By dcc
"As cliché as it is, and yes, this is a true story, I started hearing a melody while I walked through the shuk.  I knew that I had to put that melody to L'cha Dodi, as I was in the text's birthplace," said Jeremy Gimbel of his rock L'cha Dodi melody that he wrote in of Safed, the mystical town in Northern Israel.

Many of his melodies just come to him, he explained. Jeremy started writing music in middle school. "I remember coming up with a cool musical riff, and then I sang a melody with it, and found some words in 'On The Doorpost of Your House.' After the piece was done, I thought 'whoa, I think I just wrote a song.'" He continued to write music and in the past few years has become more dedicated to the process.

Jeremy and Brad Lennox now write music and play in their band Shira Tirdof. They recently played a concert at Temple Or Rishon outside of Sacramento, CA. The band recorded the entire concert which they are selling as a fund raiser for the Or Rishon religious school.  Jeremy said that he is proud to be able to get people excited about Judaism through music. "I do Jewish music so that I can bring that type of joy, ruach, and spirituality to others." This is why he continues to tour around California and North America song-leading and playing concerts for Jewish groups. (Exclusive track below)

He pulls much of his inspiration from so-called "camp bands" like Guster, Dave Mathews and Dispatch, but also from Jewish text itself. "Dan Nichols and Cantor Rosalie Boxt taught me the phrase 'know before whom you stand before you stand.'  While it's a song leading virtue, it's also true about song writing," Jeremy said. "In order to write a solid piece of music, I take the time to learn what the text is about, where it comes from, and its importance in the Jewish experience. Then again I am also inspired by taking something familiar and twisting it so that we can see a text or a piece of music in a different way."

But perhaps at his core, Jeremy is a camp kid who wants to re-create the energy of Jewish summer camping all year round. "I grew up at URJ Camp Newman/Swig in Santa Rosa, CA and formed my Jewish identity through heavy involvement in NFTY, culminating during my year on NFTY's North American board," noting he now serves as the youth director at Congregation Beth Israel in San Diego, the congregation in which his family has long belonged. "Eventually, my plan is to go to HUC-JIR to become a rabbi. For now, I enjoy song leading for Jewish communities, youth groups, and URJ camps across the country." You can learn more about Jeremy and his music on his website.

"L'Cha Dodi"

"Hinei Mah Tov - Kol Yom" (Live)