Four years ago, we held our first Shabbat of the Senses during J.D.A.I.M, Jewish Disabilities Awareness and Inclusion Month. This Shabbat led our congregation through prayer as if we were missing one or more of our senses or abilities. One night of attempting to experience prayer as those in our community who have different abilities do every Friday night, led many of our congregants to share their stories with me. Our conversations always ended by asking ourselves what we could do to elevate inclusion awareness and what could we do to make ourselves accessible to everyone in our community. How could we make sure everyone in our midst felt included in Jewish life? Koleinu[1], TE’s inclusion awareness committee was born out of those conversations and the desire to increase awareness and facilitate participation for everyone within the five main pillars of Jewish life at Temple Emanu-EL. From live streaming, to our assistive technology room, to providing magnifiers and adapted … [Read more...]
Blessing a Baby, Building a New Family
There is nothing in the world like singing to a baby. Many years ago, a friend of mine asked me to watch over her newborn as she put her older daughter to bed. This being one of my first experiences with a baby, I was not quite sure what to do. I did what I do best, I sang to him. “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star…” slowly his eyes riveted to mine. His body softened and then began to drop off. The thirty or so times I sang the song, he kept fighting to stay awake until sleep finally claimed him. As a cantor, I get to repeat this incredible moment each time I help families welcome their new babies into Judaism during their bris[1] or brit bat[2]. Every time a family welcomes a new baby, it is as if each member of that family becomes a new creation. Each mother, father, sister, brother, grandparent, family member is forever changed, woven deeply into the fabric of a new life forever. This is often the first Jewish lifecycle the family celebrates together in their life as a new unit. A … [Read more...]
Send your “sins” down the river
If you have not checked your calendar… the Rosh Hashanah is fast approaching! Dig out the brisket recipe, practice your round challah braiding skills, make the honey cake with the kids, it is time to welcome a brand new year! My favorite ritual of Rosh Hashanah is Tashlich. I take my day old bread down to the river and tear it into little pieces. Those pieces represent all of the things I would like to let go of from this past year. I cast those pieces into the water and watch as they float away. In shul, we come together as a community and admit our wrongdoings as individuals and as a people; we ask our community, our friends, families and God to forgive us. Our fixed prayers do not necessarily guide us to ask for forgiveness from ourselves. Tashlich is the final step of the prayers we have been sending and singing in synagogue. This ritual gives us a physical outlet to let go of the things that we have done wrong to ourselves and to others. When we take a breath and stretch … [Read more...]
The Sublime, Holy Beauty of Music
Music has always been at the heart of Judaism in story, history and prayer. In Bereshit, God sings the world into being, and in Shemot, we sing ourselves to freedom as we wade through the red sea. In the book of Dvarim, Moses offered his dying words to Israel in the form of song. Abraham Joshua Heschel describes song as “the most intimate expression of man.” The Hassidic movement in Judaism elevates the practice of singing wordless melodies, niggunim, as the ultimate method of attaining true prayer. As Rabbi Reuven Hammer writes, “what words can adequately express our prayers to God? What words [alone] can truly capture the depths of our emotions at times of grief or of overwhelming joy?” The melodies of our prayers serve as a vehicle towards d’veikut, the feeling of closeness, or oneness with something greater. The melodies hold up our words. Melody and music become the conduit for our souls. When we come together as a community, our prayers become offerings to each other, and … [Read more...]
Psalms of Welcome: Kabbalat Panim l’ Shabbat
Think of an extraordinary moment in your life. Everything surrounding you seemed brighter, more vivid. The air sizzled with electricity and excitement. Perhaps you are remembering your wedding day, a graduation, bar or bat mitzvah, your conversion, the first time you looked into your new baby’s eyes. The feelings and emotions that surround these pivotal moments elevates them into another world, the world of holiness. Each week over Shabbat, we ascend to time and space; in fact, we even have a name for it: “kabbalat panim,” which means, “receiving or welcoming the faces.” This phrase is often associated with a wedding, when families welcome their guests with a reception before the ceremony. This reception may be simple or elaborate with food and drink, and toasts. Shabbat liturgy and ritual mirrors this wedding reception as we welcome the Sabbath bride on Friday evenings. We gather a bit before services and greet each other. Jewish wedding liturgy is ripe with imagery of the natural … [Read more...]
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