Notes from Cantor Avima

     I am inspired! By all of you... Never have I been part of a congregation blessed by so many musicians of all ages and levels of ability. There is a very well known Psalm recited... or better yet, sung each morning as part of our preliminary prayers which talks about all the instruments that were played in the ancient Temple. 

Halleluyah, Praise God in his sanctuary; Praise Him in the sky, His stronghold.  

Praise Him for His mighty acts; Praise Him for His exceeding greatness, 

Praise Him with blasts of the horn; Praise Him with the harp and lyre. 

Praise Him with timbrels and dance; Praise Him with lute and pipe. 

Praise Him with resounding cymbals; Praise Him with loud-clashing  cymbals. 

Let all that breathes praise the Lord, Halleluyah. 

     This is a simple psalm, but the line that speaks the loudest is the final one:  "Kol Haneshama T'hallel Yah, Halleluyah / Let all that breathes praise the Lord, Halleluyah". The source of human sound is, of course the breath which vibrates the vocal cords. God gives us our "neshama" which can be translated as soul or breath. We then in turn use the breath - our life force given to us by God as the main vehicle for praising God. Furthermore, the Psalm doesn't differentiate between "good" voices or "bad" voices. Simply... "ALL" that breathes. 

     I want this to be a year that Adath Shalom expands its resources of torah readers, haftarah readers and singers. I am inspired to learn new melodies and teach them to you. I am going to actively expand our cadre of torah and haftarah readersso that Adath Shalom becomes a community that enacts the the closing line of Psalm 150: KOL HANESHAMA T'HALLEL YAH, HALLELUYAH. LET ALL THAT BREATHES PRAISE THE LORD,  HALLELUYAH. Please reach out to me if you would like to participate. 

     Here are a couple of youtubes of Psalm 150: Which one is YOUR favorite? 

Halleluyah, Psalm 150 - Debbie Friedman

Halleluyah - Miriam Margles with the Hadar Ensemble

Kol Haneshama - Joey Weisenberg and the Hadar Ensemble

Halleluyah - Aryeh Kunstler