Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here are that of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of the Union for Traditional Judaism, unless otherwise indicated.
For Shabbat July 4, 2026, I led Musaf davening working in common American partriotic tunes. I did my best to maintain proper phrasing of the prayers.
Here is information on what I did. Note that hyphens (-) in the English indicate repeating or elongating vowels to help the tunes fit (they may not be entirely accurate). Therefore, where I might otherwise use a hyphen to avoid typing out one of the divine names that may not be erased, I have separated those names with a space, e.g. אֱ לֹהֵינוּ rather than אֱ-לֹהֵינוּ.
For each song, there is a YouTube video with the regular words on top of the column with the regular words and a video with instrumental music above the Hebrew words. The videos are queued up to where the lyrics begin. Rewind if you want to hear the intro.
A sample of my recording of the Hebrew words for the tune follows the words.
Here is a pdf with the arrangement of each tune.
Thank you to Rabbanit Leah Sarna and Jaclyn Rakhman for their help on this project.
| My country, ’tis of thee, | עֵץ חַ–יִּים הִיא |
| Sweet land of liberty, | לַמַּחֲזִיקִים בָּהּ |
| Of thee I sing | וְתֹמְכֶיהָ מְאֻשָּׁר |
| Land where my fathers died, | דְּרָכֶיהָ דַרְכֵי נֹעַם |
| Land of the pilgrims’ pride, | וְכָל נְתִיבוֹתֶיהָ שָׁלוֹם |
| From ev’ry mountainside | הֲשִׁיבֵנוּ יְיָ אֵלֶיךָ וְנָשׁוּבָה |
| Let freedom ring! | חַדֵּשׁ יָמֵינוּ כְּקֶדֶם |
Part 1:
| O beautiful for spacious skies, | נַעֲרִיצְךָ וְנַקְדִּישְׁךָ |
| For amber waves of grain, | כְּסוֹד שִׂיחַ שַׂרְפֵי קֹדֶשׁ |
| For purple mountain majesties | הַמַּקְדִּישִׁים שִׁמְךָ בַּקֹּדֶשׁ |
| Above the fruited plain! | כַּכָּתוּב עַל יַד נְבִיאֶךָ |
| America! | וְקָרָא זֶ-ה |
| America! | אֶל זֶה וְאָמַר |
| God shed His grace on thee, | קָדוֹשׁ קָ–דוֹשׁ |
| And crown thy good with brotherhood | קָדוֹשׁ יְיָ צְבָ אוֹת |
| From sea to shining sea! | מְלֹא כָל הָאָרֶץ כְּבוֹדוֹ |
Part 2:
| O beautiful for spacious skies, | כְּבו-ֹדוֹ מָלֵ–א |
| For amber waves of grain, | עו—לָם |
| For purple mountain majesties | מְשָׁרְתָיו שׁוֹאֲ-לִים |
| Above the fruited plain! | זֶ–ה לָזֶה |
| America! | אַיֵ–ּה |
| America! | מְקוֹ-ם |
| God shed His grace on thee, | כְּבוֹ—דוֹ |
| And crown thy good with brotherhood | לְעֻמָּתָם בָּרוּךְ יֹאמֵרוּ |
| From sea to shining sea! | בָּרוּךְ כְּבוֹד יְיָ מִמְּקוֹמוֹ |
Part 3:
| O beautiful for spacious skies, | מִמְּקוֹ-מוֹ הוּא יִ-פֶן |
| For amber waves of grain, | בְּרַ–חֲמִים |
| For purple mountain majesties | וְיָחֹן עַם הַמְיַחֲדִים |
| Above the fruited plain! | —שְׁמוֹ |
| America! | עֶרֶב וָבֹקֶר |
| America! | בְּכָל יוֹם תָּמִיד |
| God shed His grace on thee, | פַּעֲמַיִם בְּאַהֲבָה שְׁמַע אוֹמְרִים |
