The Songs of "It's All Good"
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It's All Good
Music & English Lyrics by Robbi Sherwin with Sababa, text: Psalm 136:1, Gen 1:31
At the end of the sixth day of creation, God looked around, saw all that had been made, and said, "Hinei Tov M'od - This is very good." Too often we forget to stop and take a look around, and be grateful for all the amazing things in our lives.
Beauty Of The World
Music & English Lyrics by Sababa Hebrew text: traditional blessing for rare beauty
It seems that in Judaism there is a blessing for just about everything. There's a blessing when we wake up in the morning, when we go to bed at night, and even when we go to the bathroom! Written as we watched the sun set over the Rocky Mountains in the summer of 2009, this song was inspired by the blessing we say when we see something of rare beauty in God's creation.
I Saw God
Music & English lyrics by Robbi Sherwin & Scott Leader, Hebrew Text: Gen 28:16
Each of us sees, hears, and feels the Eternal in a different and very personal way. This tune was written for the bat mitzvah of Rachel Van Den Berg in Austin, TX in 2007. We are grateful to the Van Den Berg family - Scott, Rebecca, Rachel, Zack, and Jessica - for their unwavering and generous support.
Adonai S'fatai
Music by Steve Brodsky, Text: Psalm 51:15
As children, we were taught of the heroism of King David – how he slew the giant Goliath, how he became the king of Israel, how he was a talented poet and musician, how he conquered Jerusalem, made it his capital, and brought the Ark of the Covenant there. But as adults, we study more deeply and find that David was a flawed and troubled king. He committed adultery with Bathsheba, then sent her husband off to die in war so he could have her for himself. When the prophet Nathan confronted David with his sins, he poured out his confession, and from the depths of his despair and fear, begged God for forgiveness. These words from David’s plea speak of the deep yearning we all have to be heard, by our loved ones, by our friends and colleagues, and especially, by our Maker.
Ani T'filati
Music & Lyrics by Robbi Sherwin; Text: Deut. 6:4
A Zen Master once went to a hot dog vendor and said, “make me one with everything…” The Jewish mystics teach that when we listen to that still, small voice within us – the voice of choice and consciousness – we become our prayer, and become one with The One.
For Healing
Music & English lyrics by Steve Brodsky & Robbi Sherwin
Hebrew Lyrics by Natan Arons, Spanish lyrics by Blanca Sherwin
Am Yisrael (the People of Israel) has no physical, geographic, political, or socioeconomic boundries. Jews live in every corner of the Earth, and speak a myriad of languages. We wrote this song with the help of Robbi's nephew, Natan Arons, a 22 year-old Yeshiva student from Jerusalem, who wrote the Hebrew lyrics when he was in the Israeli Army. Robbi's sister-in-law, Blanca Sherwin, is a Peace Officer in Ft. Worth Texas, specializing in racial profiling education and is the mother of two-year old twin boys. Blanca, originally from Puebla, Mexico, penned the Spanish verse. The power of prayer can heal in any language!
Mi Chamocha
Music by Steve Brodsky, Text: Ex 15:11, 18 & liturgy
Every time Jews gather in community to pray, we recall the moment in time when we stood at the shores of the Sea of Reeds and became a people. This defining moment was a milestone in our long journey from slavery to freedom. Thousands of years later, we still stand at the shores of the sea with all of those who are yet to be free. (Note: We’ve included in this song both the evening and morning liturgy of Mi Chamocha, so that it can be used in both settings.)
Heiveinu Shalom Aleichem
Music by Scott Leader; Lyrics: Traditional folk & Psalm 133:1
The words are classic and familiar. The melody is simple and repetitive, to have everyone singing along in no time. Sometimes less is more. ‘Nuf said.
Barcheinu
Music by Steve Brodsky, Text: Morning liturgy (Sim Shalom)
These words, the second part of the Sim Shalom prayer, speak of unity: "Bless us, our Father, all together as one." At the end of the Amidah, after we've each taken a few moments and "gone off by ourselves" to pray silently and individually, we return to the idea of community: we're all in this together, and we all seek God's grace. Where there is unity, there is blessing.
Darkest Time Of Night
Music & Lyrics by Robbi Sherwin - In loving memory of Steve Meltzer, z’l
In April 2009 we were stunned by the sudden and unexpected death of our friend Steve Meltzer, just days before we were to perform a concert that he was organizing at his synagogue in Massachusetts. After she heard the news, Robbi spent a few sleepless nights pondering all the things she wished she had said to Steve. She was moved to create this song in his memory. Do we ever take the time to let someone know how much they mean to us, before it's too late?
Hinei Mah Tov
Music & English text by Hal Aqua; Text: Psalm 133:1
This new twist on some very familiar words is the only song on the album that we didn’t write ourselves – but when we first learned it from our friend Hal Aqua we knew we had to “Sababa-ize” it. Hal is an awesome musician and phenomenal artist in Denver, and the leader of an incredible Jewish world beat fusion band called Los Lanztmun – check him out at www.halaqua.com. Bruthas and sistas, it’s all good!
Hu Ya'aseh
Music & English Lyrics: Rich Glauber & Robbi Sherwin Text: Evening liturgy (Oseh Shalom)
Always a concert favorite, this reggae/rock song co-written by Robbi and soul man Rich Glauber really came to life with the addition of five amazing gospel singers from Phoenix. They came into the studio to share their incredible talent with us. God creates peace, but it's up to all of us to be partners with God in making peace a reality in the world.
Havdalah Sweet
Music by Scott Leader; “Elijahu” from a folk tune, Text: Havdalah prayers
Havdalah is a bittersweet moment: we separate the sacred from the profane, leaving the beauty and holiness of Shabbat behind to begin the everday work week. Yet, the melancholy gives way to the joyous, as we begin the new week with a bang!
Sababa Thanks:
Our Families:
Jill Katchen, Benjamin & Ari Brodsky, the Neumann and Rossitto Families, Mark, Katy, and Sam Jordan, Jessica & Ben Barenberg
Our "Album Angels:"
Scott, Rebecca, Rachel, Zack, and Jessica Van Den Berg
For use of their beautiful home-away-from-home in the creation of this album:
Rabbi Eliot Baskin and
Dr. Hilary Nieberg-Baskin, Jonah & Gabe Baskin
Hebrew consultation, inspiration and enthusiastic, loving support:
Cantor Regina Heit, Temple Emanuel-El, Denver
Rabbi Larry Bach, Temple Mount Sinai, El Paso, Texas
Torah in Glass:
Our cover art, "Torah in Glass" by Hal Marcus is installed at Temple Mount Sinai, in El Paso, Texas. We invite you to visit their site to read the story about this magnificent piece.
All the incredible musicians who joined us on this journey, our friends, colleagues, and fans!
Latest News
Sababa's "Birkat Shalom" chosen for the Ruach 5769 CD!
Top Honors
Robbi Sherwin & Sababa Take Top Honors in the 3rd Shalshelet Foundation for New Liturgical Music 2008 Competition
The Tot Shabbat Handbook
Sababa's "Love Adonai" Published by URJ
"It's All Good" Wins 2010 Shalshelet Award
We had great time performing at the Festival!
It's All Good gets rave review from the JUF News Chicago
Check reviews under "The Buzz" to read!