The buoyant and rhythmic “Chavivi, Kah Chavivi” never seems to go out of style

O

ne of Sephardic Jewry’s most iconic songs, says paytan Moshe Chavusha, has its roots in two separate communities, its lyrics and words uniting them. The buoyant and rhythmic “Chavivi, Kah Chavivi” never seems to go out of style. It’s a beloved Sephardic song of celebration that Moshe says he performs all the time, at weddings, Shabbatot Chattan, and bar mitzvahs. The words “Chavivi, Kah chavivi, chavivi, Kah chavivi, HaKeil HaMelech HaRachaman, yishlach meshicho hane’eman...” were written by a Tunisian Jew named Asher Mizrachi, who was born in Jerusalem in 1890, during the Ottoman period. Mizrachi spent most of his adult life in Tunisia, where he initially moved to avoid conscription into the Turkish army. He was a chazzan, a paytan, and a well-known tenor. The famous tune, however, was composed by Rachamim Amar, a Morrocan-Yerushalmi musician.

(Originally featured in Mishpacha, Issue 789)