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Notes from the Cantor |
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YOU ASKED FOR IT For nearly two years now, one of my principle goals has been to bring a variety of accessible, participatory music to our worship services. Whether it's the tender warmth of "Haporeis Sukkat Shalom" - our prayer that we may know the shelter of God's peace - or the exuberance of "Hal'lu" in praise of God, the music of worship reflects the many moods of our lives, our hopes, our dreams, and our prayers. I hope that over time, we will continue to add beautiful and meaningful musical settings of our liturgy to our services. As we lift our voices together, we will expand the way in which we express the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts in song. One of my great joys has been listening to the level of musical participation increase during our services. As the repertoire of our service music becomes more familiar, the congregational singing grows in volume and enthusiasm. I'm particularly fascinated by my perception that congregational participation seems to grow in quantum leaps. On certain evenings I will notice that the singing has jumped to a new level. We then seem to stay at that plateau for a number of months before taking another new step forward. One of my favorite images of worship says that worship is a drama in which the congregation and service leaders are the actors and God is the audience. Many parts of our liturgy are designed as a dialogue - congregation and service leaders each have their "parts," tossing their lines back and forth as the liturgical drama unfolds. As we become more comfortable in our "roles," we can give more profound expression to our prayers. At times, the congregational singing is so strong that I find myself singing duets with all of you. When we join our voices in harmony, our prayers are enriched by a new breadth and beauty. This is truly prayer at its most sublime. Over the past couple of months, an increasing number of people have approached me asking for more ways to learn the music of our service. The requests have come from the broad spectrum of our congregation's demographics: from long-time members and newcomers, from people with strong Judaic background to those studying Judaism for the first time, and from people with a variety of Hebrew skills. I have to say that I am absolutely delighted by these requests, because they demonstrate the vibrancy and commitment of our congregation. In cooperation with the staff and the music committee, I am beginning to put together a program that will afford everyone the opportunity to become more familiar with the music of Temple Beth El. The first opportunity will come with the spring session of Beth El University beginning this month. Rabbi Schindler and I will teach a five-week class on the music and liturgy of our Friday evening service and basic home rituals. I am also working to develop a tape of the music of our services to supplement the class, and which will eventually allow anyone in the congregation to become more familiar with our worship music and carry the spirit of Shabbat with them throughout the week. The music committee is also making plans to host sessions in which the congregation will have the chance to learn and practice our service music with the aid of our adult choir. I hope that many of you will take advantage of these opportunities as they become available, and that you will offer more suggestions of your own. I look forward to hearing from you. B'shirah - In song, Andrew Bernard Cantor |
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