Today's most popular Israeli and North American rock songs are brought together on Ruach 5765: new Jewish tunes ISRAEL, a new compact disc released by Transcontinental Music Publications. In a new twist on Transcontinental's previous releases, Ruach 5761 and Ruach 5763, the new disc focuses on Israel – its culture, its history, its politics, and its role in the lives of North American Jews.
Introduced at the national convention of the North American Federation of Temple Youth (NFTY) in 2001, the first Ruach CD became the fastest-selling compact disc in the history of Transcontinental Music Publications. Ruach 5763 followed two years later, and was equally popular among the members of the Reform Youth Movement. Developed in partnership with ARZA, the Reform Movement's Zionist arm and voice, Ruach 5765 is the first entry in the series to feature Israeli artists.
"The popularity of the Ruach series has proved that Jewish teenagers love music that's not only fun, catchy, and enjoyable, but which they can also connect to Jewishly," says Joel Eglash, Managing Director of Transcontinental Music. "Since Israel and the Zionist dream are such key components of our identity as North American Jews, including the best of Israeli rock music on the new Ruach collection seemed like the perfect way to strengthen the bond between our youth and Israel."
Ruach 5765's thirteen tracks include "Shirat HaSticker (The Bumper Sticker Song") by HaDag Nachash, which rocketed to the top of the Israeli pop charts in 2004. The song, whose lyrics were written by Israel Prize-winning author David Grossman, creatively juxtaposes dozens of bumper-sticker slogans from all points on Israel's political spectrum, uniting them around a chorus of "How much evil can we swallow?"
The disc also features a revolutionary version of "HaTikvah," the Israeli national anthem, by the band Teapacks, who fuse Israeli Mizrachi pop, Eastern and Western rock and hip-hop; and songs by Israeli artists Sheva, The Fools of Prophecy (Shotei HaN'vuah) and superstar Aviv Geffen that examine the confusions, complexities, and contradictions of contemporary Israeli life.
North American artists, including popular Jewish rockers Rick Recht, Dan Nichols, Stacy Beyer, and Yom Hadash, are also represented on Ruach 5765. Each one of their songs expresses – musically, lyrically, or both – the connection between North American Jews and Israel. Recht's "The Hope" refers to the Jewish state as the glue that "holds us together;" Nichols adapts the work of poet Y'huda HaLevi; and Beth Shafer's "Working for Shalom" offers up a fervent prayer for peace.
The disc is accompanied by a series of informative liner notes that help listeners place each song within its proper context. Lyrics, artist info, downloads and educational materials – along with audio samples of all three CD's tracks – are available online at www.RuachCD.com.
Transcontinental Music Publications is the music publishing arm of the Union for Reform Judaism (formerly known as the Union of American Hebrew Congregations), the central body of the Reform Movement in North America. The Union represents 1.5 million Reform Jews in more than 900 congregations across the United States and Canada, and Union programs and services include youth camps, adult education opportunities, Outreach to unaffiliated and intermarried Jews, and the Religious Action Center in Washington, DC.
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