Welcome to Shabbat Unbound, the world's longest Friday night Sabbath service, stretching over eight episodes. Instead of rushing through all the Friday night Shabbat prayers in one sitting, like we might in a classical synagogue environment, we're taking our time diving deep into one prayer each episode through song study and sacred conversation. It's the most original and traditional way to engage in the transition into Shabbat, taking each prayer as its own world with its own Torah to teach us. Miriam Terlinchamp, Lex Rofeberg and an incredible group of musicians invite you to discover what happens when Shabbat slows down. The fourth episode focuses on Lecha Dodi.

[1] Source for writing Lecha Dodi. Rabbi Chaim Vital (1543-1620), student of Arizal (Rabbi Isaac Luria, 1534-1572), writes in his Pri Etz Chaim (Sha’ar Shabbat) the Arizal’s precise procedure for Kabbalat Shabbat:

He would go out into the fields and first recite Psalm 29 (‘Mizmor l’David’). Then he would say bo’i kallah three times, followed by Psalm 92 (‘Mizmor Shir l’Yom haShabbat’). That was it! The Arizal would then return home, and had another set of rituals around the meal table. One of these was to recite the words Zachor v’shamor b’dibbur echad ne’emru, to recall the mitzvah of Shabbat in the Ten Commandments. Recall that in the first passage of the Ten Commandments in the Book of Exodus, God says zachor et yom haShabbat, to “commemorate” the Sabbath day, while in the second passage of the Ten Commandments in the Book of Deuteronomy, Moses recorded it as shamor et yom haShabbat, to “safeguard” the Sabbath day. Our Sages explained that God had said both words simultaneously—the people heard zachor v’shamor b’dibbur echad, to “commemorate” and “safeguard” in a single utterance.

[2] Miriam mentions bridal imagery in Lecha Dodi and Sabbath practices in general. Here is a sweet article about mystic love by Sara Crispe in her www.myjewishlearning.com essay, “Love Lessons from Lecha Dodi.”

[3] Love this rendition of Lecha Dodi? Great! Check out Batya Levine’s other recordings and compositions on her website www.batyalevine.com. Batya’s newest album “Yivarechecha” focuses on blessings and is a downright magical compilation of gorgeous and resonant music.

[4] If you want to listen to some of the other nearly 1,000 tunes for Lecha Dodi, we have a few special one’s highlighted on our website at: www.judaismunbound.com/shabbat5785. There’s one set to “All of me” by John Legend, another by “The Jews of Uganda”, a Bretzlover chasidic tune, and more!

[5] Want to watch the music video of our version of Lecha Dodi? Great you can find it here.

Welcome to Shabbat Unbound, the world's longest Friday night Sabbath service, stretching over eight episodes. Instead of rushing through all the Friday night Shabbat prayers in one sitting, like we might in a classical synagogue environment, we're taking our time diving deep into one prayer each episode through song study and sacred conversation. It's the most original and traditional way to engage in the transition into Shabbat, taking each prayer as its own world with its own Torah to teach us. Miriam Terlinchamp, Lex Rofeberg and an incredible group of musicians invite you to discover what happens when Shabbat slows down. The third episode focuses on Ana B'Koach.

[1] Interested in learning more about Ana B’Koach? Lex compiled this incredible list of resources including multiple translations, tunes and essays.

[2] Jacob’s Ladder has an incredible repertoire of Jewish music. Check out their newest album, HaMakom/The Place here.

[3] Here’s a picture of Lex’s ring. Want your own? Us too. Here are a few options by artisans.

[4] Lex mentions the role of the 42 names of of God, you can read the original text in the Talmud (Kiddushin 71a:13) that introduces this concept.

[5] Richard Levy z”l, Rabbi, poet, teacher, and modern liturgist, published an exceptional translation of psalms, Songs Ascending, an incredible compilation for any poetic, creative, or lover of ancient poetry.

[6] Want to watch the music video of our version of Ana Bakoach? Great you can find it here.

Welcome to Shabbat Unbound, the world's longest Friday night Sabbath service, stretching over eight episodes. Instead of rushing through all the Friday night Shabbat prayers in one sitting, like we might in a classical synagogue environment, we're taking our time diving deep into one prayer each episode through song study and sacred conversation. It's the most original and traditional way to engage in the transition into Shabbat, taking each prayer as its own world with its own Torah to teach us. Miriam Terlinchamp, Lex Rofeberg and an incredible group of musicians invite you to discover what happens when Shabbat slows down. The second episode focuses on Shiru L'Adonai.

[1] Check out the music video for Shiru L'Adonai here.

[2] All the music for the Shabbat Unbound podcast was recorded live at The Monastery Studios in Cincinnati, Ohio under the direction of Ric Hordinski.

[3] Check out this page for further learning about Shiru L’Adonai (and all our Shabbat Unbound episodes).

[4] Interested in learning more about composer Jake Erhlich and his community? You can find out more about Jake and Congregation T’chiyah on their website.

[5] “Every psalm, every prayer is an act of relationship, a way of moving into holy Presence, a way of opening ourselves to hear the voice of the Divine, which the cares of ordinary life may, all too frequently, muffle”. – Psalms of Jewish liturgy, page 121 Miriyam Glazer

[6 ] Miriam mentions the Zohar, the mystical text of Kabbalah, when referring to the Sabbath. You can read more about the spiritual nature of the Sabbath in the Zohar, Volume II (Shemot), Terumah 14:164–165