Need Jewish holiday songs, please

My partner and I are putting together a holiday medley for this coming (December) holiday season. What Chanukah songs should we include? Which are the most popular and where can I grab copies?

Thanks

Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel,
I made it out of clay.
When it’s dry and ready,
Dreidel I will play.

Other than the dreidel song and Adam Sandler’s The Chanukah Song, are there any others? :confused:

There’s What We Do On Christmas by Atom And His Package… :stuck_out_tongue:

I’m rather fond of Have a Jewish Christmas. This is actually only the opening song for a (mostly non-musical) record of the same name. It’s 40 or 50 years old, but still quite funny.

Tee-hee, “rent-a-goy.”

<sigh> I knew this would happen. I’m serious now! :slight_smile:

We want well-known, everybody-sings-'em songs for the season.

Thank you.

Where do I find audio for Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel?

Google is your friend. Trust Google. Several sites have the audio for the traditional songs.

Other suggestions…

“O Chanukah, O Chanukah”
“Maoz Tzur”
“Who Can Retell”
“Al HaNissim”

The Broadway’s Greatest Gifts: Carols for a Cure CDS at Broadway Cares all have Jewish holiday songs on them. My favorite is from 2004; Shalom Santa:

So I’ve got to say an ave
And a oy veh
And a mea culpa too.
Cause my Mommy is a lapsed Catholic
And my Daddy is a cultural Jew.

“Maoz Tzur” is the top Chanukkah song amongst Orthodox Jews. The title translates, roughly, to “Rock of My Salvation.” It contains six verses, the first an introduction, the middle four declaring thanks to G-d for various deliverances over the centuries, the last expressing hope for the final, Messianic salvation.

The fifth verse of that six-verse song begins with “Yevanim” (the Hebrew word for Greeks) and specifically addresses the miracle of Hanukkah. There is a popular tune for that specific verse as a standalone song as well.

There is also a popular tune for “Al Hanissim”, part of a special added prayer that is common to both Hanukkah and Purim.

Basically, you’re asking for something that doesn’t exist. “Dreidel, Dreidel” and “Oh Chanukah” come the closest to qualifying. The others will probably not be recognized by non-Orthodox Jews.

Channukah just isn’t a holiday that traditionally involves a ton of singing. You want Passover songs, we got 'em by the truckload.

When I was growing up, my siblings and I learned a completely different Draedel song than the hackneyed one everyone whips out during Chanukah. Whenever I sing it aloud people are always amazed and admit they’d never heard it before.

You (obviously) can’t hear me sing it, but it has a decidedly Jewish cadence and tune, whereas “Draedel, draedel, draedel”, to me, sounds so American and unimaginative…not to mention making me want to shoot myself every time I hear it.

Anyway, here are the lyrics to the one I learned as a kid in Kansas:

Draedel spins round and round
makes a merry whirring sound
Chanukah brings good joy
Happy are the girls and boys
One by one, lighting candles
at this joyous time of year
As they go, spin the draedel
Chanukah brings good cheer

<< pause, then repeat from the top >>
One day, before I die, someone will tell me they remember this song :slight_smile: