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2<br />
From our<br />
Senior Rabbi...<br />
“Give your heart to learning,”<br />
invites the Talmud.<br />
What does it mean to give one’s<br />
heart to learning?<br />
Our sages teach that it means<br />
keep our minds and hearts open<br />
to learning from everyone in all<br />
situations; every moment is an<br />
opportunity to engage the deepest<br />
promptings of our soul and discern<br />
God’s presence in our lives.<br />
As <strong>Shir</strong> <strong>Tikvah</strong>, we learn in a variety<br />
of ways: In classes, during services,<br />
on retreats, at the beginning of<br />
meetings.<br />
Since Rabbi Simon joined us one<br />
year ago, we’ve asked this question<br />
of everyone in our community: What<br />
does quality, inspiring, engaging,<br />
From our Music Director<br />
I love the Mishkan T’filah prayer book. I<br />
love the choice of many interpretations<br />
of prayers and see it as a choose-yourown-adventure<br />
type of prayer book.<br />
I rarely stay on the same page as the<br />
congregation during an entire service<br />
because I’ve wandered to some<br />
random page and been lost in the<br />
prayers I’ve found, which inevitably<br />
speak to me.<br />
I wonder: How can I help you wander<br />
off the page and into prayers that speak<br />
to you? How can you help make this<br />
book a living, breathing document<br />
that can inspire you differently each<br />
time you open it? These are the central<br />
questions that guide my teachings<br />
in b’nei mitzvah lessons, morning<br />
minyan, and adult education classes.<br />
During the past year, b’nei mitzvah<br />
families—both from the adult class<br />
and the 7 th -grade group—wanted<br />
help understanding the flow of <strong>Shir</strong><br />
<strong>Tikvah</strong> services. It seemed that when<br />
we change melodies week-to-week,<br />
some people experience each new tune<br />
transformative lifelong Jewish<br />
learning look like across the life<br />
span?<br />
Rabbi Simon’s title is intentional:<br />
“Director of Lifelong Learning.”<br />
Why? Because we understand that<br />
our great spiritual questions, known<br />
as our grand Jewish quest, are not<br />
resolved when one becomes a bar or<br />
bat mitzvah.<br />
Rather, we grow as Jews and<br />
spiritual adults in every stage of<br />
our lives. We need an educational<br />
program and infrastructure that<br />
supports and edifies this learning.<br />
I am delighted this issue of Kol<br />
“We grow as Jews and spiritual adults in every stage<br />
of our lives. We need an educational program and<br />
infrastructure that supports and edifies this learning.”<br />
as an entirely new<br />
prayer, rather than<br />
different versions<br />
of the same one.<br />
In May I taught a<br />
“Singing through<br />
the Siddur” class<br />
Wendy Goldberg<br />
to address these<br />
questions. Going<br />
through the outline of a typical service<br />
opened a gateway to understanding<br />
that students found helpful. Many<br />
people purchased their own siddur<br />
(prayer book) in which they can<br />
earmark pages of inspiration.<br />
Students also studied the system of<br />
vowels and accents that Mishkan T’filah<br />
uses to help readers know where<br />
Hebrew words are accented and where<br />
pronunciation shifts. We also learned<br />
where and why the choices of liturgy<br />
get made.<br />
In our Hebrew School t’filah (prayer)<br />
sessions, the students take turns<br />
leading various parts of an evening<br />
service. There are always related<br />
<strong>Tikvah</strong> is devoted to lifelong Jewish<br />
learning. I am especially inspired<br />
by the work of Rabbi Simon and the<br />
Lifelong Learning Taskforce.<br />
Together, along with the<br />
congregation, they are considering<br />
how we create outstanding Jewish<br />
learning in our congregation. I look<br />
forward to sharing in the fruits of<br />
their labor in the months ahead.<br />
Keep your hearts open to learning.<br />
Who knows what great spiritual<br />
treasure we may discover?<br />
L’shalom,<br />
activities included in our communal<br />
time, such as Israeli dancing and<br />
“voting with your feet” about topics.<br />
We always want the participants to<br />
leave with something new, such as<br />
information, insight, or melodies.<br />
Our students have begun requesting<br />
reprises of some of the activities, and<br />
the adults who have participated seem<br />
to leave energized by the experience.<br />
Next year, Rabbi Simon and I will be<br />
teaching the structure of a service in<br />
Hebrew School t’filah. Parents and<br />
members of the congregation are<br />
encouraged to participate.<br />
We’ll meet from 6:00-6:30 pm on<br />
Wednesdays. You are welcome to<br />
purchase a weekday siddur so that<br />
you can mark favorite prayers, write<br />
in your own, or draw something that<br />
inspires you. You can flag the prayer<br />
you want to return to at another time.<br />
I hope all of these experiences promote<br />
access to deeper prayer experiences<br />
and deeper learning.
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