The traditional Chanukah song Maoz Tzur ( Rock of Ages) with its hymn-like structure has regularly been, from my experience over the years of leading traditional Jewish songs, the most un-requested Chanukah song I’ve ever encountered. Being the oldest verse mentioning Chanukah as an observance (12-century), It’s an Important Chanukah standard that has had many tunes to go with the words over the years, though this tune now is the one most universally sung by Jewish people the world over, so I’ve been trying to find a way for people (kids and adults alike) to connect with this less favored selection.
In an effort to build familiarity with this large song, I use movement as a way to access the tune and its challenging lyrics. I set out to make a Chanukah Move-it and ended up with a finger play. Maoz Tzur is often sung in a grandiose, all stops pulled, triumphant hymn-style, and I think that’s part of what stands in people’s way of enjoying this tune.
Originally, I created this activity to be accompanied by a recording that I came across by a Jewish kindie-rocker who puts out fun kid-centric thematic albums for Jewish children to connect with traditional, and newly blue-jayed cultural selections. The recording I used of Maoz Tzur comes from Shira Klein’s Chanukah album(stage name: Shir-la-la!) . I’ve found Dr. Klein’s recording enables access to the song without needing to pronounce all the words. Here’s the Youtube link to that track. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGrVtBjc3IM&list=OLAK5uy_nw_teR4BawmimUwSDXOVARHpu4d2TIzQE&index=19
As with any finger play, or anything using movement in the Feierabend approach, teach the motions first and have the students do the motions while the teacher sings/chants the song or rhyme multiple times in a lesson and over at least 4 lessons. I’ve demonstrated at the beginning of the video how I would explore the gestures with the students before adding the song. (see note below about omitting a Shamash candle). Eventually, the students sing and do the motions on their own.
Some may notice my contradiction here to Feierabend beliefs about modeling gestures to students in a way so that students track from left to right in preparation for reading. I’m purposely presenting the eight Chanukah candles from the viewer’s right to left, as that’s the direction a menorah is lit. On the third phrase it seems as though I’m just counting the candles, I intended to slow my motions enough to look as though I was lighting the candles carefully and using my thumb as the shamash, a.k.a. helper candle. The following phrases of dancing candles are the celebrations as the eight nights of Chanukah pass.
A thought: The shamash️, aka helper candle – the candle that lights the other candles. In the video I neglected to make an explanation of the Shamash represented in my thumbs, and you’ll see me often linking my thumbs together to represent the helper candle that I later use to light the eight candles of the menorah In class, I mention this when I’m exploring the motions at the beginning.
Chag Chanukkah!
The Lyrics & Direction
Ma-oz Tzur Y’-shu-a-ti (hold out right flat hand with palm up, make a ball with hand, curl hand to bend at the elbow, straighten up the wrist)
Le-cha Na-eh L’-sha-bei-ach (raise the candles one by one from right to left)
Ti-kon Beit T’-fi-la-ti (repeat first line with second hand)
V’-sham To-da N’-za-bei-ach (repeat second line with second hand)
L’-eit Ta-chin Mat-bei-ach (using the thumb of the left hand as a Shamash, and holding the four candles in the right hand, gently light each candle starting on the candle the furthest to the right)
Mi-tzar Ha-mi-na-bei-ach (repeat using the thumb of the right hand as a Shamash, and holding the four candles in the left hand, continue lighting from right to left)
Az Eg-mor B’-shir Miz-mor (fluttering your fingers gently to represent candles flickering, move hands one at a time staring from the center and moving in an arch away from the centerline and back to the center to represent the menorah, and repeat with the other hand)
Cha-nu-kat Ha-miz-bei-ach
(with fingers still fluttering, again move hands mirroring together and arching away from the center on “chanukat”. On the word “Hamizbeach” pause the hands three times as they lower and circle around back to the starting point of the representing a menorah.)
repeat last two lines
Poetic Translation:
Rock of ages, let our song Praise Your saving power; You, amid the raging foes, Were our sheltering tower. Furious they assailed us, But Your arm availed us, And Your word, Broke their sword, When our own strength failed us.
John Crever is a driven educator with more than 30 years of music coaching, conducting, composition, instructional, production, management and community organizing experience. His ability to connect with students and teachers of diverse socio-economic and cultural backgrounds has enabled him to successfully teach general music and choir in communities ranging from those ravaged by urban blight, to suburban public and private settings, to overseas students in the international school system in the Arabian Gulf.