Now a Song

Jessica Leash I've noticed a particular method of thinking that Jewish institutions have: building day by day, step by step, in linear time.  A  large number of Jewish institutions are trying to figure out what happens next.  They are looking backwards to fill the facilities they've built, the organizational structures that they have developed, and to fulfill the needs of a created culture that studies show will quickly become non-normative possibly as soon as the next decade. Even our "next gen" institutions, some of which are now well into their second decade of development, remain closely aligned, or synagogue model adjacent, to these kinds of linear Jewish institutions.  They still operate in linear time.   In  Silicon  Valley, where I'm putting my hat in the ring as a Jewish social entrepreneur, the tech world figures heavily in my thinking, including the philosophical writings of tech insiders such as  Ray Kurzweil and Jeron Lenier....

Cantor Jessica Leash and Rabbi Ted Riter talk about all things Purim! Learn something new!

This week, an article in JWeekly , written by  David Wilensky , was published to profile the startup community in which I was involved for the past year.  It notes at the end that I have moved on to my new project, Silicon Valley Jewish Meetup . I had a long conversation with Wilensky during the evening he joined us for Shabbat services.  Given our conversation, one aspect I knew he would mention was the music I had chosen for the evening.  Despite my training in Renewal, I had picked a number of Reform tunes for that evening: When I chatted with her during dinner, Leash told me about how she chooses tunes. At first, she said, she may have pushed too hard with unfamiliar melodies. Most Ha-Emek folks come from more mainstream synagogues, so Leash has course-corrected to use more music that’s familiar to them. I'm committed to bringing all of my leadership training and experience with the Renewal movement and prayer to my future work.  Renew...

The Minstrel by  Archibald Lampman This poem resonated with me as a singer because, in many ways, singers are still carrying the narratives of our culture.  Many of the roles that the minstrel plays in this poem, a source of comfort, inspiration, and caring, are still the role of a cantor today.  The title of my blog, Now a Song, comes from this poem. Archibald Lampman (17 November 1861 - 10 February 1899) was a Canadian poet.  He has been described as 'the Canadian Keats'.  He is perhaps the most outstanding exponent of the Canadian school of nature poets. Wikipedia

The Amidah, or standing prayer, is the peak of the  Jewish liturgical prayer service. At the conclusion of this important point during our prayers, there is a quote from Psalms: “May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable to you, my Rock and my Redeemer.” (Psalm 19:15).  This ties into a valuable idea that the Jewish Tradition teaches; our prayers should not become too fixed. Our Sages also wisely established a set of texts on universal themes such as wisdom, justice, health, and more for us to use daily to remind us of who we are.   Could they have predicted, in our time,  that many Jews would have to rely on interpretive translations to be able to pray?  Many American Jews do not understand the context for much of what they pray or have the familiarity to say it in their own words.   Far from being instructive,  contemporary liturgy that seeks to meet people where they are robs them of the very words people need t...

Most people today are familiar, either consciously or unconsciously, with  Enlightenment philosophy.  It guides much of the way we think about our world.  There was a time, however, when our ancestors and the societies in which they lived believed heavily in spiritual activation, or in other words, in magic.  Folk magic such as amulets, bowls, healing remedies and rituals have accompanied Jews since ancient times. My studies this year include a regular chevruta, or partner study, on the Talmud.  Most recently we have been working on selections from Tractate Sanhedrin in which all of the different justifications for death by stoning are listed.  It is well-known that the Sages used arguments to avoid this ultimate punishment.  Going beyond the literal reading revealed an idea about the careful selection of words and the significance of how intentions are spiritually activated.  The ultimate penalty was res...