From the Cantor - February 2003

Shalom, Chaveirim:

If love is blind, I speak of Israel with difficulty because she is one of my greatest loves. During the year I lived in Jerusalem as part of my study to become a cantor, I had the privilege of living just like most students in Israel. I got to know the land and people, walked and traveled everywhere by bus, grocery-shopped at the Super Sol, and the Machanei Yehudah (outdoor Jewish market), studied at 13 King David Street, and visited family in Tel Aviv and Kfar Azar. To Israelis, family and children were of vast importance. This was in the days before everyone had at least two cell phones. This was also during the years before suicide bombers, when we could take almost any journey by foot or by bus for granted. These days, I put it mildly when I say that everyone in Israel is much more cautious than ever before.

The events of the last two years have left Jews all over the world feeling shaken to our very roots. Worst of all, our Israeli brothers and sisters find that even their confidence in the surety of life has been deeply shaken. But the more things change, the more they stay the same. Family and children have become even more precious than before. Security, which was always tight, has become even more so. In sum, Israel treats its travelers as if we were their own beloved children; which, in many ways, we are. That's my love story, and I'm sticking to it.

On Sunday March 2 at 2 pm, I look forward to participating with my colleagues at our sister congregation, Congregation B'nai Israel, in an afternoon of Jewish music as well as opera and musical theatre. Come join me across town for Three Cantors and a Rebbetzin. I will sing with Cantor Michael Dzubin, Cantor Elisheva Dienstfrey (who grew up at B'nai Israel), and Rebbetzin Phyllis Golden Hoffman.

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

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