| And crown thy good with brotherhood | שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל יְיָ אֱלֹהֵ-ינוּ |
| From sea to shining sea! | יְיָ– אֶחָד |
| God Bless America, | הוּא אֱ להֵינוּ |
| Land that I love. | הוּא אָבִינוּ |
| Stand beside her, | הוּא מַלְכֵּנו |
| and guide her | הוּא מוֹשִׁיעֵנוּ |
| Thru the night with a light from above. | וְהוּא יַשְׁמִיעֵנוּ בְּרַחֲמָיו שֵׁנִית |
| From the mountains, | לְעֵינֵ-י |
| to the prairies | כָּ-ל חָ-י |
| ,To the oceans | לִהְיוֹת לָכֶם |
| white with foam | לֵא להִים |
| God bless America, | אֲנִי יְ-יָ |
| My home sweet home. | א להֵיכֶם |
| God bless America, | –וּבְדִבְרֵי קָדְשְׁךָ |
| My home sweet home. | כָּתוּב לֵאמֹר |
| You’re a grand old flag, | רְצֵה בִמְנוּחָתֵנוּ |
| You’re a high flying flag | קַדְּשֵׁנוּ בְּמִצְוֹתֶיךָ |
| And forever in peace may you wave. | וְתֵן חֶלְקֵנוּ בְּתוֹרָתֶךָ |
| You’re the emblem of | שַׂבְּעֵנוּ מִטּוּבֶךָ |
| The land I love. | וְשמְּחֵנוּ בִּישׁוּעָתֶךָ |
| The home of the free and the brave. | וְטַהֵר לִבֵּנוּ לְעָבְדְּךָ בֶּאֱמֶת |
| Ev’ry heart beats true | וְהַנְחִילֵ–נוּ |
| ‘neath the Red, White and Blue, | יְיָ א להֵינוּ |
| Where there’s never a boast or brag. | בְּאַהֲבָה וּבְרָצוֹן שַׁבַּת קָדְשֶׁךָ |
| Should auld acquaintance be forgot, | וְיָנוּחוּ בָ-הּ יִשְׂרָאֵל |
| Keep your eye on the grand old flag. | מְקַדְּשֵׁי שְׁמֶ-ךָ |
| Oh say can you see | שים שָׁלום טובָה וּבְרָכָה |
| By the dawn’s early light | חֵן וָחֶסֶד וְרַחֲמִים |
| What so proudly we hailed | עָלֵינוּ וְעַל כָּל יִשְׂרָאֵל |
| At the twilight’s last gleaming | עַמֶּ—ךָ |
| Whose broad stripes and bright stars | -בָּרְכֵנוּ אָבִינוּ |
| Through the per-ilous fight | כֻּלָּנוּ כְּאֶחָד בְּאוֹר פָּנֶיךָ |
| O’er the ram-parts we watched | כִּי בְאוֹר פָּנֶיךָ |
| Were so gallantly streaming | נָתַתָּ לָּנוּ יְיָ א להֵינוּ |
| And the rockets’ red glare | תּוֹרַת חַ–יִּים |
| The bombs bursting in air | וְאַהֲבַת חֶ-סֶד |
| Gave proof through the night | וּצְדָקָה וּבְרָכָה |
| That our flag was still there | וְרַחֲמִים וְחַיִּים וְשָׁלוֹם |
| Oh say does that star-spangled | -וְטוב בְּעֵינֶיךָ |
| banner yet wave | לְבָרֵךְ אֶת עַמְּךָ יִשרָאֵ-ל |
| O’er the land of the free | בְּכָל עֵת וּבְכָל שָׁעָה |
| And the home of the brave | בִּשְׁלומֶ–ךָ |
Part 1
| This land is your land, this land is my land | אֵין כֵּא להֵינוּ, אֵין כַּא דוֹנֵינוּ |
| From California to the New York island, | אֵין כְּמַלְכֵּנוּ, אֵין כְּמוֹשִׁיעֵנוּ |
| From the redwood forest to the Gulf Stream waters; | מִי כה להֵינוּ, מִי כַא דוֹנֵ-ינוּ |
| This land was made for you and me | מִי כְמַלְכֵּנוּ, מִי כְמוֹשִׁיעֵנוּ |
Part 2
| As I was walking that ribbon of highway | נוֹדֶה לֵא להֵינוּ, נוֹדֶה לַא דוֹנֵינוּ |
| I saw above me that endless skyway; | נוֹדֶה לְמַלְכֵּנוּ, נוֹדֶה לְמוֹשִׁיעֵנוּ |
