20-21. Ḥatani ma me'od yeqera menato - Vehalleluya (My groom, how treasured is his lot - Hallelujah)

With Songs They Respond: The Diwan of the Jews from Central Yemen
With Songs They Respond: The Diwan of the Jews from Central Yemen
20. Ḥatani ma me'od yeqera menato (My groom, how treasured is his lot)

Yosef Ozeiri and Zecharia Yitzhak

With Songs They Respond: The Diwan of the Jews from Central Yemen
With Songs They Respond: The Diwan of the Jews from Central Yemen
21. Vehalleluya

Yosef Ozeiri and Zecharia Yitzhak


Wedding nashid by Yehuda Halevi in praise of the beauty of the groom. The first stanza serves as a recurrent refrain after each of the following verses; it expresses the theme of the whole song- the groom has achieved happiness and wealth in winning his bride.

Yosef Ozeiri and Zecharia Yitzhak sing stanzas 1, 2, 3 and 6. Zecharia Yitzhak begins, and both of them sing the first verse to a repetitive response. They sing the following verses to a response, suited to the metric feet of each verse: one of them leads with the first foot (~~--) and the other responds with the two consecutive feet (~~--~----). Yosef leads and Zecharia responds in the second and third verses, and then Zecharia leads and Yosef responds in the final verse. Between these verses they sing the first verse together as a refrain, thus creating a new sequence, distinct from the printed poem. An immediate transition leads to the hallel, at whose conclusion the blessing Tizku lehayim tovim (May you be granted a good life) is sung.

Join Our Newsletter

Subscribe to our newsletter to get updates