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It would be no surprise to you that I believe music is one of the most important expressions of the Jewish faith. I never set foot inside a temple until I was 9 years old. Already playing guitar for a number of years and in love with music making as well as listening, I was captivated when brought to a Shabbat service and heard a cantor (with a voice much better than mine) lead liturgy musically. People sang along. We were known as a “singing congregation.” The more I became familiar with the words and melodies, I, too, added my voice to the sea of voices that filled the room in song.

Over the years, I learned that there was much more Jewish music to be learned. There was music from Israel, there was contemporary music and there was European Jewish music. That last category overlapped with my more formal music education that would happen in college. Learning about Jewish composers of classical music, learning about music that was played in the concentration camps, both under duress and to lift up the spirits of the prisoners, it became clear to me that music has been part of the Jewish spirit for centuries. From the very verses of Psalm 150 that list all of the instruments we can use to celebrate our faith to the ironic and tragic freilach music prisoners were forced to play to display a false image of happy life in a concentration camp, music has accompanied us.

To lift up music’s role in our lives as we approach Yom Hashoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day, we will host members of the Atlanta Musicians' Orchestra this Friday night at services, who will share music of Jewish life from the early 20^th century. In this time of heightened antisemitism, may our music lovingly accompany all the emotions that Judaism evokes. May the notes connect us to generations past and inspire us to stay in community today and in the future.

Shabbat Shalom,

Beth