Music owns me. Nothing lets me lose myself like a powerful song. As a writer, I can often envision entire scenes in my head between my characters just because of a melody or refrain. Music soothes my soul or revs me up or inspires me or becomes a companion when I need it. Simply put, I love music.

I’m also still very new to Judaism, and attending Shabbat services on Friday night or Saturday morning means that I’m about to be immersed in Hebrew for an hour or two.  I’m starting to pick things up, thanks in part to repetition and transliteration, and one of my favorite parts of the service is the song “L’Chah Dodi,” which is a song about welcoming the Shabbat “bride,” or the peace and joy that is Shabbat. The version sung at the synagogue I’m attending is upbeat and catchy. I found a version of it on YouTube:

While searching for the song, I stumbled upon a version of it that I have instantly fallen in love with.  The song is set to the tune of John Legend’s “All of Me” and it only uses the last versus of the song, as well as the refrain, but it is absolutely gorgeous. Refael Mirila sings it and he is incredible. I cannot stop listening to this version. I’ve probably heard it two dozen times today and it never gets old. I’ve also gotten very good at pronouncing this particular bit of Hebrew! Here’s that version below –