Shirat Machar Sings "Chanukah - Eight Nights of Lights"

As we prepare to light the third Chanukah candle tonight, we're sharing Eight Nights of Lights, a music video produced by Shirat Machar, a group of eleven talented young singers from Israel, all with extensive experience as youth leaders. 

Members of NOAM (an acronym for Noar Masorti or Masorti youth), they have been selected to represent the Masorti movement to Jewish communities outside Israel with their co-ed vocal performances.

Masorti, meaning traditional, is the Hebrew name for the movement of Conservative Judaism in Israel. The Masorti Movement, founded in 1979, is the umbrella organization of Masorti kehillot (congregations), which foster the practice of traditional Judaism among Israeli men and women while embracing modernity. In promoting the combined values of Conservative Judaism, religious tolerance and Zionism, the Movement strives to nurture a healthy, pluralistic, spiritual and ethical foundation for Israeli society.

Approximately 50,000 Israelis are members and affiliates of Masorti kehillot and national programs, which engage some 125,000 Israelis each year. More than sixty percent of the Masorti community are native-born Israelis or come from lands in which English is not their native tongue.

On Chanukah we add Hallel, a set of psalms written by King David to our daily prayers. Here we're also including a modern form of Hallel -- the Shirat Machar group singing a cover of Leonard Cohen's most popular song, Hallelujah. In putting this posting together, we came across an interesting fact -- Cohen's Hallelujah is broadcast at 2am every Saturday night by the Israeli Defense Forces' radio channel. 

Enjoy! 

(A NOTE TO OUR JOKE LOVERS: The Monday Joke to Start the Week will return after Chanukah.) 

(A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.)




(A tip of the kippah and a copy of our new e-book Jewish Humor on Your Desktop: Jewish Holiday Hilarity to Shelly Allon for bringing this video to our attention.)