On Thursday, June 7, 2012 - the day after Jessica’s residency graduation, which she attended while experiencing contractions- Shaya was born. On the Hebrew calendar, that date was the 17 of Sivan, corresponding to tomorrow, Friday, May 28. I am full of Hakarat HaTov to Hashem for the wonderful gifts he has bestowed upon us, and that Shaya, our bechor, was the first of them. May we continue to see him grow and attain his maximum potential as the special person he is, as a servant of Hashem and as a ben Torah!
Rabbi’s Recommendation
This year marks the 200th Birthday of Louis Lewandowski (1821-1894), the musical director of the Neue Synagogue in Berlin (more on him here ). Lewanowski composed melodies for virtually every part of the Tefillah, and had many students who became prominent choirmasters and cantors throughout Germany and Eastern Europe. To While his settings were for mixed choir, they have often been rearranged for male choir and are actually sung in many congregations, of all denominations, even without a choir present. Examples of his melodies that have become ubiquitous include “Tzaddik KaTamar” (performed by the choir of the Tel Aviv Cantorial Institute) sung throughout the world on Friday nights, and “Zacharti Lach” for Rosh Hashanah (sung by the incomparable Cantor Johnny Gluck z”l- 1948-1984) and Mah Tovu (performed by the Basel Synagogue Choir of Switzerland).
A few weeks ago, I spoke about Dave Sterling and his visit to Shaare Tefilla, and how Dave was especially impressed with the service of returning the Torah. This week’s Parsha contains the opening phrase of this beautiful Tefillah (Numbers 10:36) - וּבְנֻחֹ֖ה יֹאמַ֑ר שׁוּבָ֣ה ה' רִֽבְב֖וֹת אַלְפֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ {פ} And when it (the ark) halted, he would say: Return, O LORD, You who are Israel’s myriads of thousands!
Of the many liturgical settings of this prayer, few capture the grandeur of this moment like Lewandowski’s. Whenever I visited my grandparents in Jerusalem, I would go on Shabbat mornings to the Jerusalem Great Synagogue, in large part in the hopes that Chazzan Naftali Hershtik, may he live and be well, would be including it in his repertoire that morning. His falsetto repetition of the final line- השיבנו ה אליך ונשובה - was both electrifying and deeply moving. His son, my good friend Chazzan Netanel Hershtik of The Hampton Synagogue, carries on his father’s tradition of excellence. Please take five minutes and listen to his rendition; you won’t regret it!
Shabbat Shalom!
Rabbi Ariel Rackovsky
Congregation Shaare Tefilla 6131 Churchill Way Dallas, TX 75230
