Origins of the Word 'Hora' Types of Hora dance . The Groom enjoyed the dancing at his brother’s wedding so much that he insisted his guests hoist him and his new wife onto chairs, which they did, as other guests around them clapped and made vaguely Jewish-sounding noises like ‘oy, oy, oy’. The Israeli hora, imported from the Balkans, does not carry social import or festive significance; rather, it is an expression of happiness. If there’s one thing that most non-Jewish guests know about a Jewish wedding, it’s that someone is going to be lifted on a chair and there’s going to be some crazy dancing. Although, from watching videos shot in the twenties and thirties of the twentieth century, it can be seen that the Hora dance has gone through some changes over the years. And if you don’t really know how to dance the hora, you will nevertheless be compelled to join hands with others, stumble around in a circle, give little kicks, and pretend to enjoy yourself, all the while wondering if there’s a word in Yiddish that means ‘she who stares pathetically at the feet of others because she is still trying to figure out how to dance the hora.’”. The choreographer was the Romanian Jewish dancer Baruch Agadati, who got together in 1924 with a composer and writer of lyrics and created a hora for a show put on by the Ohel Theater Company, which toured with it in the pioneering settlements of the Valley of Jezreel. From the album, "With Songs They Respond: The Diwan of the Jews from Central Yemen." the Bulgarian horo, the Yugoslav kolo, and the Russian khorovod). From the album, "Judeo-Carribean Currents, Music of the Mikve Israel-Emanuel Synagogue in Curaçao," performed by Gideon Zelermyer. All Rights Reserved. The Rumanian Hora was meant for playing at the wedding feast, not during a dance, and sometimes during the mystical event during the night of Lag Ba'omer, which take place in Meron, next to Yohanan Hasandlar's grave. After all, the hora was not a Jewish dance at all until it traveled in the early 20th century to Palestine from Romania, where Zionist pioneers, or halutzim, adopted it. 7 Nativa Ben Yehuda, Autobiografia Bashir Ubazemer, p. 52; and the full niggun in a-b-c-b structure see in Yaakov Mazor, "Min Haniggun Hahassidi El Hazemer Ha'ivri," Katedra 115. This is a girdle poem by Se'adia ben Amram. According to Ze'ev Walter Feldman, a musicologist and researcher of the "Ashkenazi Dance," the circular form and the marching style of the Israeli Hora, was adopted from one of the popular figures of the Freylekhs. If there’s one thing that most non-Jewish guests know about a Jewish wedding, it’s that someone is going to be lifted on a chair and there’s going to be some crazy dancing. “Hora Agadati,’ as it became known, was an instant hit. In the interest of maintaining a civil forum, The Forward requires that all commenters be appropriately respectful toward our writers, other commenters and the subjects of the articles. 510; S. Rosowsky (ed. The word originates from Rumanian. (Oh and by the way, make sure you look through the full gallery of Blake’s Jewish wedding dancing images below. 11-15. 6 Sefer Ha'aliya Hashniya, p. 367, 540\1; chapters of the third Aliya, p. 62. El Ha-Ma'ayan (to the fountain): Children's Songs. It’s a hundred miles per hour, there are always ten things you could be capturing, you’re likely to get stamped on by a stiletto or accidentally elbowed by an Usher, you have no time to dwell on a shot or review your work, it’s go go go. This dance niggun is the seventh and last in a series of niggunim sung by Bratslav Hasidim as they dance after the Shabbat evening service on Friday night. A sacred hymn attributed to Rabbi Yehuda ha-Chasid, this is a Chabad tune with a near-Eastern arrangement. This collection consists of musical settings by Amiran of poems by various poets. Let’s be honest, Jewish weddings are known for their dancing. 972-2-5880253 Information on Israeli folk dance in the Boston area: How to reach me for folk dance instruction (Israeli and/or Simcha) Open Israeli folk dance sessions; Israeli folk dance classes; Special events; Some links; A few sites with interesting "stuff", not necessarily dance-related As you may have noticed, I've redesigned this site. Even at non-Jewish weddings, lifting the couple on chairs will always be awesome! Later, it came to signify also a specific dance. We’ll email you whenever we publish another article by J.J Goldberg. In the American repertoire, the term Juck was used as a title of a pair of melodies, the slow and the fast Hora. These were used mostly as marching tunes (in Yiddish: "Gas Niggunim"), and less for dance.1 The Israeli Klezmer Moshe (Musa) Berlin (b. These were accompanied by two melodies, the first with triple meter, and the second with duple. The typical rhythm of the horah melodies is based on the syncope: with the initial eighth note sometimes substituted by a rest in 2/4 or 4/4 measure, counterpointed by the six-beat sequence of the steps. For those of you organising your Jewish or Jew-ish wedding, and want to have some traditional dancing as part of your celebrations, make sure you let your guests know in advance that Jewish dancing is not a spectator sport. Both native-born and newly arrived pioneers sang this song in all circumstances. It is one of the ending hymns of the service. Karen: Thank you so much to Blake Ezra for this truly wonderful series – I’m so proud to have such an in-depth guide to all the Jewish wedding traditions on the blog.