Abraham Zevi Idelsohn was a Jewish musicologist, composer, and cantor born in 1882 in Latvia. He is best known for preserving and studying Jewish music from around the world. After moving to Jerusalem ...

MOBILE, Alabama--What song do Harry Belafonte, Bob Dylan and Bar and Bat Mitzvah bands all across the land have in common? Why, "Hava Nagila," of course. Belafonte's 1959 Carnegie Hall performance of ...

I grew up on "Hava Nagila," and I'll admit it's not the catchiest of tunes. The ingenuous Hebrew lyrics ("Come! Let us rejoice and be happy!") don't wear well in our age of knowing irony and ennui.

Roberta Grossman’s new film explores the phenomenon behind the iconic folk song and offers some perspective on why it has been so beloved — and so hated — over the years. NEW YORK (JTA) — You’re at a ...

The beauty of downtown’s Museum of Jewish Heritage is that it is of a piece. To get to its newest exhibit, “Hava Nagila: A Song of the People,” wander through other rooms: Ukrainian shtetl life, old ...

“Hava Nagila” is the typical soundtrack to Jewish weddings and b’nai mitzvah — and, these days, brutal hand-to-hand fighting with naked combatants. Two streaming shows have recently picked up where ...

One day, in the summer of 2008, the question “‘Hava Nagila’ — what is it?” popped into Roberta Grossman’s head. Although she was familiar with the ubiquitous song, she was clueless about its origins.

NEW YORK (JTA) — You’re at a wedding or bar mitzvah when you hear it — the opening notes of a familiar tune that irresistibly carries you and other guests to the dance floor for the rousing dance ...

Whether you love it or you hate it, you know it: "Hava Nagila." Maybe you grew up listening to Harry Belafonte's rendition, or found yourself in a chair being hoisted into the air by a singing crowd ...

It's not a very complicated song, or even a very subtle one. Its pop-culture connotations are more than a little kitschy. Ask a serious musician about it, and watch the ensuing slight look of distaste ...

Roberta Grossman's documentary details the history of the bar mitzvah mainstay that has been covered by the likes of Elvis, Glen Campbell and Bruce Springsteen. By THR Staff Hava Nagila Film Still - H ...