Tomorrow is Shabbat Shirah (Sabbath of Song) when we read the Torah portion that includes Shirat Hayam (the Song of the Sea). Shirat Hayam is a song of celebration, an expression of gratitude for our deliverance from oppression in Mizrayim.
Jews traditionally commemorate Shabbat Shirah by making their prayer services extra-musical and joyous. HEA will be following in that tradition by featuring several new melodies in tomorrow’s services:
Vatikach Miriam by Rabbi Ariel Root Wolpe (will be sung during Traditional Torah Service)
My setting of Ein Keloheinu, which premiered online today (will be sung at the end of Traditional Mussaf)
We will also savor many of the rich melodies that have been with our people for many generations. Some of my favorite traditional melodies that we will sing together tomorrow include Zeidel Rovner’s Bei Ana Racheitz, the Western Sephardic Shirat Hayam, and Solomon Sulzer’s Torah Service, sung here by my cousin Cantor Alisa Pomerantz-Boro.
The act of singing together opens our hearts. As I read in Joey Weisenberg’s book The Torah of Music, “Rebbe Nachman of Breslov said: ‘It’s good for a person to accustom himself to reviving himself with a nigun (melody), because nigun is a powerful and mighty tool, and it has the great strength to awaken a person and point his heart towards the Blessed Name.’” I hope that the singing we do tomorrow awakens us to the experiences of others and points our hearts with empathy toward the divinity in each person. As we sing joyous songs celebrating the liberation of the Israelites, may the coincidence of Shabbat Shirah, Black History Month, and JDAIM remind us that our liberation as Jews is “bound up,” to use the words of Lilla Wilson, with the liberation of all people. I can’t wait to sing and celebrate with you tomorrow.
