Matir Asurim is a fiscally sponsored project of Social Good Fund, a California nonprofit corporation and registered 501(c)(3) organization, Tax ID (EIN) 46-1323531

From the artist, Joey Nicholson-Landau:

?Donna Donna? is a Yiddish folk song written by Aaron Zeitlin, also called ?Dos Kelbl? ( ? the Calf?). It was part of the musical score for the play Esterke, about a young Jewish woman who fell in love with King Kazimierz of Poland, which is where Zeitlin grew up. The refrain ?Donna Donna? was a popular part of polish folk songs at the time ( pre-WW2 )so it?s likely that this chorus reflected parts of Zeitlin?s cultural upbringing. The war broke out while Zeitlin was in the United States, and he was unable to sail back?his wife and two children were murdered by the Nazis.

He was raised very religiously; the song is said to be based on a Talmudic tale of rabbi Yehuda HaNasi , who was condemned to 13 years of great pain for showing no compassion to a calf who cried out to him for help as she was lead to slaughter.

?Donna Donna? was later popularized by Joan Baez, who often sang ?Donna Donna? as a civil rights protest song. It has since been covered globally in many languages, including French, German, Italian, Vietnamese, Russian and Swedish.