Music

Rabbi Lazer takes us to the holy city of Tzfat where we visit the gravesite of the famed scholar, Kabbalist and poet Rabbi Elazar Azkari (1533-1600). He composed the beautiful melody Yedid Nefesh ("friend of the soul"), which we all sing on Shabbat. Included here are the original Hebrew lyrics in English transliteration and a lovely vocal rendition by Asaf Neve Shalom.

Dynamo is an understatement when talking about the "Rockin' Rebbetzen", Naama Berger. She was Israel's #1 rock drummer in the mid 1990's. She broke the record for Israeli Women's powerlifting when she lifted three-times her bodyweight. She was the 48kg lifter on Israel's Olympic Weightlifting team. And today, as a Chassidic rebbetzen, she's still rockin', full speed. Meet this amazing woman...

Wherever I go here in my cherished homeland, be it the desert, the seacoast or the field, I sense a different melody. Strangely, if I'm playing a beautifully crafted Native American flute produced from the finest North American cedar, nothing happens. But if I take a simple flute, like the one King David played made out of a Land-of-Israel reed, it plays by itself. Here's the melody that echoed from the ruins of ancient Shiloh.

Don't get me wrong - I'm not a professional musician. For relaxation, I play flutes made out of natural materials that grow in the Land of Israel, such as bamboo, almond and olive wood. The Land of Israel is holy. Divine melodies permeate everywhere you go.  Once, I was under a lot of stress. I needed first aid, so I took a flute and walked to a secluded beach near Ashdod's ancient citadel. I put the flute to my mouth and this is what came out. Seven minutes later, I forgot all about the stress. This melody will calm you to. I use it to sing Psalm 23. That's where the name "Calming Waters" come from. Enjoy it and feel free to download it, courtesy of "Lazer Beams".

Sometimes we need something to pick us up. Few things are better for a tired and aching soul than a melody. My cherished spiritual brother, sweet singer David Dome from London, is my partner in "emunizing" melodies. We take a pleasant melody and add some soul to it with emuna lyrics and David's rendition. Here's a taste of what we did to an old Irish ballad by the name of "Wild Mountain Thyme." Emunized, it's now "Neshama, Come Home". Enjoy it. Lyrics by Rabbi Lazer BrodyMusic and Vocal by David DomeOh Mashiach times a comin'And the trees are sweetly bloomin'And The Voice from the mountainCalls in love and in emunaCome home NeshamaCome home....And we'll all go togetherTo hear The Voice on a mountainAnd we'll sing a song foreverCome home NeshamaCome homeI will then say a prayerBy yon high and holy mountainMy love song for my FatherFlows like waters from a fountainCome home NeshamaCome home...And we'll all go togetherTo hear The Voice on the mountainAnd we'll sing a song foreverCome home NeshamaCome home.....Come home Neshama come homeNeshama come homeHashem forever be with meFor there never is anotherAnd it's His Voice on the mountainCalling you and me dear brotherCome home , NeshamaCome home......And we'll all go togetherTo hear The Voice on the mountainAnd we'll sing a song foreverCome home NeshamaCome homeMy brotherCome homeMy sisterCome homeNeshamaCome home....

Maybe you think that you're not musical but King David says otherwise. Here's how the events of your life come together to create a beautiful melody that's ever so gratifying to the Almighty. The song of your life is so exquisitely unique, and here's what makes it such a special niggun (melody)...

You're invited to a very special Succoth event with Shlomo Katz and Lazer Brody; here's all about, with beautiful music by Shlomo and exquisite views of the Land of Israel - Chag Sameach!