Since it’s a Jewish love holiday, why not songs about love (and sex, and relationships) by Jewish artists?  The rule was that at least one songwriter and the vocalist have to be Jewish, (So, Joey Ramone leading the Ramones covering “Baby, I Love You,” by three Jewish songwriters, qualifies).

The result is sort of… bizarre. Jews hold (and have held) a diverse presence in popular music over the last several decades, in pretty much every genre there is.

And so, this playlist has Drake. And Carole King. And Peaches. And Vanessa Carlton. And Neil Diamond. And P!nk. And Lesley Gore. And Matisyahu. And Paula Abdul. And Haim. And Tom Lehrer. And Amy Winehouse. And more.

You can listen below, but just put it on shuffle.  There’s no way to make the order make any sense.

If any of you are bold enough to smooch a partner to this playlist, let us know how that works out for you.

And if you want to hear a bit of this in a room full of other people, we hope to see you at the party tonight!

We give you, AHAVA:

Image credit: Wikimedia

The post A Jewish L-O-V-E Playlist appeared first on Jewcy.

She’s been a cheerleader for the Los Angeles Lakers, she’s judged American Idol, she’s even sung with a fox, but Paula Abdul has never been to Israel. Until next week, that is. Abdul, 51, begins her first trip to the Holy Land next Monday, where she will celebrate her Bat Mitzvah at the Western Wall in Jerusalem.

According to the Times of Israel, Abdul is an official guest of the Tourism Ministry and will meet with President Shimon Peres and Tourism Minister Uzi Landau. She also has plans to tour from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv and up to sites in the Galilee.

Although this is her first trip to Israel, Abdul has been active in Judaism. She was born to two Jewish parents and grew up Reform in California. More recently, she’s been connected to the Los Angeles Chabad Rabbi Chaim Mentz and took part in a Chabad fundraiser last November in Toronto.

And because we already can’t wait until the weekend, here’s a video of Paula Abdul wishing you a Shabbat Shalom.

(Photo by Joe Kohen/Getty)

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