Chaverai (My friends):
In this column I wish to take time and space for the purpose of expressing gratitude. The header for this column is a variation on a prayer which is recited in the Amidah, “modim anachnu lach” , we are thankful to You. In this prayer, we acknowledge the miracle of creation which is happening continuously all around us, “ b’chol yom tamid” , each and every day. This is a profound place in which to stand, in which to view life. We can find ourselves reacting to our everyday. work-a-day lives in very different ways when we have this kind of lens on. We can find ourselves less judgemental (of ourselves and others), more appreciative of the miracles of creation, of imagination, of the human capacity for compassion, felt in our own selves or experienced in an expression of another. These words —in fact, the whole idea of Shabbat— remind us to redirect ourselves to this place even when it feels far away. The gift of liturgy is that, when we recite it regularly as a spiritual practice —even when we don’t know the meaning of each word!— we engage in a continuous act of t’shuvah, of returning, in this case, to a place of deep gratitude.
As I write these words, we are coming to the close of another holiday season — one that began officially back on September 20, just after Hurricane Isabel. The holiday season began with a most moving candlelight S’lichot service, continued with Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur services that took us deeper and deeper into the grand and challenging themes of the Days of Awe and are now being completed with the beautiful and raw celebrations of Sukkot, the bawdy, party-atmosphere of Simchat Torah. In the final stroke of holiday celebration and observance, Shemini Atzeret, we recite the prayer of rain, t’filat geshem, and Yizkor, keeping alive the memory of those who came before and with us. Its quite a lot to take in and integrate — and of course, when we do, we are immeasurably enriched.
For myself, when I encounter the “modim” prayer in its profundity, I am also connected to a simpler, more earthy kind of gratitude to all those around me, and the importance of expressing that gratitude. There are so many in our community to whom our thanks must go. My personal thanks go first to my husband Jonathan, who each year (and each Shabbat,) takes the role of mommy-and-daddy-in-one to attend to the needs of our three boys, keeps our household in one piece, and supports me so that I can fulfill my communal duties. This past summer we visited a bed-and-breakfast at the beach which, purely coincidentally for us, was a place filled with spiritual leaders from all different faiths. The owners remarked to Jonathan and me that we were in it together, that leadership might be expressed publicly through me, but that is really comes from both of us. I believe that is true.
I also want to acknowledge Rabbi Sid as leader of our high holy day services. The opportunity to work closely with him again, after several years of being a little less connected, was a gift for me. In fact, the very first time that I led high holy day services, when I spent most of the hours on the bimah hoping desperately that my presentation would be okay, was with Rabbi Sid. Like many in our community, he inspired me to seek new meaning and understanding from liturgy I thought I already knew well, and to stretch myself in ways that were at first uncomfortable, and ultimately profound.
We had the great benefit of two other rabbinic leaders with us, Rabbi George Driesen and Moti Rieber, our student rabbi. From Rabbi George, we got a charge to seek out the connections between our tradition and modern Science, and to learn ways in which knowledge of modern science deepens our connection to religious traditions. for his part, Moti led two learners’ services, our annual tashlich ceremony, and our Yom Kippur healing service, then gave us a very thought-provoking D’var Torah on our book of Jonah. Both of these men are in new rôles as leaders in our comunity, and yet each presented himself in such a way that we felt completely at home.
On behalf of all of us, there are many others who must be acknowledged. Abby Alpern and David Bern, as co-chairs of our high holy day services, took charge of a mammoth task early on, worked diligently with a large team of volunteers, clergy, Adat Shalom staff, and maintenance people, to make sure that our programs and services went smoothly. They did it all with grace and diplomacy, while maintaining a clear focus on the myriad tasks under their oversight. Matt Wald worked tirelessly behind the scenes to arrange for our use of Wootton High School. This is a job which requires mountains of patience and dogged attention to detail. If he ever experienced any frustration in his work (as I certainly would have) he never let it show, always offering up a humorous perspective which helped us all keep our cool. Thanks are also due to the large volunteer staff working with Abby, David and Matt. Producing the high holy day services is just that — a major production. Each person who participates as a volunteer not only aides immeasurably in the smooth running of all the activities but also serves as a model for all of us of what avodah —service— is really all about.
Now about the musicians. Many in our community comment to me about the importance of music in their understanding of our liturgy, of their attempt to connect to their own highest purpose. In our presentation of services for the high holy days, we strive for a balance of congregational singing (including “traditional” melodies, folk melodies and modern settings), hazanut (more ornate chanting of the liturgy by the hazan), small ensemble singing and choir singing, both accompanied and a capella and meditative chanting. Creating music which invokes and evokes the many different themes and moods of the high holy day season is a mammoth job — one that I could not do alone.
To start, my deepest gratitude goes to Cantor Sue Roemer and the Adat Shalom choir. Cantor Sue and the singers worked together over the summer refining old pieces and learning new ones with a fresh sense of what choral music can be. They stretched themselves in many ways for the benefit of our community as we heard the liturgy come alive through their voices. Here are their names: Sue Driesen, Sherry Maliken, Rachel Weisman, Peggy Davidson, Pamela Sommers, Susan Stein, Erica Frohman, Lisa Sommers, Debbie Tropp, Anne Mazonson, Linda Kascer, John Peacock, Raoul Mandler, David Ehrenstein, Jonathan Stern, Larry Grylack, Bob Spirtas. Jim Levy and Nadya Bartol gave us invaluable choir support at the piano. In addition to the choir, there were several other members who came to the bimah at various points to share their voices and their interpretations. I want to recognize Lori Sumberg, Michael Berney, Rachel Weisman, Jon Simon, and Susan Gaeta, each of whom brought a very unique and beautiful musical aesthetic to our bimah. When you see one of them, please make a point of thanking them.
Jack Feder, Adat Shalom’s first cantor and a continual presence on our bimah, presented himself, as he does each year, to serve in whatever way we need him. In his chanting of the Shacharit services on both Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur, we had the chance to hear not only a very beautiful voice, but a heart imbued with understanding of the liturgical themes and a real love of Israel in the broadest sense of the word.
Moving on into the chagim, the festivals which follow Yom Kippur, I also want to recognize Jessica Krash and Jim Levy who helped create piano music to accompany special settings of Kohelet (for Sukkot) and T’filat Geshem. Finally, we must acknowledge the many hours of coordination and rehearsal for Jeff Toretsky and the klezmer band, and Michael Berney and the Shabbat Slam musicians. With Simchat Torah falling on Shabbat, we had the opportunity to bring these two groups of musicians together. The end product was perhaps the best, most joyful Simchat Torah celebration we have yet had in our community. Our thanks go to Jeff and Michael (who, as I write this, is still recuperating from a bad bicycle accident) for putting all the musicians together, coordinating all the logistics and musical mechanics of the evening. This group included: Rachel Goldsmith, Howard Ungar, Bruce Stein, Steve Bergman, Mark Haag, Ben Bradlow, Carol Newman, Barbara Orden, and Adam Bern.
So, I come back to my opening thoughts about gratitude and borrow from our liturgy the phrase, “modim anachnu lach” with a slight modification to “modim anachnu LACHEM” — “we are thankful to all of you.” And we say together, AMEN! May Adat Shalom always be such fertile ground for our own musicians to serve Jewish tradition with their own unique sense of creativity and spirituality. For me, I am blessed to serve such a community.
B’vracha u’v’shirah,
Hazzan Rachel