| I saw below me that golden valley; | בָּרוּךְ א להֵינוּ, בָּרוּךְ אֲ דוֹנֵ-ינוּ |
| This land was made for you and me. | בָּרוּךְ מַלְכֵּנוּ, בָּרוּךְ מוֹשִׁיעֵנוּ |
Part 3
| I’ve roamed and rambled and I followed my footsteps | אַתָּה הוּא א-להֵינוּ אַתָּה הוּא אֲ דוֹנֵינוּ |
| To the sparkling sands of her diamond deserts; | אַתָּה הוּא מַלְכֵּנוּ אַתָּה הוּא מוֹשִׁיעֵנוּ |
| And all around me | אַתָּה הוּא שֶׁהִקְטִירוּ |
| a voice was sounding; | אֲבוֹתֵינוּ לְפָנֶ-יךָ |
| This land was made for you and me. | אֶת קְטֹרֶת הַסַּמִּים |
I didn’t actually lead Adon Olam and this tune is fairly well known, so I did not arrange this tune. However, here is a quick breakdown of the tune:
| Yan-kee Doo-dle went to town | אֲדוֹן עוֹלָם אֲשֶׁר מָלַךְ |
| A-rid-ing on a po-ny | בְּטֶרֶם כָּל יְצִיר נִבְרָא |
| Stuck a feath-er in his cap | לְעֵת נַעֲשָׂה בְחֶפְצוֹ כֹּל |
| And called it mac-a-ro-ni | אֲזַי מֶלֶךְ שְׁמוֹ נִקְרָא |
| Yan-kee Doo-dle keep it up | וְאַחֲרֵי כִּכְלוֹת הַכֹּל |
| Yan-kee Doo-dle dan-dy | לְבַדּוֹ יִמְלוֹךְ נוֹרָא |
| Mind the mu-sic and the step | וְהוּא הָיָה וְהוּא הֹוֶה |
| And with the girls be han-dy | וְהוּא יִהְיֶה בְּתִפְאָרָה |
| Fa-ther and I went down to camp | וְהוּא אֶחָד וְאֵין שֵׁנִי |
| A-long with Cap-tain Good-ing | לְהַמְשִׁיל לוֹ לְהַחְבִּירָה |
| And there we saw the men and boys | בְּלִי רֵאשִׁית בְּלִי תַכְלִית |
| As thick as has-ty pud-ding | וְלוֹ הָעֹז וְהַמִּשְׂרָה |
| Yan-kee Doo-dle keep it up | וְהוּא אֵ לִי וְחַי גֹּאֲלִי |
| Yan-kee Doo-dle dan-dy | וְצוּר חֶבְלִי בְּעֵת צָרָה |
| Mind the mu-sic and the step | וְהוּא נִסִּי וּמָנוֹס לִי |
| And with the girls be han-dy | מְנָת כּוֹסִי בְּיוֹם אֶקְרָא |
| Yan-kee Doo-dle went to town | בְּיָדוֹ אַפְקִיד רוּחִי |
| A-rid-ing on a po-ny | בְּעֵת אִישַׁן וְאָעִירָה |
| Stuck a feath-er in his cap | וְעִם רוּחִי גְּוִיָּתִי |
| And called it mac-a-ro-ni | יְיָ לִי וְלֹא אִירָא |
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Ordained by the UTJ’s Institute of Traditional Judaism in 2004, Rabbi Noah Gradofsky has remained a steadfast member, serving for years as a member of the UTJ Executive Board, the board of Morashah - UTJ's rabbinic fellowship - and as chairman of the UTJ conference committee.
Rabbi Gradofsky served as a full-time rabbi at Temple Israel in Long Beach, NY, for 6 years and has since served a number of synagogues on a contract basis. He is also a full-time practicing attorney.
Rabbi Gradofsky is also a moderator of the UTJ Facebook group, and he is a prolific writer on Jewish law and sociological topics affecting the religious Jewish community. Among his essays and writings are:
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Rabbi Gradofsky is married to Dr. Melissa Klapper and lives in the Philadelphia area.