The world's most famous song of Jewish joy: a melody that began without words. English adaptation by Walter J. Kin, performed by Riglis Band.
If the whole world knows one Hebrew phrase set to music, it is this one. "Hava nagila" means "come, let us rejoice." It is sung at weddings and bar mitzvahs, in stadiums and concert halls, by people who could not tell you what the words mean, and it works anyway. Joy needs very little translation.
But the song did not begin as a song. It began as a melody with no words at all.
Hava Nagila was written in hard years, by people who had every reason not to rejoice. That is precisely the point. In Jewish tradition joy is not a mood that happens to you; it is a decision you make, a commandment you fulfill with your feet and your voice. The song is that decision set to music.
It is also living proof of something this project is built on: the world is glad to sing Jewish songs. Not out of politeness, but because the songs are that good. People who know nothing else in Hebrew know these two words.
"Hava Nagila proves the world will sing Jewish joy in any language. Our job is to give it more languages to sing it in."
- Walter J. Kin, on the project's approachThe Russian version makes the choice explicit: joy as a philosophy of resilience, sung plainly, so a child can understand it. The English adaptation carries the same spirit into the language today's children actually speak.
The melody is traditional, a Hasidic nigun of the Sadigura court; the project's arrangements of it are new. The short Hebrew text of 1918 is credited to Abraham Zvi Idelsohn, with Moshe Nathanson's claim honestly remembered alongside. The Russian poem by Olga Anikina and the English adaptation by Walter J. Kin are new works that honor the original rather than replace it. Every generation gets to write its own version. That is how a nigun survives a century.
The project's Russian poem and English adaptation are new texts. Their full lyrics and lead sheets are shared through licensing.
The Russian version: Olga Anikina's poem about joy as a choice, sung by Elechka. "Life is given to us for a reason," it says, and throws the doors open wide.
| Melody | Traditional Hasidic nigun (Sadigura), arranged by Walter J. Kin (RIGLI) |
| Hebrew words | Jerusalem, 1918: Abraham Zvi Idelsohn, with Moshe Nathanson's claim remembered |
| English adaptation | Walter J. Kin |
| Russian poem | Olga Anikina (commissioned) |
| Performance | Riglis Band (English) / Elechka (Russian) |
| Production | Walter J. Kin (RIGLI) |
| Copyright | Registered (SR0000894784) · ISRC CBEYJ2570443 |
| Project | Jewish Songs for All / JewishSong.org |
You may watch, share, and enjoy these recordings freely. For performances, recordings, film and media placements, and printed arrangements of the project's versions, licensing is handled simply and respectfully by Rigli Publishing: start at the song's licensing page.
The English adaptation and the project's arrangements were created for RIGLI by Walter J. Kin, Member of the Dramatists Guild of America, and published by Rigli Publishing as part of JewishSong.org. The Russian poem is by Olga Anikina, performed by Elechka. The traditional melody and the 1918 Hebrew text belong to the whole Jewish people.