Author: Rabbi Michael Farbman

Around this time of year the classic song from Israeli rock icon Arik Einstein ‘Uf Gozal’ begins to pop up everywhere I look. It acknowledges the difficult feelings for parents watching their kids grow up, mature and leave the nest. We have been the so-called ‘empty nesters’ for two years now, and I think the reality is yet to fully set in, even as we watch our kids spread their wings with pride, joy and yes, a little sadness.

This year’s crop of high school graduates has grown up at TE right in front of our eyes – I have so many cute pictures from their childhood to prove it! Many have remained active in our school as teenagers: Katie and Sarah Harper, Ava Shanbrom, Maya Katsovich, Sophia Rivkin and Beyla Ridky have had an outsized influence on the life of TE over the years, and most of them are pretty used to the extended TE family treating them as if they were our own children. They have sung in the children’s choir, and then years later they taught the children’s choir for the next generation of kids. They were our students and then became our colleagues, helping teach, tutor and inspire our current religious school students. They have written and performed Purim spiels and sat on TE boards and ran Chanukkah basket fundraisers… If I attempt to list all their achievements, this column would never fit into the allotted space! Over the next few weeks, we will get to celebrate them and their achievements, to hug them and to wish them well as they take that important leap and go off to college – I hope you all mark May 17^th in your calendars and come to Shabbat service to do just that. But first, I wanted to invite you to a special ceremony on May 5^th – and to share with you a description of two Eagle Scout projects completed this year for the benefit of Temple Emanuel.

For her Eagle Scout project, Katie Harper chose to help her community here at Temple Emanuel by building an additional four benches for the outdoor sanctuary. “I decided to expand the outdoor sanctuary because it has become a special space for me and many other members. It was a lot of fun assembling the benches, and I am pleased that the outdoor sanctuary will now be widely more accessible during services. As the weather starts becoming warmer, I cannot wait to use the benches in the upcoming weeks.”

Sarah Harper, as part of her BSA Eagle Scout Project, led a group of volunteers in restoring over 80 damaged spiral-bound prayer books at Temple Emanuel. The entire restoration process involved many steps and was completed over the course of four months.

“In Jewish tradition, any document or ritual object with God’s name on it must be buried in a special grave called a ‘genizah.’ It is the proper way to dispose of these holy objects with the utmost respect and consideration. As part of my Eagle Scout project, I have arranged for a geniza to be created on TE property, and we have collected over 15 boxes of beyond-repair prayer books and additional items from the community. I have been an active member of Temple Emanuel for over 18 years and these prayer books were the first to incite my love for attending services, studying Hebrew, and learning the different tefilot. I am extremely delighted for the newly bound prayer books to get used again and for the beyond-repair items to get appropriately laid to rest. I hope everyone in the community will be able to witness and take part in this sacred occasion along with me.”

The genizah ceremony will be held on Sunday, May 5th at 9:30 a.m. All TE families and members are invited to attend to learn about the ritual of disposing of sacred texts and objects, as well as to assist with burying the items.

“The individual may pray in prose or even in wordless silence; a congregation must sing or disband.” Israel Abrahams, Poetry and Religion (1920)

Music has always been a part of Judaism. From the Levites who sang the Psalms and played instruments on the steps leading to the Temple in Jerusalem, to the ancient system of cantillation, a special way to chant the Torah; from the melodic way of studying and memorizing rabbinic texts of Mishnah and Talmud to the Hassidic niggunim, often simple melodies that were credited with being as powerful as the most well-composed prayers. There are numerous Hassidic sayings about the significance of melody, as the Zohar (foundational work of Jewish mystical thought) puts it, in “opening those heavenly gates that are firmly shut except to song and tears…”

Music stirs our souls in a way that words often cannot, activating emotions within us that we did not know existed… Music is such a strong presence in Temple Emanuel’s worship style that it is almost unimaginable without it! Yet music in worship (especially instrumental music) has a complicated history in Judaism. Following the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE the rabbis placed a ban on the use of music in general, especially in worship, as a sign of mourning. It is not hard to imagine that having witnessed the devastation, the last thing they wanted to do was sing… Another complication was the prohibition against playing musical instruments on Shabbat – not because the act itself is a violation of Shabbat (it was permitted in the Temple in Jerusalem), but out of much more technical considerations (to prevent the carrying of the instrument, its tuning or repair, if needed, all of which were considered violations of Shabbat). Even the shofar blowing on Rosh Hashanah was suspended if it fell on Shabbat!

