“Lincoln’s Nigun—Yamin U’smol”: The Perfect Song to Usher in the Sabbath Queen

A lush take on the traditional Jewish hymn “Lecha Dodi.”

By Elissa Goldstein for Jewcy

Here’s a blissful way to usher in the Sabbath Queen: give a listen to “Lincoln’s Nigun—Yamin U’smol,” a new song from Brooklyn-based musician and composer Joey Weisenberg, with gorgeous lead vocals by Deborah Sacks. It’s a lovely take on Lecha Dodi, the traditional Sabbath eve hymn. (You’ll get why it’s called “Lincoln’s Nigun” when you start listening.)

This track comes from the recently-released album Brooklyn Spirituals, the fourth in a series of liturgical recordings composed and led by Weisenberg, whose mission is to “reinvigorate Jewish life through song,” according to a 2013 article in Tablet Magazine. The album was recorded in the choir loft of the Kane Street Synagogue in Brooklyn, which until recently was crowded “with what seemed like a century’s worth of accumulated shul accoutrements.” After decluttering the space, an intimate studio and performance space was born. And now we reap its luscious musical fruits!

Enjoy, and Shabbat shalom.

 

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