Cantor Richard Kaplan singing at ALEPH Kallah 2003

Folks,

Here's one more pre-Shabbat post. I was listening to more of the niggunim on the NeoHasid.Org website and through found Cantor Richard Kaplan. Kaplan describes himself by saying

"Performing professionally as a singer, songwriter, and pianist for over 30 years, Richard Kaplan is a Cantor, teacher, ethnomusicologist and choral conductor. His extensive concert repertoire of Jewish World Music includes songs from Ashkenazic (European), Mizrachi (Middle Eastern), and Sephardic (Spanish/Andalusian) traditions, as well as original pieces, often based on ancient melodies and texts. Richard tours nationally and internationally giving workshops where participants can experientially explore masterpieces of Jewish World Sacred Music."

Kaplan has a whole series of CDs available at his website, as well as through iTunes and eMusic. I'm looking forward to hearing them all. To tide me over, here's a lovely performance of Kaplan's from a recent Jewish Renewal event.

Cantor Richard Kaplan singing at ALEPH Kallah 2003

Hat tip to YouTube user JewishRenewal for posting the video.

A Carlebach Jam at Toronto's The House

Just a quick morning shout-out to the folks at Toronto's The House. The House describes itself as being "experiential, interactive, passionate, intellectual, open, reflective, engaging, compelling, and creative. We bring together the heart and the mind in a rich blend of intellectual discovery and spiritual exultation." If this video from a recent post-Havdalah "Carlebach Jam" is any indication, they sure are.

JAM 6 -honoring the life of Reb Shlomo Carlebach @ The House

Hat tip to the YouTube user JewishRenewal for posting the video.

Nava Tehila's Lecha Dodi

Shabbat shalom folks.

Here's my Friday, get in the groove, video. This week's is a version of Lecha Dodi composed and recorded by Nava Tehila (a Jewish renewal community in Jerusalem). I got tipped of to this lovely recording by the Velvateen Rabbi.

Kabbalat Shabbat at Nava Tehlia - Lecha Dodi

Here's an excerpt of what Velvateen Rabbi had this to say in her post ...

"Nava Tehila, the local Jewish Renewal minyan, meets once a month. This Shabbat I attended my second monthly service there. In many ways it was like the first one, only more intense, and correspondingly more wonderful.

The basic structure of the service was what I've come to expect there: pearls from psalms, chanted repeatedly (to original melodies); singing and dancing; space for exultation and space for meditation; and, after the peak which is Lecha Dodi, a short and simple ma'ariv (evening) service. Once again, the service was co-led by the trio of shlichei tzibbur. Alongside them, Father Zachariah in his brown and white habit played violin soulfully; a few talented hand-drummers drummed. But tonight our dominant metaphor was the journey, because this week we're in parashat Mas'ei in which we read about the Israelites' journeying. Reb Ruth invited us, at the beginning, to think in terms of the journey of the evening, and to choose a real journey in our own lives on which to reflect deeply during our davenen. Since I've been on a literal journey this summer (with emotional resonances galore), that was my lens for the night.

So before each psalm in kabbalat Shabbat, Reb Ruth related each psalm to our own internal journeys. Lechu n'ran'na l'Adonai ("let us sing in joy to Adonai"): about getting ready to go, together. Hod v'hadar l'fanav ("splendor and beauty are before God"): about preparing for the journey -- figuring out what baggage we're bringing with us, and which personal/spiritual gifts too. (And so on.) When we reached "Ana B'Koach," which many Hasidim (and Renewal folks) sing after the six psalms and before "Lecha Dodi" which welcomes the Shabbat bride, one of the instrumentalists picked up a digeridoo and its eerie hum accompanied us along with the drum.

This week our "Lecha Dodi" was a waltz, which I loved. (See YouTube video, above.) Soon the whole room was filled with whirling waltzers, who slowly morphed their dance into a three-beat circle dance. It was extraordinary. "

Like I said, this quote is just an excerpt, go read the whole thing. And yes. She did mention the violin being played by the Catholic Father Zachariah. What's that about? Well, there's a story there. And here's how it goes...

"People started inquiring about ways of listening to the music outside of our time together. Visitors from overseas brought those niggunim to their home communities and we started receiving emails requesting a CD.

In mid-December we felt a push to produce a CD that came from the Holy Blessed One.

“Nu” He said in our hearts, “ How long are you going to wait?”

We prayed on the matter.

“We can’t carry this project alone. We need a producer, a producer who is spiritually connected to our work, professional and fun to work with!”

