The Hora: Hava Nagila, the Circle and the Chairs

What the hora is

The hora is a circle dance. Guests join hands around the couple, or around the bar or bat mitzvah child, and the circle turns while smaller circles form inside it. At the high point, the guests of honor are lifted up on chairs above the crowd.

The step is easy to pick up in a few bars. The Wedding Yentas, writing for JDate, describe it as a step to the side, a cross behind, another step, then a kick with each foot, repeated until you run out of breath. Nobody grades the footwork. What matters is that everyone is in the circle together.

Where Hava Nagila comes from

The song most people connect with the hora is "Hava Nagila," Hebrew for "let us rejoice." According to My Jewish Learning, the melody began as a nigun, a Hasidic tune sung by the Sadigora Hasidim, who brought it with them to Jerusalem. The musicologist Abraham Zvi Idelsohn wrote it down in 1915, Hebrew words drawn from the Psalms were set to it, and it was performed at a celebration concert in Jerusalem in 1918.

The song was first published in 1922, and by the 1940s it had become a staple of Jewish weddings and bar mitzvahs, sung and danced as a hora. Once the circle is moving, a long hora can carry on into other songs your family loves.

When it happens

There is no single rule. At a wedding, WeddingWire notes that the hora may follow straight after the first dance, to open the party, or start after dinner. At a bar or bat mitzvah party, the grand entrance, the candle lighting and the hora are the traditional pieces, as The Jewish Link describes them, and the order among them is the family's call.

Place it where your room needs a lift. Early, it pulls every generation onto the floor at once and sets the tone for the night. Later, it gives the room a second wave of energy after the meal. Either way, ask your families and your rabbi what they expect, and make sure the people lifting the chairs know the plan.

Who goes up in the chairs

At a wedding, WeddingWire describes the couple and their parents as the ones typically lifted. The Yentas add a lovely detail: someone usually hands the couple a napkin or handkerchief to hold between their two chairs, and if it drops, nobody minds.

At a bar or bat mitzvah party, the chair lift belongs first to the guest of honor, and the family decides who joins them. Siblings, parents and grandparents can take a turn, but only if they want one.

How to do the chair lift safely

The chair lift looks spontaneous. The safe version is planned.

• Choose sturdy chairs with arms and set two aside near the dance floor before the hora starts. The Yentas recommend armchairs because the person in the chair needs something to grip.
• Pick the lifters ahead of time and tell them. The Yentas describe at least one strong adult on each of the four chair legs, and a few spares nearby make it easier.
• Lift low and keep the chair level. The editor of the Wisconsin Jewish Chronicle warns that thin chair legs can slide through your hands, and that the front of the chair should stay above the back so the rider does not slide off.
• Watch the face of the person in the chair. If they look frightened, bring them down.
• Give the circle space. Spinning a chair can catch guests who stand too close.
• Before sitting, smooth the back of the dress so beading does not snag, a tip from the Yentas for anyone in a gown.
• Skip the lift for anyone who would rather stay on the ground. A seat in the middle of the circle is an honor too.

Planning the hora with your band

Give your band the details ahead of time: where the hora falls in the night, roughly how long you want it, which songs to include, and whether parents, grandparents or siblings will be lifted. Name the people the emcee should call to the floor, with phonetic spellings.

Decide how it starts. You can go straight from the grand entrance into the circle, or open it with a short announcement after the first dance. Either way, the chairs should be in place and the lifters warned before the first note.

Why live musicians make a better hora

A DJ can loop a track, but live musicians can do more with the moment. They watch the circle, stretch the song while the chairs are up, ease the tempo when a grandparent joins, and push it again when the room is ready. When the chairs come down, they can roll into the next song without a gap.

Live players also take their cue from the emcee, so the lift starts when the floor is ready. The Jewish Link makes the same point about bar and bat mitzvah parties: the hora has its own build, and whoever runs the floor has to judge when the room is ready for the chairs.