Creator and musician Yinon Tayeb opens the Days of Mercy and Forgiveness with a contemporary arrangement in a Jewish groove and world music flavors of the piyut ‘Bizachri Al Mishkavi,’ on the way to a new album and a ‘Masa Al Haruach’ show.
With the beginning of the month of Elul and the Days of Mercy and Forgiveness, musician and composer Yinon Tayeb releases a new single: ‘Bizachri Al Mishkavi‘ – a refreshing and contemporary arrangement, in a Jewish groove with world music flavors of the ancient and well-known piyut attributed to Rabbi Yehuda Ibn Bilam. The new arrangement gives a fresh and surprising musical angle to one of the most prominent passages in the prayers of forgiveness.
Tayeb‘s connection to “Bizachri Al Mishkavi” was born from an ongoing experience during the prayers. “I have a relationship with this piyut for years,” he says. “Every year when we came to ‘Bezachri al Mishkavi‘ at Selichot, I naturally heard a reggae rhythm and groove in it. Something in the weight and flow of the lyrics always made me think that one day I would record it and give it this interpretation.”
Along with the rhythmic rhythm, Tayeb also connects to the depth of the pleading lyrics, which are based on verses from the Sefer Divrei Hayamim and bring to the forefront the plea for mercy and repentance. “This year I felt that the time had come to turn the feeling that accompanies me at every Selichot into a real work,” he explains. “The desire was to take the deep atmosphere of Elul and connect it to my musical language – original and contemporary Jewish music.”
In the years that have passed since the release of his first album “Baintayim” about 14 years ago, Tayeb has continued to create and release diverse singles, including “Oseh Shalom” and a reggae adaptation of “Lecha Dodi.” Alongside his work in his home studio, where he composes and produces his new songs, Tayeb currently combines his daily routine as a blessing with producing events in Jerusalem. “For me, music is a way to connect contemporary creation, Jewish sources, and a message of faith and closeness,” he notes. “Bizachri Al Mishkavi” joins a series of singles Taib has released in recent months (“Gur Aryeh Yehuda,” “Uvnay Otah,” and “Vayehi Binsoa Ha’Aron”). These songs are stops on the way to a full album and “Masa El Haruach” – a personal musical performance that combines original music, a personal story, and words of awakening from the worlds of Chassidus and Kabbalah, with a connection to the cycle of the year and also suitable for Selichot and awakening evenings.