[HANASHIR:16362] RE: Best of Friday Night

[DEBORAH GINSBURG <andmg...>]

Thank you Steve! 

We are without a rabbi at the moment and the most difficult thing I've 
had to do was encourage our ritual committee to pull back and NOT let 
just anyone lead services - at least not without some training. 

The service is intended to generate a variety of emotions at a variety 
of times, so we don't want it all to be happy happy, joy joy. Nor do 
we want it to be a dirge - like everything else, ya gotta find a 
balance that works. Music is an integral part of our services, and I 
love that - but I'm constantly re-evaluating and trying to figure out 
what's "just enough" and what crosses the line into "too much". Much 
as we love it, music is an adjunct to the service, meant to reinforce 
it or to provide a period for reflection. With music, the service is 
much more powerful than either one alone. 

That said, I have to admit that I do look forward to Shabbat Shira, 
when I can sing the whole service! :-)

Thanks for letitng me rant a liitle - sometimes I feel like the lone 
ranger!

B'Shalom

Deb

Deb Ginsburg
Congregation Beth Sholom
Anchorage, AK


----- Original Message -----
From: "Steve Klaper" <yuchia (at) klaper(dot)com>
Date: Tuesday, December 30, 2003 4:55 am
Subject: [HANASHIR:16359] RE: Best of Friday Night

> Jackie --
> 
> I would love to see a copy of Isaacson's talk, and Planer's as 
> well. As our
> cantor (Temple Emanu-El, Detroit) has slowly entered retirement, I 
> have been
> responsible for more and more of the music from the bima -- both 
> with the
> youth choir, an adult and teen choir, and on my own with the 
> rabbi. The
> drum-and-tambourine singing and dancing services I've experienced 
> elsewhere,while fun and exciting, have always seemed to me a 
> little on the fluffy
> side. A big, rollicking emotional ride. Cool, plenty of harmony, 
> but not
> enough depth or thought involved. Most adults are a little too old 
> for camp.
> 
> 
> I've found that what we've been billing as a "Song & Spirit 
> Shabbat" or
> "Shir Chadash Shabbat" works best when we blend much of this music 
> with some
> traditional responsive readings, and add a few midrash/stories. I 
> adaptstuff from Larry Kushner, Rodger Kamenetz, David Cooper, 
> Arthur Green and
> other modern and traditional midrashic sources -- and insert them 
> at logical
> points of reflection: before barchu, or shema, before amidah or 
> kaddish. I
> think we have to touch the congregation on all levels at once. 
> Dancing and
> singing are fun, wellsprings of emotion are good, but so is a 
> sense of
> wonder, so is the sudden "Aha!" as you understand a piece of Torah 
> that you
> never did before, or when you realize a deeper meaning to a prayer 
> thatyou've been saying by rote for years.
> 
> We're not just writing and performing catchy Jewish tunes here. 
> Prayer is
> not just another activity -- it has subjective and objective 
> purpose, and
> these purposes are rarely obvious. Leading a worship service -- in 
> song or
> otherwise --  is an awesome, multi-layered responsibility. It always
> deserves more thought and direction than you would give a campfire
> singalong.
> 
> Steve Klaper 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Marsha,
> 
> BJ -- B'nai Jeshurun -- is in NYC on the Upper West Side and is 
> renowned far
> and wide in these parts. They have a Friday night service that is 
> all music
> and, I hear, really is amazing. One of these days I will go. My 
> son and
> daughter-in-law have attended, as have many of our friends. It 
> attracts many
> (but not only) younger people from the area, unlike a lot 
of "regular"
> services. 
> 
> Our own all-music services at Temple Emeth in Teaneck (cantor, 
> band, once in
> a great while the choir) take place monthly. There is no question 
> that they
> draw a good crowd, noticeably larger than most other services. 
> Many of those
> in attendance -- not all -- are the younger families. In some 
> respects this
> service feels like our monthly "family" services, primarily in who 
> attends.Lots of kids are hanging out. There is also some dancing 
> in the aisles and,
> what I really like, more dancing at the oneg. On the other hand, 
> we have
> other -- mostly more mature -- members who find that while it's 
> fun, it does
> not uplift them spiritually. The services are also quite repetitive,
> musically but this may change, as the rabbi, cantor and ritual 
> committee are
> taking a look at them. For me personally, the jury is still out. I 
> loveseeing and hearing the participation, but the lack 
> of...something -- some
> sort of intellectual rigor or something, leaves me unmoved in my 
> heart and
> soul.
> 
> Michael Isaacson's talk expresses this very well, as did John 
> Planer's. Do
> you have a copy of his talk at the same session? If not, and if 
> you'd like
> it, e-mail me off the list and I'll be happy to send it to you.
> 
> Jackie Guttman
> 
> > From: Marsha Fensin <mfsings (at) ccr(dot)net>
> > Reply-To: hanashir (at) shamash(dot)org
> > Date: Mon, 29 Dec 2003 16:19:54 -0600
> > To: hanashir (at) shamash(dot)org
> > Subject: [HANASHIR:16349] RE: Best of Friday Night
> > 
> > Hi all,
> > Question.  I just reread Michael Isaacson's talk to at the 
> Melton 
> > Archive Conference. Really an interesting piece.  Hope you all 
> had a 
> > chance to read it.  Pardon my ignorance, but what is BJ ( I am 
> > assuming it is a synagogue in New York)  and what is a BJ type 
> of 
> > service?  I can imagine.  I think I know, but, someone please 
> tell me 
> > anyway.  Do your synagogues do a BJ type of service, often, 
> > occasionally, always?  What kinds of turnouts do BJ type 
> services have 
> > where you are?  Do you balance these types of services with 
> other 
> > kinds in the course of say, a month, several months, a year?  
> What 
> > music do you do in a BJ type of service?  All Carlbach, a 
> mixture ,etc.
> Looking forward to your answers.
> > Marsha
> > 
> > 
> 
> 
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