Ya'alah Ya'alah from Shalhevet by Divahn

Lyrics: Rabbi Yisrael Najara, 16th century Tzfat
Melody: From the Arabic song “Ya Tira tiri”

The beautiful Hebrew poem Ya’alah Ya’alah draws from the language and themes of the Song of Songs. Its author, the prolific bohemian 16th century Rabbi Yisrael Najara, is believed to have begun the practice of composing Hebrew lyrics to the popular Arabic, Turkish, and Greek secular songs of the day. Twentieth century Syrian Jews set the poem to the popular melody of Ya Tira Tiri, a tortured Syrian love song in Arabic; this would have pleased Najara. Our arrangement includes one verse in the original Arabic.

Iranian-descended Galeet Dardashti leads the all-female power-house Middle Eastern Jewish ensemble, Divahn. With its fresh and fiery take on Sephardi/Mizrahi music—eclectic Indian, Middle Eastern, and Latin percussion, lush string arrangements and vocals spanning Hebrew, Persian, Arabic, Ladino, and Aramaic, Divahn underscores common ground between diverse Middle Eastern cultures and religions.