Moshe Nathanson

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Moshe Nathanson
Born	August 10, 1899 Jerusalem, Ottoman Empire (present-day Israel)
Died	February 24, 1981 Manhattan, New York, United States
Nationality	Canadian
Occupation(s)	Musicologist, Cantor

Moshe Nathanson (August 10, 1899 - February 24, 1981) was a Canadian musicologist, composer, and cantor who is known for promoting Jewish folk music. Nathanson's most notable work is Zamru Lo, Hava Nagila.^[1] and the commonly used tune for Birkat Hamazon.^[2][3]

Nathanson was born on August 10, 1899, in Jerusalem, the son of Rabbi Nachum Hirsh Nathanson and Rosa (née Silberstern) Nathanson. He attended a heder school. When Nathanson was ten, he was sent to study at Bet Sefer Lemell, an elementary school in Jerusalem. The school choir was run by Abraham Zvi Idelsohn, who challenged his students to select words for a nigun and create a modern Hebrew song. It is said that the twelve-year-old Nathanson suggested (Psalm 118: 24), "Zeh hayom asah Adonai; nagila v’nismekha vo" inspiring the famous Hava Nagila.^[4]

Nathanson left Jerusalem and immigrated to Quebec, Canada on September 7, 1920, where he later began to attend McGill University in 1922 where he pursued a law degree but later transferred to Juilliard School of Music to pursue his passion for music.^[5]

Nathanson began his career in 1924 when he joined The Society for the Advancement of Judaism (SAJ) as their cantor during the tenure of Rabbi Mordecai M. Kaplan. partook in many educational programs to promote Israeli folk and worked for The Bureau of Jewish Education and focused on teaching Jewish youth about their culture and heritage through song and worked as the musical director of The Kvutzah and Camp Achva.^[6] Among other works, he set Esther Zweig's text "Salute to Haganah" to music in 1948.^[7]

Moshe married Zipora Bor (April 2, 1901 - January 12, 1978) on July 1, 1924, in Brooklyn, New York, with whom he had three children: Deena Starr (January 16, 1931 - March 27, 2014), Naomi Brettler (July 16, 1932), and Yaron Nathanson (July 22, 1926 - February 23, 2003)[1][2]. On February 24, 1981 Moshe Nathanson died at his home on 15 West 86th Street, in Manhattan. He was buried at Mount Hebron Cemetery alongside his wife Zipora who predeceased him.^[8][5]