Shalom aleichem is a spoken greeting in Hebrew for “peace be upon you”. The appropriate response is aleichem shalom. This form of greeting is traditional among Jews throughout the world, although it is more common among the Ashkenazi Jews. The greeting was turned into a song by Rabbi Israel Goldfarb in 1918 when he was at Columbia University. The slow melodic song became so popular that it traveled not throughout Israel but the world so much so that many people came to believe that the song was handed down over the generations. Singing Shalom Aleichem prior to the Friday evening Shabbat meal is nearly a universal Jewish tradition, and Goldfarb’s song is the most common melody for this custom.

Here are the four stanzas of the song’s  in English:

Peace be with you, ministering angels,
messengers of the Most High.

Messengers of the King og Kings, the
Holy One, Blessed is He.

Come in peace, messengers of peace,
messengers of the Most High.

Messengers of the King of Kings, the
Holy One, Blessed is He.

Listen –Shalom Aleichem, performed by the Toronto-based Maayan Band