Itzik Dadya’s Hebrew song “TAMID OHEV OTI” (That’s the catchy “Od yoter tov ve’od yoter tov, od yoter tov ve’od yoter tov”)
Topping the charts over at 24Six is Itzik Dadya’s Hebrew song “TAMID OHEV OTI” (That’s the catchy “Od yoter tov ve’od yoter tov, od yoter tov ve’od yoter tov”) which injects a much-desired note of optimism into this challenging period. Itzik, a star Sephardic singer born and raised in the southern Israeli city of Netivot, has released several successful albums since his debut Am Yisrael Chai in 2010. His soothing vocals and expressive Hebrew lyrics are a winning combination.
Itzik shares the story behind this latest hit. “A friend and I went to the Kotel one Thursday night, where we ran into Rabbi Oren Levi. [Rabbi Levi, a survivor of the Beis Yisrael terror attack on Motzaei Shabbos in Adar 2002, is the father of Shimon, a popular Israeli singer who was a three-week old baby at the time and rescued from under a burning car. –Ed.] Rabbi Levi is one of the only people with a key to the cave of the kever of Shimon Hatzaddik, where he spreads Torah to all kinds of people who want to learn and grow. He took us there, and while we were there, he sang this song that he had composed together with Rav Shalom Arush and Breslov artist Yair Elitzur. I immediately connected with the song, but after returning to America, I completely forgot about it.
“One day I heard the song — Elitzur had released it for an Israeli audience. But it wasn’t until event planner and producer David Elefant called me a few days before Succot and told me that I had to bring this song to America, that I realized why it was so familiar — because I’d heard it that night at Kever Shimon Hatzaddik. Although it seemed impossible to produce a song this quickly, I decided to try, because of the special connection I felt to the song from its roots. With the amazing talent and dedication of the video production team, we managed to pull the project together in 48 hours.”
The song is hugely popular and has already spawned a Yiddish version with lyrics by Motty Ilowitz, sung by Levy Falkowitz, Yoeli Klein, and Shloimy Askal, plus a remix by Matt Dubb.
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