Erev Shabbat Jewish Blogging

[gnomi]

This week, Shabbat Z'mirot

Z'mirot (singular: z'mirah) are liturgical songs. Specifically, Shabbat z'mirot are the songs we sing on Shabbat at the three meals commanded for the day.

Because Hebrew calendar days start in the evening, the three meals at which we sing z'mirot are Friday night dinner, Saturday lunch, and a meal on Saturday called "se'udah shlishit" (which translates as "third meal" and is traditionally eaten after mincha (the afternoon service) on Saturday afternoon).

Each meal has a set of songs that are associated with it, but people tend sing whichever of the z'mirot they want to at either dinner or lunch (while there are specific ones that are traditionally only associated with se'udah shlishit). The texts of the z'mirot traditionally speak of the laws of Shabbat, or of the Jews' relationship to Hashem through Shabbat observance.

There are CDs of Shabbat z'mirot available. Because I love a cappella music, I highly recommend West Side Z'mirot from Beat'achon.

Shabbat shalom!

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An administrative note -- if people have topics they'd like me to cover in future Erev Shabbat Jewish Blogging posts, please let me know. As mabfan can attest, I sometimes have trouble coming up with topics.

Comments

[gnomi.livejournal.com]

Heh on (what a rabbi I know calls) Ashkesfard phrasing. And that's interesting -- I've never been to shalosh seudos anywhere that they did non-shalosh-seudos z'mirot.

As for m'nuchah v'simchah, I'm not sure how to describe which of the mellow m-v's melodies I've been humming (I know, off the top of my head, 3 m-v's tunes, one of which is much more bouncy than the others). It's the one on the Beat'achon disc, which is how it got stuck in my head.

[angwantibo.livejournal.com]

Kedimah Toras Moshe, the Bostoners, and the Weiners are 3 places I've been to that are this way.

I don't have that CD and I'm not a mind reader, yet. I can only think of 2 right now, the slow one and the Shlomo one.