Live- JAFFA ROAD Ya'ala Ya'ala יַעֲלָה יַעֲלָה- Sacred Hebrew music

Original music for sacred Hebrew, love poetry from 16th Century


Aaron Lightstone : guitars, vocals,
Tamar Ilana: lead vocals
Justin Gray : bass, vocals
Sundar Viswanathan: lead vocals, bansuri
Rakesh Tewari : Drums & Percussion
Videography & Editing -Taiowa Butsenscheon
Lyric Translation - Dr. Aubrey Glazer

Produced by Justin Gray & Aaron Lightstone
Recorded by Justin Gray, Jeremy Darby, Aaron Lightstone, Shawn Rompre
Mixed and Mastered by Justin Gray

We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts.

Lyrics are adapted by Aaron Lightstone from the poem by Rabbi Israel Najara, a 15th Century mystic poet. Najara lived in the 1600s in what is now Israel and Syria ( Sefat and Damascus). He was also known as ִר׳ יִשְׂרָאֵל בֵּן מֹשֶׁה נַאגָּ֗ארָה‎, Yisrael ben Moshe Najarah and as إسرائيل بن موسى النجارة‎, Isra'il bin Musa al-Najara.

This Piyut, is a love song describing the love between the groom and the bride (Ra’aya). The Ra’aya is referred to here as Ya’ala. This Piyut has been set to music many times, and is widely sung among the Jewish communities of North Africa, Central Asia and the Middle-East.

Jaffa Road has created new original music for these ancient lyrics.

יַעֲלָה יַעֲלָה בּוֹאִי לְגַנִּי
הֵנֵץ רִמּוֹן פָּרְחָה גַּפְנִי
יָבוֹא דוֹדִי יָחִישׁ צְעָדָיו
וְיֹאכַל אֶת פְּרִי מְגָדָיו

יַעֲלָה יַעֲלָה בּוֹאִי לְגַנִּי
הֵנֵץ רִמּוֹן פָּרְחָה גַּפְנִי

יַעֲלָה יַעֲלָה בּוֹאִי לְגַנִּי
הֵנֵץ רִמּוֹן פָּרְחָה גַּפְנִי
לוּ יְהִי כִדְבָרְךָ, יְדִידִי
עַתָּה מַהֵר תֶּאְסֹף נְדוּדִי

שׁוּבִי אֵלַי אַתְּ בַּת אֲהוּבָה
שׁוּבִי אַתְּ וַאֲנִי אָשׁוּבָה

My doe, my doe come to my garden
The pomegranates are in bloom
and my vines have flowered
Come my beloved hasten your steps
Eat of the choicest fruits

My doe, my doe come to my garden
The pomegranates are in bloom

My doe, my doe come to my garden
The pomegranates are in bloom
If your words to me are true
Then return me quickly from my wanderings

Return to me O daughter of Love
Return to me and I will Return to You

This project is funded in part by FACTOR, the government of Canada and Canada's private radio broadcasters. Ce projet est financé en partie par FACTOR, le gouvernement du Canada et les radiodiffuseurs privés du Canada.

We also gratefully acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts, The Ontario Arts Council, Canada Council for the Arts, and the Toronto Arts Council.