Gail Javitt
Like a Braided Candle: Songs for Havdalah
© 2006 Gail Javitt (700261207971)
CD IN STOCK. ORDER NOW. Will ship immediately.
SPECIAL: 10% discount if you buy more than one copy of it today!
A unique collection of songs from the Jewish ceremony of Havdalah, which takes place at the end of the Sabbath. Spans the centuries and the globe with songs both traditional and contemporary, in Hebrew, English, Yiddish, and Ladino.
tracks
- 1 Hamavdil (Sephardic)
- 2 Hinei Kel Yeshuoti
- 3 Like a Braided Candle
- 4 Birchot Havdalah
- 5 A Gute Voch
- 6 Hamavdil/Eliyahu
- 7 Eli Eliyahu
- 8 Hamalach Hagoel
- 9 Laner Velivsamim
- 10 Hakel Avraham/Gott Fun Avraham/God of Abraham
- 11 Hamavdil (Ashkenazic)
- 12 Shavua Tov/Gute Voch
try this
albums you will love
genres you will love
By Location
links
notes
Havdalah (literally "separation") is the name given the ceremony that marks the end of the Sabbath and the beginning of the new week. The ceremony is performed using a cup of wine, sweet spices, and a braided candle with multiple wicks.
Havdalah has been called one of the most beautiful and inspiring of all Jewish rituals. Some view the many strands of the braided candle as representing the many types of Jews in the world, each of whom is part of a people that is strongest when its parts are woven together in harmony.
This debut CD marks the culmination of more than three years of work. It was inspired by a tradition established by my paternal grandmother. Every Saturday evening after Sabbath each of her children and grandchildren would call her to wish her (in Yiddish) a "gute voch und a gezunte voch und a mazeldiche voch und a parnosehdiche voch und a hatzlachadiche voch" -- a good week, and a healthy week, a lucky week, a successful week" and to hear her wish us the same in return. The fifth song on this CD sets these wishes to music in her memory.
While there are many CD's of Sabbath music, this is the only available collection (to my knowledge)devoted entirely to the music of havdalah. It contains songs from the Sephardic and Ashkenazic traditions, in English, Hebrew, Yiddish, and Ladino. Each song presents a different facet of a rich and enduring liturgical and musical culture.
Gail Javitt got her start performing Jewish music when, as a young child her parents made her stand up on a chair at a synagogue luncheon and sing the Shabbat zemer "Ki Eshmera Shabbat." Despite this inauspicious start, Gail went on to sing for many years in the Ramaz lower school and upper school choirs and later, with the Zamir Chorale of Boston. She has studied voice for two decades, most recently with fabulous vocal coach Cate Frazier-Neely.
reviews
Please log in to review this album.
Beautiful celebration
author: HSAn album full of celebration of the holy dichotomy of life - of endings and beginnings, of night and day, of darkness and light. How especially beautiful to read the story of Gail's grandmother and to hear her words come alive to music and sung with such touching lyricism. A voice and an album filled with heart.
"Nothing like it..."
author: Wayne PinesGail Javitt has captured the spirit of the Havdalah ceremony in this unique CD. A beautiful, classic voice. The booklet containing the origins and words of the music is especially valuable. Entertaining to listen to during the week, but particularly profound at Havdalah.
"Let it shine..."
author: Ruth MusherI love this CD, and have given it as gifts to family and friends who love it too. "Like a Braided Candle" and "Gute Voch," both original Javitt songs, are our particular favorites - contemporary, inspirational and lively. This CD is the best of music of the Jewish People, and entertaining for everyone.
my favorite cd
author: rebekah rasoolythis is the one I turn on in the car all the time. Gail Javitt really understands the words and the subtleties of each song and it comes through in every beautiful song. I bought this one for myself and then recommended it to many of my friends and family!
perfect for post-havdalah
author: jer979our havdalah custom now includes playing Gail's CD when we extinguish the flame. Laner Velivsamim is my personal favorite because it adds the authentic, soulful sephardic angle that it brings. I like the story about her grandmother as well. Adds a personal element that is meaningful.
Nice music, but...
author: Patricia Loewy... I wish Gail Javitt had taken accent coaching to get the Hebrew pronounciation right. The English way of saying the "r" just doesn't sound good in Hebrew. The songs are lovely sung otherwise and I like the mix of Sephardic, Askenazi music and the Yiddish songs as well.