To Mini-HN or not to Mini-HN

[Karen Daniel <Karen.Daniel...>]

     Several thoughts come to mind on the question of mini-HN's.  
     
     I do not know the actual "mission statement" of Hava Nashira; I can 
     only say what I received from this wonderful weekend, and what I think 
     I'm supposed to do with it.  
     
     Like most of you, I had intense spiritual experiences, I learned new 
     songs, I met wonderful friends.  I also gained much inspiration, both 
     to write new songs and to share the spirit and joy of HN with my own 
     community.  This last statement is FOR ME the whole point:  we must 
     each be a light to our own communities, whether that community is a 
     synagogue, a small town, a camp, or our own family; we take this 
     wonderful feeling of spiritual high and love of music and then teach 
     it to others who were not at HN.  Hava Nashira gave us the tools, the 
     materials, the seeds; now we go back and build and grow.
     
     This said, what does it imply regarding mini-HN's?  Well, like any 
     song we write or any trademark or copyright, we really need to be sure 
     we are not using something without permission of the writer, etc.  I 
     think that permission would need to be gotten from Jerry at OSRUI or 
     Debbie Friedman, or whoever began the HN conference, before putting 
     the Hava Nashira name to a gathering in another city, at another place 
     and time.  Surely alternative locations might make a sharing of songs 
     and spirit more accessible to more people; however, using the name of 
     HN would require being sanctioned by the powers that be.  
     
     There IS something very Jewish about having HN only once a year: just 
     because we might need to repent for something wrong we have done, we 
     do not just "have" an extra Yom Kippur.  It's special and very holy 
     because it only comes once a year.  And there is something special 
     about looking forward to an annual HN in the place it all began, and 
     making the effort to come a long distance and meeting people from all 
     over the country (and the world).  It has the feeling of a pilgrimage.
     
     Therefore, I have to lean on the side of no regional HN's...but 
     instead, working with the leaders of this annual workshop to make sure 
     it meets our needs better each year (i.e., more participation by the 
     attendees, more variety of small workshops, etc.), and holding 
     regional songsharing or songleading workshops, communication through 
     this list and chat rooms, etc., networking, and especially, sharing 
     the message and the music with the NON-SONGLEADERS in our midst.
     
     Thank you for listening....
     
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     If you respond to this, please copy me at 
     karen(dot)daniel (at) mcmail(dot)vanderbilt(dot)edu