זמר לשבת | Zemer le-shabbat | Song of the Sabbath (1912)
Artist: Abraham Zvi Idelsohn (1882-1938)
Lyrics: From "Ben-Ami" (A)
Tune: Ben-Yehuda
This text was published in Mikraot Le-Talmidim Be-Vet Ha-Sefer u-Be-Vet Ha-Av [Reader for Pupils in School and at Home], edited by Ben-Ami (Odessa, 1905: pp 61-63).
In “Zemer le-shabbat”, a Jewish mother prepares the Sabbath: she goes to the market to buy special food, then she heats the stove and cooks (verses 1 and 2). The third verse introduces the father, who goes to the synagogue to welcome the Sabbath, returns home, and sits with his family at the table, which has been specially laid to honor the holy day.
Idelsohn (Ben-Yehuda) composed this melody, which combines modal and tonal structures (mixolydian and major) (see also above, song 64.) The text is written in Ashkenazic pronunciation, but a few words are set to the grammatic (Sephardic) pronunciation.
Included in
Scores
Original (PDF) Modernized (PDF)
Transliteration
