Hava Nagila Renewed

When chazan (cantor)-turned rock star Neil Diamond turned to his father Laurence Olivier in the remake of The Jazz Singer, and promised he had not lost his Jewish soul, he provided proof by looking deep into his father's eyes and singing slowly, "Ha-va-na-gi-la, Ha-va-na-gi-la, Ha-va-na-gi-la, V'nis-m-cha."
What??? What on earth did Hava na gila have to do with Judaism?
Written by Avraham Zvi Idelsohn in 1918, it was supposedly meant to celebrate the British victory over the Ottomans. That doesn't sound Jewish to me.
But the truth is that just about every non-Jew, as well as Jews from every walk of life, looked at Hava nagila as a symbol of the Jewish people for almost 100 years.
Every Jewish simcha of secular or assimilated Jews plays Hava nagila as its hora.

The Song

Hava nagila ve-nismeḥa (Let us sing and be happy).
Uru, uru aḥim! (awake, my brothers)
Uru aḥim be-lev sameaḥ (awake, brothers, with a happy heart).
While we know "Mitzva gedola l'hiyot b'simcha"(it is a big mitzva to be happy," Hava nagila always reminded me more of mixed dancing horas, than any kind of Jewish symbol - that is, until last week.
But singers like Harry Belafonte, Connie Francis and even Choirs from Texas to Tokyo perform the song for their Jewish crowds.

Rethinking Hava Nagila

When American JewishWhen chazan (cantor)-turned rock star Neil Diamond turned to his father Laurence Olivier in the remake of The Jazz Singer, and promised he had not lost his Jewish soul, he provided proof by looking deep into his father's eyes and singing slowly, "Ha-va-na-gi-la, Ha-va-na-gi-la, Ha-va-na-gi-la, V'nis-m-cha."
What??? What on earth did Hava na gila have to do with Judaism?
Written by Avraham Zvi Idelsohn in 1918, it was supposedly meant to celebrate the British victory over the Ottomans. That doesn't sound Jewish to me.
But the truth is that just about every non-Jew, as well as Jews from every walk of life, looked at Hava nagila as a symbol of the Jewish people for almost 100 years.
Every Jewish simcha of secular or assimilated Jews plays Hava nagila as its hora.

The Song

Hava nagila ve-nismeḥa (Let us sing and be happy).
Uru, uru aḥim! (awake, my brothers)
Uru aḥim be-lev sameaḥ (awake, brothers, with a happy heart).
While we know "Mitzva gedola l'hiyot b'simcha"(it is a big mitzva to be happy," Hava nagila always reminded me more of mixed dancing horas, than any kind of Jewish symbol - that is, until last week.
Rethinking Hava Nagila
When American Jewish Olympic gymnast, Aly Raisman took the gymnastic floor with a nearly perfect performance to the tune of Hava Nagila, the crowd and viewers worldwide went crazy. Aly Raisman herself chose to dance to Hava Nagila to show off her Jewishness. And then when Aly won a gold medal for her routine during the 2012 London Olympic Games, she said it was even more meaningful to her because it occurred on the 40th anniversary of the Munich Massacre of 11 Jewish Israeli athletes (the athletes to whom the International Olympic Committee would not dedicate one minute of silence..
Since the Neil Diamond episode, I have always looked on Hava Nagila with disdain. But Aly Raisman has helped it regain some status in my eyes.
And if Diaspora Jewry knows very little else besides this song, well ... I'm pleased that Aly Raisman gave the song another turn around the gymnastics floor.