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Y'varekh'kha 00:00
 

Liner Notes

In Numbers 6:24–26, God tells Moses to instruct Aaron and his descendants to confer the threefold priestly benediction upon all generations. When recited or sung in the context of the concluding part of a synagogue service, this text is sometimes preceded by the invocation “Our God and God of our fathers, bless us with the threefold blessing written in the Torah.” Additionally, each of the three benedictions is affirmed by the congregation by pronouncement of the words ken y’hi ratzon—“So may it be His will.”

I have striven to evoke the antiquity of the text by making use of parallel modal harmonies. The a cappella setting was first performed in April 1977 at Temple Beth El, in Great Neck, New York. It is dedicated “in memory of my brother-in-law, Judge Jair Shalom Kaplan.” His middle name, of course, represents the culmination of the benedictions.

By: Jack Gottlieb

 

Lyrics

Y'VAREKH'KHA

Sung in Hebrew

 

Our God and God of our fathers, bless us with the threefold blessing written in the Torah:
“May the Lord bless you and guard you. (So may it be His will.)
May the Lord make His face shine on you, and be gracious to you. (So may it be His will.)
May the Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.” (So may it be His will.)


 

Credits

Composer: Jack Gottlieb

Length: 02:47

Performers: Robert Abelson, Cantor;  New York Motet ChoirStephen Sturk, Conductor

Date Recorded: 10/01/1990
Venue: Union Theological Seminary, New York, New York
Engineer: Liberman, Mikhail
Assistant Engineer: Leavitt, Michael

Additional Credits:

Publisher: Theophilous Music, Inc.
Translation by Rabbi Morton M. Leifman

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