Ah, to experience live music again. Halevi, if only, to have our JCOGS musicians and the chorus of our congregation celebrating Shabbat together in our beautiful sanctuary. But we will not be deterred! TONIGHT, we are doing the best we can with the circumstances given, as we gather online to celebrate a remarkable event: the launch of the first ever JCOGS produced album, Hashkiveinu. This Shabbat Shira musical service will feature melodies from the forthcoming album, and will be co-hosted with Shir Tikvah Congregation of Minneapolis. To accommodate the different time zones, the schmooze begins at 6:45pm and the service at 7pm. Register here for the link, or to order a CD to be delivered to your door. Digital release forthcoming.
Rabbis Arielle Lekach-Rosenberg of Minneapolis, Micah Shapiro of Philadelphia, and myself began collaborating around music back in rabbinical school. Each of us came to the clergy world with musical backgrounds and interests. Rabbi Arielle is a classically trained singer, Rabbi Micah a singer/songwriter and arranger, and myself a bandleader and singer/songwriter, also.
We had a vision of creating new Jewish music together that could bring people together and build community. Musical members of the JCOGS community were invited to the JCOGS sanctuary for two recording sessions, culminating in a celebratory Shabbat service in our sanctuary each time. The heart of the project was the collaboration itself: to bring musicians and singers together, to bring communities together, to bring people together.
The album name itself, Hashkiveinu, is based on one of the album’s tracks. Set to the ancient words of that Jewish prayer, a prayer of protection that even names safety against plagues, we wanted to use the power of petition in this moment to pray for everyone’s safety through this pandemic and the other ills that plague our society.
On that stunning track, David Goodman’s clarinet wails. Rabbi Arielle’s voice pleads. The chorus of musicians and singers weaves together as song uplifts the soul. I can’t wait for you to hear it.
Tonight’s celebration could not be more perfectly timed with the retelling of our own ancestors' Torah story. Shabbat Shira, the Shabbat of Song, is so named for the song chanted after the crossing of the sea, the song itself a culmination of the arduous journey to freedom from slavery. The midrash teaches that the Israelites may have begun singing this song even as they walked along the dry land, not yet on the other side of freedom.
Though we have not yet made our way across the turbulent waters of this plague, my prayer is that the song of our ancestors and the new songs of hope and resilience on this album bring us closer to that tenuous freedom we seek. With all that is going on, song and prayer are two of our tradition’s most powerful tools to support us in our times of need. Come sing with us TONIGHT!
Tihiyu bri’im, stay safe, be well. Shabbat Shira Shalom!
