B’nei Mitzvah at Temple Beth El

At some point in the next few months, we will have our new prayer book. Really. Despite the delays, Mishkan T’filah will soon arrive. As a staff, we continue to work on a variety of ways to make its implementation as smooth and painless as possible, and are excited about the ways in which it will enhance our worship at Temple Beth El.

One of the essential issues in implementing any liturgy is the integration of text and music. The music not only provides an opportunity for prayer, but is an essential element in determining the flow and the mood of the service. And with a new prayer book in our hands, the music will also help to give continuity to our worship as we make the transition from Gates of Prayer to Mishkan T’filah.

People often ask me why the music changes from service to service. I find the question as interesting as the answer. In reality, very little of the music changes from week to week. What I find is that, if I change the one piece you were counting on singing that week, then it seems as if the majority of music has changed. On the other hand, I remember coming into my student pulpit for High Holy Days in Wilmington, Delaware and changing about 30% of the music — far more than I would ever change from week to week here. One of the people who was most nervous about bringing in a student cantor for the holidays was delighted that I “didn’t change a thing.” Of course what she really meant was that I didn’t change any of her favorites.

Mood and flow are the two major considerations in selecting music. In my early years at Temple Beth El, a couple of very astute people pointed out that doing a soothing “Haporeis Sukkat Shalom” followed by a peppy “V’sham’ru” followed by a calm “Adonai s’fatai tiftach” into the Avot was the equivalent of musical whiplash. I considered it a very valid observation and wrote the setting we sing now — crafted especially for our congregation.

Shabbat worship is challenging because everyone comes to the service in a different mood, carrying different baggage from the week, and seeking something different from worship. If you’ve had an exciting and happy week, then you want to express it with upbeat, joyful music. If you’ve had a hectic week, then calm and meditative music might make the perfect transition to a peaceful Shabbat. And if you’ve had a week full of struggles, music that bears witness to those challenges is going to speak to your mood. Crafting a service that honors everyone’s needs is indeed a challenge.

The music not only reflects our mood, but emphasizes different messages in each of the prayers. One setting of Mi Chamochah may create a visual of the sea being split, while another expresses the exuberance of our ancestors, finally free. A melody from your youth might give you a sense of God’s enduring promise of redemption throughout the generations of our people, while an antiphonal — call and response — setting might create an image of our ancestors celebrating as a community at the shores of the sea. And of course the melodies that reflect our holidays connect us to our rich heritage. Each of these enrich our experience of worship in a different way.

Ideally, the congregation develops a repertoire of sacred music that enables all of us to alternate easily between different musical settings of the liturgy. The more music we know, the better services can fulfill our needs. It does, of course, take time to learn new music, which is why I generally use a new musical setting regularly for many months. And sometimes music has a bigger impact when listened to rather than sung.

Music will be both a challenge and a comforting point of reference when we switch to the new prayer book. The musical settings we use will remain constant for several months while we adapt to the rhythm and flow of the new liturgy. Even so, the music will also have to be adapted to match the new texts. For example, Mi Chamochah will have additional words, Avot and G’vurot will introduce theological changes, and Shalom Rav will have a different ending to fit the prayer book’s text. Some of these changes are due to liturgical innovations, while others reverse changes that were made in early prayer books. None of these changes are particularly monumental — they will simply take a little getting used to. But weaving familiar music through a new liturgy will carry us gently into a new era of worship.

L’shalom,
Andrew Bernard
Cantor