Sorry for the lack of updates. The holidays kept me busy! It's terrible!
Before I divulge into the wonderful Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur experience I had, I want to share some final reflections. I came to the realization that this year is my last year as a "participant" or "congregant" in these services. Starting next year, I will be in a pulpit and 99% likely will be leading both days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. This was my last chance to observe someone else take the lead and take a passive role. Next year, I get to program the "music," I get to lead the hearts of my congregation to repentence / t'shuvah, and I get to be like Al Jolson and sing "Kol Nidrei." :)
The High Holiday period has a number of major milestones. One could argue the season starts with the month of Elul, the final month of the year, when Jews are supposed to formally begin the process of seeking forgiveness, reflect on the past year, and set goals for the new year. Sephardy Jewry prays S'lichot every day during the month of Elul. Others could argue that the period begins the Saturday night before Rosh Hashanah when Ashkenazi Jewry prays S'lichot.
What is S'lichot?
Coming from the same root as "I'm sorry" or really "Pardon me" S'lichot offers a time for individuals to collect thoughts. Typically S'lichot are said before Fast Days except Tisha B'av, and a number of times leading up to Rosh Hashanah. This prayer service is very different from the typical formats of a Jewish service: it is primarily composed of piyyutim, or religious poems, on the various themes of seeking forgiveness.
I participated in three S'lichot services this year. The Cantorial Students along with the head of our program this year, Mikhal Shiff Matter, along with the High Holiday Choir sang a number of songs based on some of the piyyutim. I got to have a "special" solo. There is a beautiful "Y'hi ratzon," or "May it be your will" attributed to a 2nd century Rabbi asking for forgiveness and separating those who "hate us" from those who do not. The text was set by Cantor Avery and features suave passages juxtaposed by sudden fioratura embellishments. I think I gave some justice to the prayer, but it's not my place to say anything.
After that service, I went with some of my classmates to the Great Synagogue of Jerusalem for their S'lichot service. According to various information I've collected about the synagogue, their main goal to continue to preserve the Eastern European musical traditions. The synagogue is famous for its Male Choir and its Hazanim. Currently serving the position is Chaim Adler. The service was incredible. It started at approximately 10:30 PM and ended at 12:30 AM. This might seem long for the time of evening, and considering we were on one page for about an hour. The music was absolutely stunning, but I asked myself if it were prayerful or merely a concert. Even after a few weeks, I still have not come to a formal conclusion. However, I did somehow feel a connection to my Chasidic 5th and 6th cousins from the Old Country and as though my great great grandparents heard these melodies or had the same emotions. I wish I could be more eloquent about it.
The third S'lichot service was led by my Hebrew teacher, Zohara, to her youth Sephardi synagogue. With a number of brave classmates, we arrived at the synagogue at 5:45 AM for S'lichot and the Shacharit (morning) service. The melodies were so foreign to me, and yet by the end I was comfortable with the idea. I hope to attend more Sephardi services throughout the year.
Rosh Hashanah
The Cantorial Students, Cantor Shiff Matter, the Choir, and a number of Rabbis from the HUC led the first night services. Each cantor got to have a little solo or lead a section. My big number was an addition to the "Standing Prayer" or Amidah called "U'vchen ten" set by a wonderful Katchko melody. Overall, the feedback from my classmates was that it was a beautiful concert, and everyone sang great, but they could not feel prayerful. I really tried to take this to heart as I continued my studies for Yom Kippur. But I'm jumping ahead...
For the first day, I went to a satellite branch of Kol Haneshamah, the largest Progressive synagogue in Jerusalem. It was incredible praying from a mahzor, the special high holiday prayerbook, entirely in Hebrew! I think I managed to hold up pretty well. It didn't hurt that the service was somewhat a family service, so the Hebrew spoken was much easier to understand. One of the Rabbis even dressed up when she would explain part of the Torah! I felt so fulfilled from that service! For lunch, I joined my classmate, Manda, at the home of one of the Rabbis. He had a number of guests, including a Russian immigrant friend of the family, a fellow Rabbi-graduate of the HUC Jerusalem Campus, a number of neighborhood children half-Canadian half-Israeli, and his pet cat, Sima. Naturally, Sima and I became pals.
For the second day, I went to the Italian Synagogue of Jerusalem. The traditional Italian Jewry is often bunched together with Sephardi Jewry, but the texts, the nusach (melodies and texts), and the practices are so unique within Sephardi Jewry. Their way of chanting Torah is unlike anything I've ever heard. The synagogue itself was reminiscent of a Renaissance, Versailles room with a guilded ark. However, the Torah scrolls were like "regular" Ashkenazi scrolls and not Sephardi scrolls! I plan on returning to this shul for a regular Shabbat so I can get the "real experience," but it was an incredible service!
Shabbat Shuvah: I went to the Reconstructionist Minyan that meets once a month at HUC. I'll talk about that later.
Yom Kippur
HUC offered services all day: the evening, the morning, the afternoon, and the closing. Once again, the Cantorial Students, Cantor Shiff Matter, the Choir, and the HUC Rabbis led a service featuring all of the students. I got to lead a larger chunk for the Evening Service in addition to a number of other prayers throughout the evening and following day.
One of the prayers that gathered a lot of attention was a setting of "Shiviti" based on Psalm 16:8. I sang a fairly simple melody set by Michael Isaacson but its simplicity is what made it that much more powerful. The melody did not require Joan Sutherland trills and vocalises. Neither did it require the full blast of an Aerosmith guitar riff. In its essence, "Shiviti" is a very exposed idea: I am before you always. I struggled with this prayer because I wanted to make sure the impact and passion were there. While I do not judge a "performance" until at least a week afterwards, silly superstition, based on the positive feedback I feel I accomplished my goal.
There are too many people to thank for my experiences. First to my classmates and the other cantorial students and members of the choir for their amazing support. Next to the Rabbis of the HUC for the tremendous feedback and care exhibited to make this holiday special. Next to our collaborative artists (that's the new PC term for accompianists) on piano, Anastasia, and on cello for their inspired contributions. Last, to Cantor Shiff Matter. There was certainly a lot of stress on this poor soul, but she managed to not only keep it all together, but also managing to pull the rest of us up to her level. Thank you one and all!
Sukkot is on its way and the booths are being set up all over the city. My next blog will simply be pictures of the Sukkot I encounter on my travels over the next week.
"B'shanah habaah" is an upbeat melody sung about how great things will be next year.
