based on the artist Eprhyme’s song “Pride and Prejudice.” The song is chock-full of teaching material, and Rabbi Ethan Linden of Shir Chadash synagogue in New Orleans presented a lesson (written by Danny Zeldin) to show how the song can be used in the classroom. Eprhyme joined us via telephone from Israel to discuss his journey into Jewish Music.
Check it out, and stay tuned (follow us on Twitter!) to find out when the next Webinar will be held.
Lishmoa Educators’ Webinar: “Eprhyme’s ‘Pride and Prejudice’ and a Jewish View of Assimilation”.
“A Million Butterflies”- new song by Sam Glaser
In honor of Yom Hashoa, check out this new song from Sam Glaser. “A Million Butterflies” was written in memory of the children victims of the Holocaust. As part of a project to remember the children, the Holocaust Museum in Houston is collecting 1.5 million handmade butterflies which will eventually become part of an upcoming exhibit at the Holocaust Museum of Houston called Project Butterfly. The goal is to collect one butterfly for each child who died in the Holocaust.
Check out the new song and video below (and if it’s not embedded below, then visit http://quietube.com/v.php/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdMJJ6xF4Vc)
Free Music in Education Webinar Thursday 4/8!
Join us for the first of Lishmoa’s free Educators’ Webinars, this Thursday, 4/8 at 1pm Central Time. As we prepare for Yom Hashoa, we will be presenting the lesson “Eprhyme’s ‘Pride and Prejudice’ and a Jewish View of Assimilation,” based on artist Eprhyme’s song “Pride and Prejudice.”
The lesson was written by Writer/Educator Danny Zeldin and is geared for High School students, although educators of all types are welcome to participate in the webinar. Rabbi Ethan Linden (Shir Chadash synagogue in New Orleans) will present the lesson and demonstrate how this powerful song can be used as a teaching tool in the classroom. We hope to be joined by Danny Zeldin as well as Eprhyme who will discuss the messages presented within his songs.
The webinar is free, however space is limited and registration is required.
Register at http://bit.ly/dn6w00. This is our first webinar, so we’ll be working out some kinks, but drop on by and show some love.
Music, Videos, and Resources for Passover
Looking for resources to help enhance Passover? Here are some goodies I found while trolling around…
VIDEOS:
The creative folks at Bible Raps, who use rap and hip hop to teach texts and holidays, released in 2008 the very catchy “Moses Rap” along with a video. They’ve even thoughtfully provided the lyrics so you can sing along in the comfort of your own home or classroom.
Also in 2008 (apparently a very good year for Passover videos), Michelle Citrin released the Youtube sensation “20 Things to do with Matzah.” It got her a Broadway gig out of the deal. As reported last week in the New York Times, she and Lishmoa friend Josh Nelson are two of the three-person team working on the music and lyrics to the musical version of “Sleepless in Seattle.”
For Pesach with a dose of “astral rap, liturgical jazz, and audio alchemy” (as the artists of Darshan describe themselves), check out Shir Yaakov and Eprhyme’s rendition of “Chad Gadya” at last year’s “Downtown Seder,” an annual event at City Winery, a venue that’s on my must-list for my next New York trip.
For the kids, combine an animated rapper “G-fish,” a sock puppet and Chabad, and you get the video “Rapping the Sea”
Chabad has a number of other Passover themed videos for kids.
If you like animated talking dogs that sound like John Travolta (and who doesn’t, really?), check out the special Passover episode of “Unleashed” at
A video produced last year by Jewish Federations of North America has an important message about remembering those in need.
The video isn’t that creative, but Yiddish Film and Theater Star Chazzan Moishe Oysher’s 1920s rendition of Chad Gadya is an absolute must for an appreciation of Passover music.
MUSIC:
Sam Glaser has a new CD with his own variations on the songs of Hallel with an eight-piece band plus strings, adult & children choirs, and a lot of special guests.
For a slightly different take on the Seder, Craig Taubman’s “The Passover Lounge” offers a tour through the Haggadah with “Instrumental Jew Age Music“ featuring Craig Taubman and Luke Tozour.
Rick Recht’s 2005 CD Tear Down the Walls features songs discussing themes of social justice and dismantling racism. The track “Avadim Hayinu” should be the Jewish freedom anthem.
Recommended by one of Lishmoa’s Facebook fans (are you one?), Israeli artist and music therapist Dafna has released a brand-new CD of Passover music geared for early childhood education and development. Dafna’s “Shir Fun” program incorporates singing, musical instruments, Hebrew, and activities into group activities for young children, and her new CD “Halilah Hazeh” features Passover favorites designed to get the young ones involved. Check it out at shirfun.com
Among his collection of songs for children & toddlers for every occasion (although I haven’t seen a Mardi Gras CD yet), Israeli artist Matan Ariel has a collection of mostly traditional versions of Passover songs in Hebrew.
Oysongs has 24 pages of albums, MP3s, and sheet music tagged for Passover. Make your own mix tape at http://www.oysongs.com/stylestores/stylestore.cfm?subgenre_id=4.
OTHER RESOURCES:
Public Radio Exchange has a great collection of audio stories, songs, and documentaries relevant to Passover. You need to be a member to download the content, but membership is free.
If you need a brush-up or want to learn the traditional Seder melodies, New York’s Temple Emanu-El has a selection of piano-accompanied Passover songs that you can download or listen to online.
Howcast has a 14-step video “How to Prepare a Passover Seder” that makes everything look so easy (Step 1: Invite Guests. Step 7: Roast a Shank Bone). They also have a 19-step program of “How to Host a Passover Seder.”
For a whole lot of articles, recipes, how-to’s, recommended books, and much more, don’t miss MyJewishLearning.com’s excellent Passover learning smorgasbord.
In the category “Of course that’s what you do with Peeps,” here are the ten plagues as represented by Marshmallow Peeps in the magnificent dioramas of “Peeps for Passover” on Flickr.
Finally, and this is not for kids, check out Musician/Photographer/Magician/Writer Socalled’s “The SoCalled Seder (A Hip Hop Haggadah).” It’s is a treasure trove of hip-hop beats, klezmer, holiday dialogue, and Yiddish theater all sampled together into a very unique journey through the Haggadah. I’m not going to post the link because of a couple of offensive words in the first and last songs that are not appropriate for all ages, however seek out and play tracks “Dayenu” and “The Miriam Drum Song (Chad Gadya)” over and over again.
Follow @Lishmoa on Twitter for updates, and have a Happy Pesach!
Lishmoa: Transforming Jewish Education One Song at a Time
Lishmoa is an innovative new educational curriculum using Jewish music to teach text study, values & ethics, Hebrew, and social justice within a Judaic framework. Lishmoa seeks to transform Jewish education through the power and spirit of Jewish music while promoting the purveyors of Jewish music from around the world.
Lishmoa presents a synergistic approach to Jewish education utilizing music, videos and the internet– conveying the traditions and history within Jewish music blended with the future of technology and innovation.
As we develop the curriculum, we encourage participation by musicians and educators to become part of this exciting endeavor. We’ll be updating this site with details about our progress and with more information about how you can get involved!
UPDATED: Follow us on Twitter @Lishmoa, and become a fan on our Facebook page for updates!
UPDATED 3/1/10: Look! We made a video!