Our prayers were answered that same day. That evening Reb Ruth received a phone call from Father Zechariah, a regular member of our group and a monk in the Beatitudes Order. The Beatitudes are a Catholic group whose monastery is located in Emmaus near Latrun. They emphasize the Jewish roots of Christianity by celebrating Shabbat. They pray Kabbalat Shabbat using Jewish tunes. They have participated in our prayers since the beginning of our community.

Father Zechariah was calling to tell Ruth that there is a demand for new Shabbat tunes in their international Order. He asked whether they could do something with our music.

You can imagine our joyful amazement!

Shortly thereafter we learned that Father Zechariah, who had been playing his fiddle in our services, used to be a performer of Irish music. He produced music, conducted choirs, and he had even put out a number of CDs. We received all that we asked for and more because, like the rest of us, Father Zechariah is doing this work for the sake of Heaven"

That's quite a story. I wish them the best of luck and look forward to the CD being completed. To follow their adventures, you can read their music project blog or check their website.

Kabbalah Kirtan - Echad B'Echad (Jewish Renewal Group Chant)

Whew. I've been on the road for work most of this week and will be again all of next week. Right now I'm stuck in the office waiting for some of my engineers to get my demo system installed on my laptop. sigh.

At least the waiting around gives me a minute to write another post. Today I want to share a video of the musician Yofiyah (aka Susan Deikman) leading an interesting form of communal devotional chanting at a Jewish Renewal event. (Sorry, I'm not sure where/when the video was shot). This particular form of chanting, which she calls Kabbalistic Kirtan is heavily influenced by Hindu rituals but adopts and adapts them for Jewish practice. This adaption/adoption reminds me a lot of how the Chassidic community has a history of "redeming" or "finding the spark" in non-Jewish music and making it holy. With the Jewish Renewal community's ties to the Chassidic community mystical approach, it's not surprising to see this sort of musical redeeming flower here as well. Here's Yofiyah's explanation of how Kabbalistic Kirtan works...

"Hebrew Kirtan is an invitation to sing to, with, and ultimately as God. This music and the experience of singing it offer you a direct encounter with God, the Source and Substance of all reality.

Kirtan is the Sanskrit word for ecstatic devotional singing using the repetition of a name or names of God. Like “om,” “mantra,” “karma,” and other Sanskrit words it has entered the English language without translation. In and of itself “kirtan” has no religious content. It is simply the ecstatic devotional singing of God’s name. When sung in Sanskrit using Hindu names for God, kirtan becomes Hindu Kirtan. When sung in Arabic using Moslem names for God, kirtan becomes Sufi Kirtan. When sung in Hebrew using Jewish names for God, kirtan becomes Jewish, Hebrew or Kabbalistic Kirtan. It is not the form that defines the Jewishness of Hebrew Kirtan, but the content.

Hebrew Kirtan is the call and response repetition of sacred Jewish text and Hebrew Names of God. These Names and short phrases are doorways through which you can encounter God. The sound of these Names and phrases, the vibrational quality they establish when chanted aloud, open the small self (mochin d’katnut) to the spacious self (mochin d’gadlut) and allow you to transcend the ego and experience the Divine."

You can get more info about Kabbalah Kirtan, order a CD, or track her events, at Yofiayah's myspace page and her website.

Hat tip to YouTube user JewishRenewal for posting the video. JR has over 50 videos of Jewish Renewal events & music. Check it out.

Lighting the inner menorah: the mystical music of Rabbi Sigal Brier

'Music is the pulse of Jewish spirituality – song charts the biorhythms of the Jewish soul.' - England's Chief Rabbi, Sir Jonathan Sacks (from the Jewish Music Institute)

I received an email today from a relative who recently had very positive Jewish experience (musical and spiritual) with Rabbi Sigal Brier.

"While at Kripalu [Yoga Center] Dec. 24 and and 25, [we] participated in a kind of Cabbalistic sing-a-long led by Rabbi Sigal. We really enjoyed chanting with this very personable, interesting woman (and about 40 other people in the group). This was a very unique musical experience for me. It was so repetitious that I actually felt the Hebrew words flow (so different from my usual tortuous pronunciations!) and as the melody changed, got faster or quieter, the nuances of the words changed, too."

I've never had an experience like this. I daven in a minyan a couple of times a week and sometimes have good prayer days when I feel a real connection and sometimes I don't. I know that my experience is common and that a lot of Jews actively seek more 'spirituality.' I only put it in quotes because I really don't know what the word means. What is a mystical experience? What does it mean to seek a imminent relationship with God? That's beyond my ability to really understand.

But Judaism has always had seekers, some following traditional paths such as the Chassidim or neo-chassidic (e.g. Jewish Renewal). Some follow more exotic paths. But all of these paths seem to have musical accompaniment. The practice of niggun, or wordless melody, for example, is central to Chassidic practice and it's derivatives. DovBear Pinson, a Chassidic scholar, describes the niggun's connection to spirituality in this way...

