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Written by Doctor Simcha
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Hora & B'nei Mitzvah
- At B'nei Mitzvah, it is custom to raise the honoree and his or her family members on a chair during the hora. This is also often done at Jewish weddings.
- Which family members you would like lifted in the chair during the Hora dance? The BM, the sibling and the parents are the usual. If grandma and grandpa are in good shape, have them lifted too!
The Hora Dance - Background - The origins of the Hora dance are Rumanian, where the traditional dance gathers all people present in a big closed circle.
- Jews, during their living in the Rumanian Pricipalities, were heavily influenced by the traditional Romanian folklore, in music (the klezmer, for example), and in dances.
- The Hora is the unofficial king of Israeli folk dances. In the early days, Hora was popular mainly in the Kibbutzs and small communities, later on becoming a "must" in weddings, celebrations, bar mitzvahs, bat mitzvahs and group dancing all over Israel.
How to dance the Hora?
- How to dance the hora? It is easy! Here are the 10 steps you have to follow:
- 1 - Stand in a circle holding the hands of the people on either side of you.
- 2 - When the music starts, follow the circle as it rotates.
- 3 - Step to the side, passing your left foot behind your right.
- 4 - Move the right foot beside the left foot.
- 5 - Step to the side again, passing your left foot in front of your right this time.
- 6 - Continue as the circle keeps spinning, adding a little hop to your steps as you go faster.
- 7 - Move toward the center of the circle and throw your hands, still holding those of the people beside you, in the air.
- 8 - Lower your hands and move backward.
- 9 - Repeat several times.
- 10 - Resume spinning around the circle.
- All this is done while holding hands and circling together in a fast and cheerful motion to the right. In large groups you can create several circles while the smaller circles are inside the bigger circle and so on..
Hora Songs - Typically, Hora is danced to the music of Hava Nagila, maybe the most popular, well-known Jewish song throughout the world.
- Check the full Hora song list for more hora songs.
- Never in her life would the Doc imagine herself recommending a Punk band! In one of the recent Barmis she heard a punk cover to Hava Nagila
 , played by the band "Me First and the Gimme Gimmes", in the album "Ruin Jonny's Bar Mitzvah" (what a name for an album!). It is hilarious. The 13-year-old boys loved it! Follow the link above, you can listen there to a song sample.
Israeli Music- If you would like to have also popular Hebrew music, make sure your DJ has it in his music library. If he doesn't have the Hebrew songs that you like, ask him to get them, or give it to him yourself, don't be shy!
- The Doc prefers the more oriental Israeli music, the ones that make the belly move! Here:
1 - Jessica, Etnix & Eyal Golan |
| Like Cinderella, Sarit Hadad |
| Melech Amiti (A Real King), Zahava Ben |
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