:מִן-הַמֵּצַר, קָרָאתִי יָּהּ; עָנָנִי בַמֶּרְחָב יָהּ
“Out of the narrow place, I called out to God, God answered with a wide expanse.”
—Psalm 118:5
Every year at Passover, we tell the Maggid, the story of how the Israelites escaped from slavery in Egypt. We remember, as a community, what it was like to be confined to a “narrow place,” and revel in the freedom, prosperity, and expansiveness we largely enjoy today as Jews in the United States. We remember that our work isn’t over until all Jews and people of all faiths are free from the narrowness of bigotry, poverty, oppression, and war.
When we gather for Seder, retell the story, and sing together, we rededicate ourselves to that work. I created this Spotify playlist last year, and re-vamped it this year to provide a soundtrack for your Passover celebration. I pray that these 36 songs of redemption and freedom—by some of the world’s greatest Jewish and secular artists of our time—enhance your holiday, and remind you of its importance and relevance in our lives today.
In preparing this playlist, I tried to find a combination of songs that are commonly accepted as part of the Passover repertoire, as well as songs that you might have never thought of as Passover songs, or even Jewish songs at all. The themes of slavery, freedom, and redemption contained in the Passover story are universal, so it’s no surprise that many great songwriters from all faith backgrounds and walks of life have written music that connects with these ideas.
You’ll find songs by a variety of artists from different genres: popular Jewish and Israeli artists such as Matisyahu, Elana Arian, Josh Nelson, Danny Maseng and David Broza; rock ‘n’ roll greats such as The Beatles, Bruce Springsteen, Jeff Buckley, and the Bangles; gospel and R&B legends such as John Legend, Odetta, and Kamasi Washington; and prophetic folk songwriters such as Peter, Paul, and Mary, Bob Dylan, and Leonard Cohen. Some of these artists are Jewish, yet would not call themselves “Jewish musicians.” Still, I think there is great Jewish wisdom and value we can find in all sorts of music, even if it wasn’t intended as such by the artist. Just as beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so too is meaning in the ear of the listener.
Leonard Cohen was a practicing Jew, he even observed Shabbat and would not concertize on Friday nights. While he didn’t write or perform music for the synagogue specifically, he was often inspired by biblical texts in his lyrics. We all know and love his song, “Hallelujah,” which makes reference to King David, Sampson, and Delilah. For this playlist, I picked one of his lesser-known songs, “Born in Chains,” which I thought was apt for Passover. Leonard Cohen is one of my favorite lyricists of all time; his songs are so poetic, so ripe with metaphor, descriptive language, and great storytelling. While songwriting is normally more of an artform to be listened to as opposed to read, the poetic nature of Cohen’s lyrics make it equally worthwhile to see them on the page.
Here is an excerpt; you can see the rest of the lyrics HERE.
Born in Chains
by Leonard Cohen
I was born in chains
But I was taken out of Egypt
I was bound to a burden
But the burden it was raised
Oh Lord I can no longer keep this secret
Blessed is the name, the name be praised.
This song represents both the collective narrative of redemption, as well as Cohen’s own inner turmoil and coming to grips with his own understanding of the divine. Known for excessive toiling over his lyrics, Cohen said he worked on writing and re-writing this song over a period of forty years.
“I’ve rewritten the lyrics many times to accommodate the changes in my theological position,” he said, “which is very insecure.”
— Cantorial Intern Josh Goldberg