Welcome to Great Jewish Music, your home for singing Jewish songs together. Be inspired by the beautiful traditional melodies of the holidays, and learn to sing them with lyrics and translations. Each song has a karaoke backing track attached, for you to sing together with your friends and family. Enjoy!
Such dark times have descended on the world, but the Nation of Israel does not accept it! Our mission is to believe in Gd and do the impossible, just as the Maccabees did 2200 years ago. It takes the light of faith and courage and truth to dispel that darkness. And that is what we all must do.
Hanukkah, 5784. Now, more than ever.
So, what the heck is Hanukkah REALLY about? It's about faith, and a wonderful new song with its own Maoz Tzur included!
WelI, you don't just get the song. You get the lyrics, translation, a video with the lyrics (in most cases), and an mp3 karaoke backing track! Plus, links to great recordings in so many styles that you can't fail to be moved. But the main goal is to learn Jewish songs to enhance your Holidays, and Everydays
Shalom uv'racha
By far the most important part of this website is to share great Jewish music with you, and help you to enjoy and learn Jewish songs for the holidays and for other special moments. Each song page has an MP3 recording, a karaoke backing track for you to download and use, and the lyrics and their translation. I also researched great recordings of the songs and provide you with links to hear and purchase those tracks.
Enjoy the music
In addition to instructional videos of most of the Jewish songs in our collection, I've recorded a few music videos of my own creations.
Gesharim, by Yisrael Lutnick. These are satisfying songs you will listen to again and again.
A beautiful thing happened on the way to the Kotel. Here is my remix, decades after the first recording, of this song from my album, Gesharim. I cranked up some old gear, rerecorded the solo in a new arrangement, kept the original backing tracks, and pulled out the video camera. Enjoy this rediscovery!
The Jewish musical tradition goes back millennia. Perhaps the most famous musical ensemble in the ancient world was the Levitical choir in the ancient Temple. Learn more about the history of Jewish music.
Music is both an emotional and intellectual language. I wrote a few articles exploring the significance of different moods, and suggesting appropriate music for each of them.
The best streaming services and download sites have huge collections of Jewish music. I link to many songs on the "Learn Jewish Songs" page through these servers, but you may just find other magical stuff there as well.