Cantor's Message
A year has gone by and still we have not had a Shabbat Service in the chapel at CMI. Who would have known that this pandemic would have lasted this long? We have now had services on Zoom for a year and Baruch HaShem, that has actually been an extraordinary experience. It has kept our CMI family together on many levels. Our community moved to everyones’ home on Shabbat and that has been very unique and special. Sadly, I am not teaching my B’nei Mitzvah students in person or making music with the CMI Chorale or my most special Jr. Choir. I like to believe every cloud has a silver lining and Zoom Shabbat Services has certainly created them.
We have always been blessed with so much musical talent at CMI. Since I began as your Cantor, I have endeavored to bring you musical guests from our CMI family. They have continued to bless us throughout the pandemic, turning a Shabbat Zoom service into something very special and very personal. We all know that talent abounds at CMI, yet I have the suspicion that there are more who have not come forward to join us. If this applies to you, I deeply encourage you to let your musical muse bring you forth and join our community. Not knowing the tunes from the service is not a reason to stay away. I can provide all the songs and then some, in whatever key or clef you may desire. Yet, remember this is not just for older congregants! If you are below the age of 21 and you want a chance to move us through the wonder of prayer in music, please contact me! I too started as a very young child singing in choirs and I was always grateful to sing when given the opportunity! If you are feeling too anxious to ask me, then have your parents do it. They are by default your number one fans! Song and music are indeed holy, they connect the heart and soul to God. The world renowned philosopher, Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel said in his essay, “The Vocation of the Cantor”, “Song is the most intimate expression of man. In no other way does man reveal himself so completely as in the way he sings. For the voice of a person, particularly when in song, is the soul in its full nakedness. When we sing, we utter and confess all our thoughts. In every sense Hazzanut is Hishtapkhuth hanefesh (outpouring of the heart). There is a story about the Ba’al Shem who was once listening most intently to a musician. When his disciples asked him why he was so absorbed in what he heard, the Ba’aI Shem replied: When a musician plays he pours out all he has done.” Come pour out all you can do on Shabbat!
Please remember to join us on Pesach for our congregational 2nd night Seder! Check the CMI bulletin and calendar for details. Like last year, it will be a virtual Zoom Seder and we will have the wonderful opportunity to be in each and everyones’ home for Pesach. You can’t celebrate a chagim (holiday) any better than that. Don’t forget the glass of wine for Elijah and the Cantor!