Birkat Hallel - Safam

Safam means mustache. Their emblem was a 1920s 'stache with 1920s glasses. And googly eyes.

Over the years they put out a SMASHING collection of folk/rock/jazz Jewish music (was that ambiguous enough?). We used to listen to them on records... Lots of topical lyrics.

Here's a sampling of their very moving song called Just Another Foreigner: "I met a man in Addis Ababa / his skin was black and his features kind of strange / he showed me a book that he said was the Torah / he spoke of his people, Falasha was their name. / Just another foreigner in another foreign land / but I knew he was my brother as he took me by the hand / singing Au tanastali, Salaam aleikhem. [CHOIR: Aleichem Shalom, Shalom Aleichem!]

Holy CRAP I need that recording!!!!!!!

So this is off the album "Songs for the Jewish Holidays" that I found in the Brooklyn Public Library about 2 years ago. The final four tracks run through Hallel pretty much from beginning to end. This is the brocha and the first paragraph.

Enjoy!