Dear Friends - Shalom,
A long time has passed since the last Shalom from Jerusalem and I hope that from now on I'll write on a regular basis. When I look back at the passing year and as I'm thinking of the approaching holidays and the next year I realize this has been a constant emotional roller coaster for me but they say time is short. There is much to accomplish, so with your permission I'd like to talk about the approaching holidays.
During the High Holidays season we place much emphasis on music. Many synagogues around the world hire cantors and Ba'alei T'filah even if this is not the practice during the year in order in order to elevate the musical aspect of the service. There are several reasons for that, starting with the fact we spend a lot of time inside (hopefully) the synagogue and we don't want the congregants to be bored. Another is the idea that the Cantor's objective is to inspire the congregation through melodies and vocal expression. We put extra emphasis on the Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur services because of the importance of these days. The idea that similarly to a trial we want to have the best lawyer possible to represent us. Another reason might relate the fact that on these days we recite some of the most powerful texts that were written in our liturgy and those inspired the composing of some of the most beautiful and inspiring melodies and recitatives (cantorial solo pieces). Some of these melodies simply strike a chord within our emotions and bring us to special mood.
It is known that a good crowd is an engaged one. One of the ways to do that during the service is through congregational singing. The issue sometimes is that by the time we refresh our memory on the tunes we have not heard for a year or learned the new ones, the holiday is over. I would like to help by offering two opportunities: one is to log into our shul's website at the following link: www.congregationagudathsholom.org/highholidays.html and listen (and sing along) to some of the tunes. The second is to come to our musical S'lichot and pre S'lichot program on Sat. night Sep. 24th.
As you know, the High Holidays season starts with the recitation of S'lichot. Historically, this was not just an opportunity to recite the text but also to get a glimpse of what the Cantor is planning for Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. This is why such beautiful repertoire was written for the first night of S'lichot. This year we've decided to try and intensify the musical experience by using a brand new setting to the traditional Nusach and adding some new tunes as well, all composed by Cantor Sol Zim. Before the service, Jonathan Cahr and I will teach you some of the new melodies. We hope that you will like them and sing along. During S'lichot, Jonathan will play the piano.
Looking forward to seeing you all soon,
Shana Tova,
Cantor Arik Wollheim
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