REACHING OUT

For more than half a century, Beth El has had a warm link with the Bethesda United Methodist Church across Old Georgetown Road. One example of this relationship is the annual joint Thanksgiving Service that alternates between the synagogue and the church. It is always inspiring and much appreciated by both communities. More recently, Rabbi Greg Harris initiated a joint act of tikkun olam when members of this church went to New Orleans with him and members of Beth El to help repair homes damaged by hurricane Katrina. Another joint effort, this time with members of our neighbor, Saint Mark Presbyterian Church, was a trip to Israel led by Rabbi Rudolph and Pastor Roy Howard. Members of St. Mark also joined Rabbi Harris in New Orleans. Most recently, our congregation joined with the St. Jane Frances de Chantal Catholic Church in a special concert featuring the music of the Psalms. Our Ahavat Shir choir and the church choir presented music reflecting the Jewish and Catholic traditions of chanting the same Psalms. It was enlightening and educational for everyone present to discover that some Gregorian chants sound exactly the same as the musical rendition of Psalms by Yemenite Jews, who are known to have preserved the most antiquated examples of Jewish liturgical music. The narrative in Genesis of the creation of all humanity in the image of God (“b’tzelem Elohim”) should be our ultimate point of reference as we ponder the relationship between Jew and non-Jew and the concept of tikkun olam.

 THE HOLIDAY OF PASSOVER

In form and content, in romantic setting, and in historical association, Passover is unique in the Jewish calendar. Although Passover commemorates a significant event in our people’s history, the exodus from Egypt, above all it celebrates the universal theme of freedom. The festival is known by four different names: Hag Ha-Aviv (festival of spring), Hag Ha-Matzot (festival of matzah), Hag Ha-Pesakh (festival of Passover), and in the liturgy Z’man Heruteinu (the season of our freedom). The seder with which the

festival begins is the ultimate opportunity to teach about freedom. As a non-Jewish observer put it, “This is the Jewish method of affirming the great truth that liberty is the inalienable right of every human being.” Jews have always given expression to their life-cycle events and historic experiences with music. Let us examine the various categories of music associated with Passover.

First and foremost are the melodies sung at the seder. There are hundreds of songs that come from different centuries and family traditions in all corners of the world. I haveprepared a set of some of these melodies for you to learn and enjoy and use at your own home seder. You can find them on the Beth El website www.bethelmc.org. Click on “clergy,” and you will find me and the sound of the melodies. I also recommend a wonderful CD titled, “The Spirit of Passover: Voices of the Conservative Movement,” which was produced jointly by the Cantors Assembly and the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism. It is available at www.The SpiritSeries.com.

In the synagogue, there is a special nusakh, or musical mode, with which we chant the liturgy for this pilgrim festival. Added to the service is the Hallel section with its joyouspsalms of praise. The Torah reading for the festival includes the triumphant Shirat Hayam, the Song of the Sea, which recalls the exodus and is read with a special melodic refrain. We include a reading from the Shir Hashirim (the Song of Songs), the love poem of the Bible. With its unique set of trope, or cantillations, Shir Hashirim reflects the romantic and springtime aspect of the festival. During the first day of the festival, we add the special prayer of Tal (Dew), 6th-7th century Piyut (liturgical poem) with its musical refrain to the word tal. Let me quote one of its stanzas:

To call attention to the solemn importance of this prayer, the Hazzan traditionally dons a white robe when reciting it. So you see how our tradition developed many musical paths to celebrate and tell the great narrative of Passover, the story of human and universal freedom. Wishing you and your dear families a joyous and harmonious Passover holiday.

 HEALING OF THE SOUL AND BODY

Much has been written about the power of both prayer and music as healing tools for the body and the soul. In Jewish tradition there is no dichotomy between body and soul and, therefore, the Mi Sheberakh prayer for the sick mentions both Refuat Hanefesh Urefuat Haguf, the healing of the soul and the body. There is no complete healing until both body and soul are in a healthy and peaceful state. Isaac Arama, a 15th century Spanish philosopher, said it well, “When the soul is at peace, so will the body be.”

Jewish tradition has a rich repertoire of song. The songs don’t simply accompany prayer; instead, prayer is unthinkable without its musical utterance. As my favorite quotation says, “All of God’s creations recite melody in the heavens and on Earth, and there are mansions in heaven which can be opened only through music.” (Zohar, Genesis: Chaye Sarah). We are all familiar with the biblical narrative of the restless soul of King Saul. It was David, the “sweet singer of Israel” and author of the Psalms, who came to Saul’s aid with music: “And it came to pass when the evil spirit from God came upon Saul, that David took up the harp and played with his hand; so that Saul was refreshed and well and the evil spirit departed from him” (1 Samuel 16:23).

In Prayer Is Good Medicine (Harper San Francisco, 1996) best-selling author and physician, Larry Dossey, wrote: “As a physician, I have employed medications and surgical procedures because I knowthey work. But prayer works too. The way I see it, we do not have to make choices between prayer and high-tech medicine… but why not employ prayer in addition to surgery.” More than ever, medical journals are willing to publish studies on the healing effects of prayer.

As for the power of music to heal, we know that for much of the history of humankind, music and healing have been universal experiences. Music was regarded as a special force over thought, emotion, and physical health in ancient Greece. The practice of using music for healing has been an ongoing phenomenon from time immemorial, and many scholars have recognized the use of music for curative purposes. It continues to have a place in contemporary healing.

One of the earliest great songs recorded in the Bible is, of course, that which we will read and chant on Shabbat Shirah, February 3. This triumphant “Song of Moses,” or “Song of the Sea,” was composed and chanted by Moses and the children of Israel at their crossing of the Sea of Reeds. In Jewish literature, it is simply designated as the Song and the Shabbat on which it is read in the synagogue as Shabbat Shirah.

The next time you come to shul, sing out loud and pray hard. It’s good for the soul and healthful for the body.

 TORAH, TROPE AND SONG

Our “Project 613: Writing a Torah” stems directly from the Bible’s 613th commandment: “So now, write this song for yourselves” (Deuteronomy 31:19).The remarkable thing about this instruction is that the Hebrew word used for the designation of the Torah is shirah, song.

What compelled tradition for the Torah to be so described as a shirah, song? This is one of the reasons why the Torah, when it is included in the course of the service, must be chanted and not simply read or recited in any way. As if to stress this point, the Talmud clearly states that the musical nature of this custom assumes the significance of a law: “Rabbi Shefatyah in the name of Rabbi Yochanan said, whoever reads from the Torah without melody… of him it is written: ‘Moreover, I gave them laws that were not good, and rules by which they could not live’” (Ezekiel 20:25) (Talmud: Megilah 32a). The implication here is that not chanting the Torah is “not good.” Thus the whole system of the trope or cantillations developed over the many early centuries was to aid and direct the manner in which the Torah is to be sung.

Why such a fuss about singing the Torah and designating it as a shirah – song? One of the contemporary commentators, Rabbi Gedaliah Schorr (1910-1979), explained it this way: “‘Song’ implies the concept of harmony, in that people recognize that all elements of the universe fuse in carrying out God’s will, just as all the notes of a complex song or musical score, all the instruments of an orchestra, and all the voices in a choir join in harmonious cooperation to create a song of unity as opposed to the disjointed noise that results from the failure of the notes, instruments, and voices to harmonize properly.” It is in this spirit that we will all join together during this coming year and write the words of the Torah in fulfillment of the 613th commandment of the Torah.