"A wordless tune--as is much of Jewish mystical song, particularly Chassidic--is the way two individuals can communicate on a soulular transcendent level. Any breakdown in the verbal communicated mode can be repaired by creating a conduit that transcends words. When a person feels alienated from his Source, or for that manner, from his fellow man, a wordless tune which exists on a realm that defies distinctions, separations, and disharmony, is the most fitting remedy, causing a unity of souls."

This understanding of creating a conduit seems to capture what Rabbi Sigal tries to achieve with her chanting groups. According to her website, Rabbi Sigal is a Reconstructionist rabbi with a focus on what she calls Integrated Judaism "the integration of Jewish wisdom, traditions, and practices, with other holistic wisdom and practices. The foundational idea is the awareness of oneness, wholeness, and unity." While I've never heard the term "Integrated Judaism" (I think it's a bit of a Rabbi Sigal trademark), I've seen concepts like this floated around before under the rubric of 'JewBu,' or Jewish Buddhist. One of the best Conservative rabbi's I've had was a bit of JewBu. He'd studied Buddhism for a while before entering seminary and becoming a Rabbi. While he left any specific Buddhist practices behind, his religious sensibility was an interesting mix. He could balance a sense of awe in the sublime with an earthy sense of daily life in a way I don't see in many other Conservative rabbi's. My wife misses his sermons terribly.

I was interested to see that Rabbi Sigal is, to a degree, neo-Chassidic and explicitly references and teaches Kabbalah, the Jewish mystical tradition, as well as Yoga and Eastern "holistic wisdom and practices." The Kabbalah connection is something I expect more from the Jewish Renewal community than the Reconstructionist community, but Rabbi Sigal is clearly setting her own pace. Listening to the recording samples she offers on her website (she has a number of CDs for sale) I hear more Eastern and Middle-eastern music than niggun melodies, but I understand the connection.

I don't have any personal experience with Rabbi Sigal, and am always a bit worried when folks feel the need to supplement Judaism in the way she does, but did want to pass along the my relative's recommendation. If you're in the seeking a spiritual or mystical connection, then the musical traditions of the Chassidic and neo-Chassidic approaches may have value. If you want a less traditional, more yoga flavored version, then Rabbi Sigal may have something to offer.

Related posts: Temple "Coming Home"

Temple: Coming Home

Another one from the mailbag....

I got a note yesterday from the folks at Sounds True, "your direct source for audio courses, books, videos, and music for personal and spiritual transformation." They're promoting the new album, "Coming Home" by Temple, a voice and guitar duo out of Boulder, Colorado. I haven't heard the album yet, so can't comment on it, but thought I'd pass on this YouTube video. It gives a nice feel for them and their performance style. According to their press pack, they've played the Boulder Jewish festival, the 12th Annual International Aleph Kallah-Jewish Renewal Conference, and the Washington Jewish Music Festival and will be touring festivals and yoga centers this summer. You can also check out some sound clips from "Coming Home" at the Sounds True website album page or at Temple's myspace page. Temple also has their own webpage at "HebrewChanting.com"

Temple - Hebrew Chanting with Danya Uriel and Eyal Rivlin


By the way, if you happened to be in Boulder earlier this year (or last year?) you could have attended a class given by Danya Uriel and Eyan Rivlian (aka Temple) at Naropa University called "Temple of Song: The Ecstacy of Hebrew Chanting." Naropa is a degree giving University who's "approach to learning integrates the best of Eastern and Western educational traditions, helping students know themselves more deeply and engage constructively with others."

"Hebrew chanting invokes the collective consciousness of four millennia of ancient mystical teachings. In this experiential workshop, chants and nigguns will be explored along with attunements (kavvanot) and contemplations into the deeper meanings of the ancient Hebrew prayers and mantras. These powerful chants can be used for meditation, healing, prayer, and as vehicles to connect with the spiraling rhythm of the Jewish year. No previous musical background or knowledge of Hebrew is necessary. This class will be offered in a safe and open-hearted environment, with live accompaniment.

Eyal Rivlin and Danya Uriel are dedicated to revitalizing Jewish chanting as a form of meditation and ecstatic prayer. They create and share their music in the service of inspiration, community building, and devotion. Drawing on the power of the repetition of ancient sacred phrases, they use Hebrew chants to create an experiential connection to the One. Danya and Eyal's CD, Temple: Breath of Devotion, will be released in June 2006. HebrewChanting.com."

So, if your musical taste and/or spiritual needs lean in this direction you should check this album out.