From the very beginning, the Reform Movement insisted on bringing the music back to worship, back to the synagogue, back to Shabbat. Music and joy were always part of Judaism, and now they were making a comeback! Synagogues installed pipe organs and commissioned talented and popular composers of the time to write music settings for services in the synagogue, giving us the profoundly inspiring music of Lewandowski, Bloch, Sulzer, and many others. The music they wrote for the services was spiritual and uplifting. It was also very modern and reflective of the 19th-century popular music styles.

As the popular music styles changed in the second half of the 20^th century, a new kind of music entered the world of the synagogue worship. The pipe organs were joined (and often replaced) by guitars and electric pianos. Temple Emanuel, founded in 1962, is a true ‘child’ of that era – from the very beginning, our services were accompanied by guitar music, with the entire congregation singing along, rather than relying on a powerful pipe organ and a professional cantor or choir to provide music for the worship experience. In fact, it is probably safe to argue that music has been one of the main defining features of the new congregation, as well as many others that appeared in the 1960s and 1970s around the country.

For more than a decade now the TE band has been a part of a further experiment with music at TE services – and what an incredible experience this has been! Under Laurel Shader’s wonderful leadership up to 22 TE members of different ages, from middle school to retirees, have played together on various occasions, giving a new meaning to ‘musical Shabbat’ at Temple Emanuel!

As we continue to bring music to our worship, with the full TE band and with small groups of musicians, with a solo guitar and even a cappella – allowing the music to nurture our souls and lift our prayers straight to heaven – I am delighted to remind you that we have an amazing musical program coming up on November 4^th! A world-renowned singer and composer, Elana Arian, is coming to Temple Emanuel! We know and love Elana’s music; it has enriched our worship at TE over the last few years, and we look forward to welcoming Elana as our Shir Magic performer this year! Shir Magic is the Annual TE Concert in loving memory of Rabbi Jerry Brieger z”l

You can get your tickets in advance right here. Please spread the word, and I look forward to enjoying this special musical evening together. The TE band will of course make an appearance, and you can hear it next at Shabbat Chanukkah on December 8^th!

P.S. Play an instrument? Want to join the band? Speak to Laurel Shader or Rabbi Farbman!

Oops, Help, Thanks & Wow!

At one point or another, all of us have said these short words. Often, multiple times a day! As you read this column shortly before the start of High Holy Days, you are most likely concentrating on the ‘oops’ part – that is the nature of ‘accounting of our soul’, or cheshbon hanefesh. This time of year we are encouraged to take stock of our lives and our actions, acknowledge our failings and seek ways to perform teshuvah, ‘return’ to the vision of ourselves that we aspire to be… And while this time between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, and this process of teshuvah is extremely important, I am always mindful of the fact that we should pay even more attention to our actions between Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashanah!

So how do we do this? How do we elevate our daily and weekly experiences to allow for such thoughtful action? One of the traditional answers to this question is to rely on the structure of services and both individual and communal prayer. Our prayerbook, also known as the Siddur, is a sacred and essential tool that guides the individual and communal worship practices. This meticulously crafted compilation of prayers, blessings, and liturgical texts serves as a gateway for expressing gratitude, seeking guidance, and fostering a deep spiritual connection with each other and with the divine.

Temple Emanuel has its own prayerbook, Seder Tefilot Emanuel. This wonderful and warm book has inspired generations of TE members – and continues to do so! It began as a loose-leaf collection of prayers in the early TE years, then became a ‘Yellow Prayerbook’ and eventually took shape that we know and love over 20 years ago. It has survived two reprints and has served our community as a truly magnificent tool. In addition, after a few years of exploration and discovery, we have adopted the Reform Prayerbook ‘Mishkan Tefilah’, to be used alongside ‘Seder Tefilot Emanuel’. Although quite different in design and content, these two wonderful books help shape the worship at Temple Emanuel. In 2018 we adopted the recently published Mishkan HaNefesh as our High Holy Days machzor, and it has enriched our experience of the High Holy Days in a profound way.

This fall we will once again get together to explore the Jewish Liturgy. In this enriching journey, we will delve into the profound world of Jewish prayer and explore the intricate tapestry of rituals, texts, and melodies that have woven the fabric of Jewish worship for centuries. From the heartfelt expressions of gratitude to the introspective moments of self-reflection, Jewish liturgy offers a remarkable insight into the spiritual essence of the Jewish people. Join us as we uncover the history, significance, and deep connections that make up the mosaic of Jewish liturgical traditions. Whether you are a curious learner or seeking to deepen your understanding, this course promises to illuminate the beauty and meaning embedded in every word, every note, and every gesture of Jewish prayer.

The new course begins on October 8^th and will run on Sundays at 11 am. Advance registration is required, please follow this link to sign up!