Welcoming the Bride in San Francisco

Modern Style: As the holy Sabbath approaches each week, Jews all over the world prepare to greet the Sabbath Queen, aka the Sabbath Bride.

Each Jewish community greets the Sabbath in its own special way: the Jews of Placitas, the Jews of Aberdeen; the Jews of Livingston, the Jews of Ashkelon.

And, of course, the Jews of that most special place

San Francisco

The City By The Bay

Lior Ben-Hur has a beautiful way of welcoming the Sabbath Bride. The website MyJewishLearning.com tells us:

With roots in Greece and Iraq, Israeli born Lior Ben-Hur is a San Francisco based musician and educator. His band Sol Tevel performs original modern global Jewish music.

And Lior's website further explains:

I am an Israeli living in San Francisco. Although I lead Shabbat services around the Bay on a weekly basis, I myself do not observe Shabbat the way my grandparents did in Iraq or Greece. 

My very secular celebration of Shabbat relates to the San Francisco Jewish experience. I drive to temple, play instruments and sign songs, and when the service is over, I might even go out for a drink in a bar – a far cry from how my ancestors observed this weekly tradition. 

Therefore, there is a transformation of the meaning of Shabbat in my personal experience from a very holy, almost solemn tradition of observation to one of celebration. I want to express this transformation in the music video and song composition. 

I often play this song on secular venues where people don’t necessary know the meaning of the text but they feel the energy of the music and dance as if they were in a Kabalat Shabbat service, anticipating the celebration of Shabbat and the change of pace to daily routine that it represents.  

The music video was filmed in an alley in North Beach with the goal of bringing the music to the streets to share with every day San Franciscans, and experience the reaction of strangers passing by as they hear the song. 

While the people walking by the alley did not know the Jewish meaning of the song they responded in a way that corresponded with its essence; the happiness and festivity of Shabbat. 

This spirit of shared, even viral festivity and celebration is captured in the music video.

Shabbat Shalom, New Mexico!

Good Shabbos, Albuquerque!