We, specifically, the Congregation Shir Shalom Community and I, are about to participate in our first High Holiday season together. At the writing of this article, we are approximately three and half weeks from Erev Rosh Hashanah. The pace is feverish. The choirs have been rehearsing a few times a week. I have been learning new settings to our High Holiday liturgy that are specific to CSS
and I have been sharing my treasured favorites. The choirs have been learning new pieces and sharing their treasures. Paul Staley, our organist and I have been meeting a few times a week for hours on end to organize our music selections; sifting through settings, making decisions and organizing all the Order of Service plans that accompany each service. Rabbi Alex and I have spent hours also looking closely at our services and making further decisions. High Holiday Torah readers have been stopping by my office to check their Torah portions… It’s almost here!
There are tons of details and tons of photocopying and organizing, however, it’s all sacred! When it comes to High Holidays, every musical setting, every liturgical addition/subtraction, each note and its nuances are measured ever so carefully. There are many options on what to do; how to do that which we just chose and even, when to do it – even within the constraints of following the pages of our machzor, the High Holiday prayerbook, Mishkan Hanefesh. So every decision is carefully weighed and decided on for its spiritual and emotional impact. All decisions are made for the benefit of the community, for all of us, whether we pray actively or participate through listening and contemplation.
On both Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur during the morning Tefillah section of the service, we find one of the centerpieces of the High Holiday Liturgy: Uv’shofar Gadol, pages 176 RH and 210 YK.
And so a great shofar will cry-t’kia. A still small voice will be heard. Angels, in a whirl of fear and trembling, will say: “Behold the day of judgment”- for they too are judged; in your eyes even they are not blameless.
All who come into the world pass before You like sheep before their shepherd. As a shepherd considers the flock, when it passes beneath the staff, You count and consider every life. You set bounds; You decide destiny; You inscribe judgments.
During this High Holiday season, I will be chanting the above text with the Choir in a very majestic setting. You will at first notice that I am singing a declaratory passage telling you about the Great Shofar and its sounds, both great and small. You will hear words ringing out such as y’tahkah, which is related to the very familiar word, t’kiah, which mimics and pronounces the call of the shofar. You will then hear some agitation in the setting, then an ephemeral sounding acapela section invoking the environment of the celestial beings. This leads into a pastoral motif which invokes the image of sheep passing under the shepherd’s staff. Overall, the piece is mysterious and edgy. The annual chanting of this setting of Uv’shofar Gadol is probably the most meaningful moment of my High Holiday experience.
I do hope you enjoy this High Holiday season and all that comes with it; its soulfulness, the chance for introspection and change through the richness of our liturgy, the thought provoking ideas presented through the Rabbi’s sermons, our sense of community as we gather at CSS, the gathering of our families for celebration, and most of all, our rich tradition of music. I am absolutely passionate about providing the most meaningful High Holiday service. I truly look forward to spending the first of many High Holidays together with you. L’shanah Tova T’kateivu!
Cantor Arlene Frank
Last Updated on 09/10/2016 by wpadm