From the Cantor - January 2002

When [Rabbi] Abraham Joshua Heschel, walked arm in arm with Martin Luther King Jr. to protest segregation in the Deep South, a snobbish reporter posed him a question. Why…was the rabbi not in synagogue on Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath. Heschel responded simply: "I'm praying with my feet."

The Johns Hopkins Newsletter

Rabbi Pinchas said, "When one is singing and cannot lift up his voice, and another comes…who can lift up his voice, then the first will be able to lift his voice too. That is the secret of the bond between spirit and spirit."

Martin Buber, Tales of the Hasidim

At a time when we need unity more than ever before, we have Martin Luther King's Birthday and Shabbat Shirah (Sabbath in Song) to celebrate freedom and music. If you don't believe these gifts go hand in hand, consider this: playing music was forbidden in Afghanistan.

Celebrate Dr. King's life and vision at 1:00 p.m. on Monday, January 21 at the UNM School for Continuing Education and support the youths receiving college scholarships in honor of Dr. King. Rabbi Black will officiate as emcee and HaShirah will perform, along with other local multicultural children's groups.

On Friday, January 25 at 8:00 p.m., join us for a special musical Shabbat service as Zamir celebrates Shabbat Shirah with the music of Salamone Rossi. Rossi was a 17th-century Italian-Jewish composer who enjoyed rare favor in his day as the court composer at Mantua. He is most famous for 13 volumes of compositions entitled, Shirey liShlomo (Songs of Solomon), a pun on the first Biblical verse of Song of Songs: Shir HaShirim asher liShlomo (The Song of Songs, which is Solomon's). If you have trouble picturing Shabbat melodies sounding like baroque court dance, remember that Jewish music, like everything else Jewish, has always been influenced by the larger areas surrounding Jewish communities…and that's everywhere except Antarctica.

On Sunday, January 27 at 2:00 p.m., Zamir presents Handel's oratorio Samson. I will sing the role of Micah the Prophet, and I'll be pleased to welcome guest cantors and other soloists including Rabbi Black, Cantor Raphael Edgar, the choirs of Congregation B'Nai Israel, St. Michael's & All Angels and Hoffmantown, as well as a chamber orchestra. Please join us for a winter afternoon of warmth.

B'Shalom u-v'shir,
Cantor Jacqueline L. Shuchat-Marx

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