RJ Blog

by Jordan Friedman In his iconic work “The Sabbath,” Abraham Joshua Heschel describes the Sabbath as a “palace in time.” He posits that part of the unique charm and wisdom of Judaism is its ability to sanctify periods of time instead of physical objects or spaces. Following this thinking, we can view the Sabbath as a voluntary and religiously-framed way to separate ourselves, individually and collectively, from the cares of daily life and work, in order to rest and concentrate on ourselves and those we love. There is a need to reaffirm the potential for such organic, simple conceptualizations of [...]

by Cantor Josh Breitzer Every Friday night, my father would make Kiddush with his thoroughly dog-eared Prayer Book for Jewish Personnel in the Armed Forces of the United States. He would begin reading Genesis 2:1 in Biblical English, “The heaven and the earth were finished, and all their host…” and continue through the blessing proper. At the words, “…a reminder of Thy work of creation,” my little boy’s ears would perk up: it was almost time for grape juice and challah. “Thy work of creation.” Not until my HUC-JIR years did I give those quintessentially Shabbat words real consideration, and [...]

I wrote this meditation years ago when I was a member of the Shabbat Committee at Temple B’nai Or in Morristown, N.J. It is meant to be read before L’cha Dodi at Friday evening services. “Meditation” Open my heart tonight to welcome Shabbat in the natural way I did as a child—open, unquestioning, believing. Leaning against my father, Shabbat melodies became mine as the fringes of his tallis slipped through my fingers again and again.

by Cantor Rosalie Boxt Four hundred people are joined together, eyes shining, faces bright, voices raised in a glorious chorus. I am sitting in a small concert hall, eyes darting between the sheet music in my open binder and the brilliant conductor on stage. It is my first time attending the North American Jewish Choral Festival, where I am a workshop presenter and participant. The music is choral music, challenging, moving, energizing, rhythmic, and lyrical. Sitting to my left is Rabbi Dan Freelander, who is a chairperson of the festival every year, and to my right is Cantor Benjie Ellen [...]

We boarded a Greyhound bus to embark on an unknown adventure. All we knew was we would need sunscreen, a towel, closed toed shoes, and to tweet about our experience.

by Emily Aronoff Teck I have the unique privilege of living a life beyond my wildest dreams as an early childhood Jewish music educator. I couldn’t imagine a better career. I sing, dance and play for living – then I get snacks and hugs and go home. I find my work enjoyable, challenging and important. I didn’t start my professional life with these goals in mind, but I resolutely believe that my role in the early engagement of young families with a Judaism that is developmentally appropriate to each member is an important role in the future of an active [...]

I was recently going through some old files. To be honest, they were very old files. Amongst reports from high school, I found two Erev Sabbath service outlines. They dated back to when I was the president of my templeyouth group (Temple Judea in the Bronx). They were titled “Folk Sabbath Services” and were dated 1976 and 1977. Many of us in the youth group were veterans of regional NFTY events, including Shabbatons at Kutz Camp in Warwick, New York. In youth group events such as shul-ins, and especially at Kutz, we discovered a different type of Jewish worship. The [...]

by Max Chaiken Earlier this month, I had the incredible privilege to sing and learn with a community that I have come to love over many years. That community is the Hava Nashira program. In the late spring of 2004, I was just graduating from high school, and had the privilege of attending as a soon-to-be song leader for the URJ Camp Harlam. Ever since, I have been lucky enough to get to know the unique community that this program creates. The harmony, values, and overall musical program binds us together, and usually succeeds at inspiring participants to take it [...]

In every year, in every song, and in every sunrise, I feel a stronger sense of purpose, commitment and spiritual growth than I did in the last, and I hope and pray that I continue to feel that awe in the face of such a holy community.

By Laura Ben David Harvey Brooks, a former congregant of Temple Emanu-El in Tucson, Arizona, is accustomed to large crowds cheering for him, but when he landed in Israel as a new Oleh on a Nefesh B’Nefesh Aliyah flight in August 2009, the welcoming crowd of singing and flag-waving guests touched him in a more profound way.

by Cantor Susan Caro While I did not grow up with a female cantor at my congregation, I was fortunate spend many summers at our URJ camps, both as a camper and as a staff member and songleader. It is there that the spark of Jewish music was ignited for me, and where I found numerous female voices bringing new expression to the words and music of our tradition. They were cantorial students and rabbinic students, songleaders and teachers, all of whom encouraged me to find my own way in the Jewish world. My heart has always been touched through [...]

URJ campers were treated to a serenade at the Orlando American Conference of Cantors/Union for Reform Judaism Campership concert, “Sing a New Song.”

by Rabbi Larry Karol This past Friday night, I planned for an early Simchat Shabbat service with the inclusion of some of my favorite melodies. Julie Silver’s “Shir Chadash” melody began our worship, with Debbie Friedman’s recent “Shalom Aleichem” tune preceding the chatzi-kaddish. When we came to the prayer for thanksgiving in the T’filah/Amidah, I was set to sing my own “For Your Gifts,” an “embellished chatimah/conclusion” for the Modim prayer. I realized that it was eight years ago that week that I had composed that melody as the beginning of a path of a remembrance for my mother, Ruth [...]

by Cantor Deborah Katchko Gray In the new home of the National Museum of American Jewish History, a Women Cantors’ Network postcard shares space in a display case with one of Bella Abzug’s hats. Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined such a pairing. Likewise, in early 1982, neither could I have imagined the founding of the Women Cantors’ Network. During the spring of 1981, as one of only two women cantors serving Conservative congregations, I attended the Cantors Assembly convention. A fourth generation cantor, I’d previously attended the convention with my father when I was a college [...]