New music: Avner & Rachel Boskey – Shtetl Dreams

This post originally appeared on Chavah Messianic Radio, a service by Tabernacle of David teacher Judah Gabriel Himango.

Shalom fine Chavah fans! We have something special for you today. 😊 New Israeli Messianic music on the station to brighten your shabbat:

Avner & Rachel – Shtetl Dreams

This new album is from our dear friends Avner & Rachel Boskey, Messianic music veterans whose music graces not only our station, but thousands of Messianic congregations around the world.

This new album is something special: nearly every song speaks of the Jewish longing to return to Zion. Take “Un Israelite Errant” (A Wondering Israelite), which records Avner repurposing an old French-Canadian anthem, singing,

“A wandering Israelite, banished from his hearth and home
Roamed through strange countries
Tears flowing down his cheeks
On a sad and pensive day
By the banks of the rivers of Babylon
We sat and wept
Reminding ourselves of our promised inheritance Zion
If you see my beloved homeland
Go tell all my friends 
That I am soon coming back! 
O charming days, you shall soon reappear!”

Avner & Rachel creatively set these songs of longing to old hymns, traditional folk songs, anthems. Most are in Yiddish, while others are in English, Hebrew, and even a song in French. They’re joined in several songs by the wildly talented Yaron Cherniak and dozens of others lending their musical talents for this God-honoring work.
Here’s how Avner & Rachel describe the album:

‘Shtetl Dreams,’ our latest record, looks both backward and forward in Jewish history. It looks back with nostalgic fondness at Jewish life in Eastern Europe, an epoch all but lost to most sons and daughters of Jacob. The heartfelt richness of that Jewish era is reflected here.  

At the same time, “nostalgia isn’t what it used to be.” Not all was dreamlike back in the day. Our grandparents fled Russian pogroms, bone-crushing poverty and bitterness of life, seeking new shelter in the West. We their grandchildren sometimes get stuck in the past, in an illusory ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ shtetl dream. Even when it is ‘jazzed up’ by Broadway or Hollywood – such dreams will not help us to meet  upcoming challenges. We Jewish people are entering the birth canal of national redemption. 

Shivat Tziyon (the Return to Zion), is the age-old biblical hope now being fleshed out in our day. Stunning accomplishments and sorrowful failures are being revealed in the process. But nationalism alone cannot and will not fulfil our prophetic dreams. The vision of a reborn Zion will need the God of Zion’s presence and power to make this plan come together.

So sit back and enjoy with us this musical meandering through Jewish history. Though the languages may be not immediately understandable, the melody is a faithful one. Join with us in singing (or humming) the songs of our ‘people of the shtetl’ as we journey home, bringing life from the dead to the entire planet (see Romans 11:1-2, 15). 

Do look at the lyrics for each song from this album: it features the song description by Avner & Rachel, as well as full translations into English. Beautiful stuff, friends.

I know you fine Messianic music fans will enjoy this special work for the King. You can purchase this new album over at https://davidstent.org.  You can also donate to Messiah’s Music Fund, which gets distributed to all the artists on Chavah. Thanks for supporting Messiah’s musicians!