SHABBAT ACROSS AMERICA, MARCH 11, 2004 DEDICATED TO OUR BELOVED JERUSALEM AND ALL WHO DEFEND HER

Before singing the prayers for the Kabbalat Shabbat, Debbie Newman and Jill Glassman led the congregation in singing:

(1) Sisu et Yerushalayim (Rejoice Jerusalem), click for the lyrics:

The song's lyrics are from the prophesies of Isaiah (66:10, 62:6, 49:18) and Jeremiah (46:27).

2) Me'al Pisgat (From the Summit of Mount Scopus), click for the lyrics:

The Israeli poet Avigdor Hameiri wrote the lyrics to Me'al Pisgat.

3)Lach Yerushalayim (For Jerusalem), click for the lyrics

The lyrics were written by Amos Etinger.

4) Shir Lashalom (Song for Peace), click for the lyrics:

Yair Rosenbloom wrote Shir Lashalom after the 1967 war. On Nov. 4, 1995, just as Prime Minister Rabin was singing Shir Lashalom at a Peace Rally in Tel Aviv, a Jewish zealot, Yigal Amir, assassinated him.

5) Yerushalayim Shel Zahav (Jerusalem of Gold), click for the lyrics:

When Rachel married Akiva (then, the family's hired, illiterate shepherd) against her father's wishes, her father disowned her. Akiva promised her, that if ever he had the means, a " Jerusalem of Gold,"-a golden tiara, patterned after Jerusalem's walls, worn by women in ancient Judea. With Rachel's encouragement he studied Torah for a total twenty-four years, becoming among the most famous of our Rabbis. Also gaining great wealth, he then gave Rachel a "Jerusalem of gold." which symbolized, his desire to rebuild Jerusalem and the Temple, his love for the Land of Israel, in general, and his positive view of women. This golden tiara inspired Naomi Shemer to write the song's lyrics.

6) Bashanah Haba'ah (In the Next Year), click for the lyrics:

Ehud Manor wrote the song's lyrics.