613 Torah Avenue
Encyclopedia
613 Torah Avenue is a popular series of Jewish children's audio
and video
albums. The first title appeared in 1977.
The series was created by Cheryle Knobel and Rivkah Neuman, of Brooklyn
. Rivkah Neuman is the renowned Pre-1A teacher in Yeshiva Toras Emes Kamenitz in Brooklyn for many years. The instrumentation and arrangements in the series are a good example of religious Jewish music of early 1960s and 1970s.
"613 Torah Avenue" is the fictional address of its main character, a young Jewish boy named Chaim. The number 613 is significant in Judaism
as the traditional number of mitzvot in the Torah
.
In common with much other children's literature, the dialogue is arranged in rhyming form, making it easier for children to follow (and often to memorize).
In the first five titles in the series, the songs are arranged according to the order of the weekly Torah portions
; generally there is one song per parsha, although sometimes there are two. The subsequent titles are on Pirkei Avot, tefillah, and the seasons of the year with their Jewish holidays.
The melodies of the songs are taken from a wide variety of sources, both Jewish and non-Jewish: folk songs, popular songs, and so forth.
and the following video titles:
Sound recording and reproduction
Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
and video
Video
Video is the technology of electronically capturing, recording, processing, storing, transmitting, and reconstructing a sequence of still images representing scenes in motion.- History :...
albums. The first title appeared in 1977.
The series was created by Cheryle Knobel and Rivkah Neuman, of Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
. Rivkah Neuman is the renowned Pre-1A teacher in Yeshiva Toras Emes Kamenitz in Brooklyn for many years. The instrumentation and arrangements in the series are a good example of religious Jewish music of early 1960s and 1970s.
"613 Torah Avenue" is the fictional address of its main character, a young Jewish boy named Chaim. The number 613 is significant in Judaism
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
as the traditional number of mitzvot in the Torah
Torah
Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five books of the bible—Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five...
.
Synopsis
Each album or video consists of a series of sketches grouped around a general plot line (Chaim walking down the street, at a carnival, his day at school, etc.), alternating with songs. In these sketches, Chaim talks and otherwise interacts with other characters, both human and inanimate (which are anthropomorphized), and their conversation eventually leads into the topic of the following song.In common with much other children's literature, the dialogue is arranged in rhyming form, making it easier for children to follow (and often to memorize).
In the first five titles in the series, the songs are arranged according to the order of the weekly Torah portions
Parsha
This article is about the divisions of the Torah into weekly readings. For this week's Torah portion, see Torah portionThe weekly Torah portion |Sidra]]) is a section of the Torah read in Jewish services...
; generally there is one song per parsha, although sometimes there are two. The subsequent titles are on Pirkei Avot, tefillah, and the seasons of the year with their Jewish holidays.
The melodies of the songs are taken from a wide variety of sources, both Jewish and non-Jewish: folk songs, popular songs, and so forth.
Titles
Currently the series consists of the following audio titles:- Vol. I, Songs for ChumashHumashThe Hebrew term Chumash is one of the Hebrew names for the Five Books of Moses, also known by the Latinised Greek term Pentateuch or as one of the uses of the Hebrew term Torah, "Law." The word comes from the Hebrew word for five, ḥamesh...
Bereishis - Vol. II, Songs for Chumash Shemos
- Vol. III, Songs for Chumash VayikraVayikraVayikra is a Hebrew word, which is the first word of the book of Leviticus, the third book of the Torah . It means "And He called".When used as a noun, Vayikra might refer to:...
- Vol. IV, Songs for Chumash BamidbarBamidbarBamidbar is a Hebrew word, which is the fifth word of the Book of Numbers, the fourth book of the Torah...
- Vol. V, Songs for Chumash DevarimDevarimDevarim is a Hebrew word, which is the second word of the book of Deuteronomy, the fifth book of the Torah . It means "Words".When used as a noun, Devarim might refer to:...
- Vol. VI, Songs for Pirkei Avos
- Vol. VII, Songs for Tefilah
- Vol. VIII, Songs for the Seasons and Yomim Tovim
and the following video titles:
- Vol. I, Songs for Chumash Bereishis (animatedAnimationAnimation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...
) - Vol. II, Songs for Chumash Shemos (animated)
- Vol. IV, Songs for Chumash Bamidbar (mixed live-action and animation)
- Vol. VI, Songs for Pirkei Avos (mixed live-action and animation)
- Vol. VII, Songs for Tefilah (mixed live-action and animation)
- Vol. VIII, Songs for the Seasons and Yomim Tovim (live-action)
Theme song
Each title begins (and usually ends) with a variation of the series theme song, "It's Time to Learn Torah." The original, from Vol. I, is:- It's time to learn Torah right now
- Follow me, I'll show you how
- If every one of us tries
- We will grow up great and wise
- Every Sedrah has a song and rhyme
- That you can learn in a short time
- The Torah is our guide
- By its Mitzvos we abide