Rabbi/Cantor David Shneyer is a singer-composer, guitarist, and clarinetist . He grew up in Lakewood, New Jersey. After graduating from Rutgers University in 1970 Shneyer moved to Washington, D.C. Along with fiddler Alan Oresky he created new Jewish liturgical folk music and founded the popular folk and klezmer band the Fabrangen Fiddlers in 1971. This group remains devoted to the rediscovery of Jewish folk music and the development of new Jewish liturgical folk music.

Sometimes known as a Human Rights Rabbi he is the director of AmKolel Sanctuary and Renewal Center in Pikesville MD. Read More About This…

Passover  traditions and memories . . . .

A time for family gatherings.

A time to ask the ”four questions.”

A time to search for the afikomen.

A time to recite the ten plagues.

A time for choroses and horseradish on matzo.

A time for Elijah’s glass of wine.

The Passover Seder  allows us to join together  in the warmth and safety of our homes to celebrate and remember our Jewish heritage.

If music and song have been a part of your Passover Seder over the years  the recordings in the JSA’s Passover Collection of Songs are sure to revive nostalgic memories of the past and to inspire new traditions for the future. Read More About This…

Sam Greene was the first volunteer at the Judaica Sound Archives.

Sam Greene

Jan. 11, 1923 – Feb. 8, 2012

It saddens my heart to think that Sam will no longer be here at the Judaica Sound Archives. Sam Greene was a dedicated JSA volunteer who began offering his assistance in 2002. He unpacked recordings, examined them and checked databases. Because of his language skills he was often called upon to provide English translations of Yiddish, Hebrew  or German songs and text. Read More About This…

Sometimes the unexpected comes with the daily mail. This recent addition arrived just in time for Yom Kippur. It  features Nicolas Jolliet a talented guitarist, sitarist,  and composer.

The Kol Nidre has fascinated composers for centuries. Now it has caught the attention of Guitarist and Sitarist Nicolas Jolliet. Using the sitar, surbahar, tabla, oud, dumbek and other exotic instruments, this CD was recorded on the Caribbean Island of St. Lucia, and evolves from traditional ragas into a seductive Reggae beat. The subject of a Canadian Broadcasting Corporation documentary, it was played at a Yom Kippur service held at a U.S. base in Kandahar, Afghanistan. Read More About This…

New for the Holidays! This recently added album features music composed especially for the High Holy Days by Cantor Meir Finkelstein who also conducts the orchestra. It features the voices of Cantor Udi Spielman and his wife Varda.

Cantor Spielman and Cantor Finkelstein have partnered many times in the past with great success. Together they create a distinctive cantorial sound that is at once modern and traditional. Read More About This…