Video: What The Heck Is "Hava Nagilah"?

New film asks, what the heck does one of the most popular pop songs of all time mean? Where did it come from? And why do so many non-Jews sing it?

Hava Nagilah, What Is It? from Katahdin Productions on Vimeo.

[Hat Tip: Dr. Rofeh-Filosof.]

Comments

[maven]

This is so ignorant. My favorite part is Dany Meseng trying to say something that sounds "expert", when he clearly doesn't have a clue.
Very simple. Catchy old Sadigur/Boyan nigun, gets picked up by the Chalutzim, works well with the hora (another folk tradition lifted from elsewhere), and given the now-antiquated, then "modern" sounding Hebrew words, becomes an anthem first of Jewish rebirth and then a stereotype and hated cliche (once it became closely associated with "jew").
In that cycle (pride to revulsion) the chassidim came first, as they apparently banned the song once the "tziyonim" picked it up.

[issac]

they sing it i think in Skver on simchas torah at the tishen...

they too claim it's their song

bottom line it used to be a holy Russian hassidic song...

[danny]

Thanks for the explanation Maven.

Is there an actual translation for the words, or is it more of a sing-song collection of sounds?

[maven]

Danny: It only sounds that way because it is in very antiquated Hebrew, Modern Hebrew hadn't really evolved yet.
הבה נגילה ונשמחה
עורו אחים בלב שמח

[Yochanan Lavie]

Chareidim don't like it because they think the song title is "Have a negiah."

[maven]

YL: I think the song would be more popular in the middle east if it actually said "have a nargilah".

[nombody]

Avraham Zvi Idelsohn wrote Hava Nagila after World War I in Palestine as a welcome song for allied troops.

[Adam Neira]

I thought Hava Nagilah was something people smoked on a holiday in Dahab...

(:

[Chicago Sam]

Actually, as a young Chabad student, I recall hearing from the Mashgiach that Hava Nagila was originally a Chabad Hassidic melody! When chanted slowly, it really sounds like a true Luba melody. A young Zionist (and future president of Israel) Zalman Shazar rebelled from his Lubavitcher roots and made this melody one of the more popular songs of the Halutzim. Consequently, Chabad dropped the melody so that nobody would identify them as being "pro-Zionist." Oy! What a shanda!

[Chicago Sam]

YL

Haredim: Hava Nignevah! (bad pun)

[maven]

OMG! I'm wrong! The song Hava Nagila is much older than any of us thought (go to 1.25):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krb2OdQksMc&feature=related

[Chicago Sam]

Actually, as a young Chabad student, I recall hearing from the Mashgiach that Hava Nagila was originally a Chabad Hassidic melody! When chanted slowly, it really sounds like a true Luba melody. A young Zionist (and future president of Israel) Zalman Shazar rebelled against his Lubavitcher roots and helped make this melody one of the more popular songs of the Halutzim. Consequently, Chabad dropped the melody so that nobody would identify them as being "pro-Zionist." Oy! What a shanda!

Now, I discovered on YOUTUBE that Bob Dylan and Rabbi Cunin in LA played the Hava Nagila song; I am certain Cunin made a practical decision and purposely overlooked the Chabad animus toward this song.

[Maskil]

The nigun still appears (pre-lyrics) in the official book of Chabad nigunim published by Kehot.

[Roberta Grossman]

The clip seen here is a fundraising clip for a feature documentary. If you'd like to support the making of this film with a tax-deductible contribution, please go to:

http://www.indiegogo.com/Hava-Nagilah-What-Is-It

Everyone who gives $18 or more will get a credit on the film! Thank you,
Roberta Grossman, Director Hava Nagilah: What Is It?