This day in music history.

September 22, 1964, "Fiddler on the Roof" opened on Broadway. It was the beginning of a run of 3,242 performances. Fiddler on the Roof is one of the great stage (and film) musicals. It was written by Jerry Bock, Sheldon Harnick, and Joseph Stein. It stared Zero Mostel as Tevye the milkman. The Fiddler is a metaphor of survival through tradition and joyfulness. In the play Tevye equates life with being a fiddler on a roof: trying to scratch out a simple, pleasant tune without breaking his neck. "How do we keep our balance?" he asks. "That I can tell you in one word: Tradition!
Tevye and his wife sing this prayer for their daughters.
May the Lord protect and defend you,
May He always shield you from shame,
May you come to be in years full well a shining name.
May you be like Ruth and like Esther,
May you be deserving of praise,
Strengthen them o Lord and keep them from the stranger's way.
May God bless you and grant you long life (may the Lord fulfill our Sabbath prayer for you),
May God make you good mothers and wives (may He send you husbands who will care for you)
May the Lord protect and defend you,
May the Lord preserve you from pain,
Favor them o Lord with happiness and peace,
O hear our Sabbath prayer,Amen.