The Music of the

Mitsve Tants

in the Courts of the Hasidic Rebbes

BINYOMIN GINZBERG

Rooted in mysticism and laden with symbolism, the Mitsve Tants is a unique dance ritual performed at the end of a Hasidic wedding. The songs in this collection reflect a comprehensive overview of the musical repertoire as sung in the courts of the Hasidic Rebbes, selected through personal experience attending and performing at Mitsve Tantsn, supplemented by hundreds of hours of archival footage.

Extensively researched and meticulously transcribed and annotated, the melodies range from early Hasidic nigunim to pan-Hasidic standards and classics of today. Each song includes the full original Hebrew or Yiddish lyrics, as well as English translation and transliteration, and is presented on its own page, with sections clearly marked. The songs are preceded by an informative essay describing the structure and customs of the Mitsve Tants, as well as the spiritual and religious concepts at the root of the ritual.

“The Music of the Mitsve Tants in the Courts of the Hasidic Rebbes is an invaluable compendium of knowledge and information for musicians, scholars, and anyone at all interested in the fascinating world of Hasidic, Jewish, and klezmer music.”

Sir Frank London, The Klezmatics

BINYOMIN GINZBERG brings decades of performance experience and broad knowledge of Hasidic music to this comprehensive volume. As a keyboardist and vocalist, he has played hundreds of Jewish weddings with his own band, as well as events and concerts with other well-known bands and performers. He leads the Breslov Bar Band, which performs creative arrangements of Breslov nigunim, and has taught Hasidic music at KlezKamp, Yiddish Summer Weimar, and the Rising Song Institute Winter Intensive.