See below for an excerpt from Cantor Cohen's column on the TBS choir

[from Temple Talk  March/April 2010]

Making a Joyful Noise - Together

This double issue goes to press at the end of January and arrives in your mailboxes in March – paralleling the two times when our weekly parasha (Beshallach) and our holiday Torah reading (for the seventh day of Passover) has us read Shirat HaYam – the Song of the Sea.  This is the dramatic moment when Bnai Yisrael cross the sea as it parts, lifting their voices in spontaneous song as they go: “Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord.”

            To join together in song at one of the most powerful moments in our history – what a statement our ancestors made!  Our Etz Hayim commentary tells us that at no point since creation had humans sung to God.  Even when Abraham, Isaac and Jacob’s lives had been spared dramatically, none had sung praises to God to demonstrate their tremendous gratitude.

The power inherent in groups of people joined in song is stirring.  I’ve sung in choirs my entire life: from elementary school (where a teacher I now realize was quite hip had us performing Blood Sweat and Tears songs), to my synagogue’s High Holiday choir from the time I turned 13, to competitive state choirs in high school, to my a cappella pop group in college.  At the Jewish Theological Seminary I sang every week with a group of my peers – some of the most spectacular voices I’ve had the privilege to perform with.  Every rehearsal provided at least one moment of transcendent harmony – where attention to the notes becomes secondary to the emotion of the moment.

Makhelat Beth Sholom, TBS’s all-volunteer choir, has a long history in this congregation.  Meeting on Wednesday nights, they are a phenomenally dedicated group who share a passion for Jewish music and liturgy, as well as for the camaraderie and community born of working creatively together.  I have the privilege of becoming the new director of the choir – the first time a cantor has held that position in many years.  Together we’re looking to making music both a creative and spiritual outlet, to have fun, create beauty and to share it with the TBS community.  And we hope to grow in number, welcoming all who have a passion for singing and for Jewish music they want to explore.  Please email me at cantorcohen@tbsonline.org, or ask any of our members if you are interested in learning more.

Etz Hayim commentary shares a legend that the angels, too, wanted to sing praises at the parting of the sea, but that God told them, “Wait, and let Israel sing first.  Humans are able to praise only when they are inspired.  If we do not give them the opportunity, the desire will pass.” [David of Kotzk, Etz Hayim, p. 407]

  Take this opportunity to join us in making a joyful noise as part of TBS's Makhelat Beth Sholom; don’t let the desire pass.