March 2017 Bulletin

A Congregation Congregation B’nai Israel Affiliated with the United Synagogue of Conservative 6525 Sylvania Avenue Judaism Sylvania OH 43560 150 Years of (419) 517-8400 Consecrated Service to www.cbitoledo.org God, Torah and Israel Adar –Nisan 5777 PURIM IS HERE! Saturday, March 11, 2017 Sunday, March 12, 2017 Join us for a traditional Join us at 10:15 a.m. for Purim Celebration! 5:30 p.m. Mincha the Followed by Seudah Shlishit – Third Meal Featuring delicious Mediterranean cuisine from Oasis 7:00 p.m. Maariv and Traditional Megillah Reading There is NO Charge, but kindly RSVP to the office by Tuesday March 7 419-517-8400 Please join us for New Member Shabbat Followed by a gala Kiddush luncheon Congregation B’nai Israel See page 5 for details Sunday March 26, 2017 2:00- 4:00p.m. Join us for a complimentary dessert reception and exciting video presentation in celebration of CBI’s 150th Anniversary See page 5 for details 1 Notes from the Cantor……………………………………….. A MUSICAL GIANT - PART II This is the second in my series of articles on Jews in music, in honor of Jewish Music Season that began with Shabbat Shira – The Sabbath of Song, Parshat B’shalach when we read in the Torah the Song of the Crossing of the Sea from Exodus chapter 15. Last month’s bulletin article was dedicated to Leonard Cohen, the great Canadian Jewish composer, performer and poet, who passed away on November 7, 2016 at the age of 82. This column is dedicated to Rabbi Ben Zion Shenker z”l, the great Chasidic composer and performer who passed away on November 20, 2016 at the age of 91. Just as Cohen greatly influenced the secular musical world, similarly Rabbi Shenker profoundly impacted the world of Jewish music, specifically Chasidic music with his some 800 compositions. Many people sing his popular melodies without realizing their origin, such as Eishet Chayil – A Woman of Valor sung on Friday nights around the Shabbat table, his unforgettable version of Mizmor L’David – Psalm 23, sung on Shabbat and heard now even at funerals, his hypnotic and catchy Urei Vanim, and Yasis Alayich sung at many weddings. Shenker was influenced by the great Cantor Yossele Rosenblatt and sang as a child soloist in the famous Cantor Joshua Weisser’s choir. A chance encounter with the then Modzitz Rabbi Shaul Taub in Brooklyn, led to his official appointment at a young age as the official musician of the Rebbe. Shenker was the first person in the USA to record an LP of Chasidic music when in 1956 he released “Modzitzer Melave Malka.” (Melave Malka, literally “Accompanying the Sabbath,” is a post-Shabbat, festive, musical Saturday evening event). The success of this recording influenced other Chasidic groups to follow suit. When I immigrated to the USA in 1976 as a young, poor student, I immediately set about learning local melodies by cassette recording as many Jewish records as I could find from friends, as it was too expensive to purchase music and LPs. If you visit my office at CBI you will see hundreds of those old, irreplaceable cassettes I refuse to part with! Being a “greenhorn” from South Africa, many of the melodies I was accustomed to were different, and having been hired as soon as I arrived in the USA as a young 26-year-old cantor in a synagogue on Long Island, NY so I could support myself, I needed to familiarize myself quickly with local melodic usage. Amongst the first melodies I heard, fell in love with and incorporated into my repertoire, were those of Ben Zion Shenker whose cassettes I still have. As a child soloist for my father in South Africa, I learnt the Modzitz Yism’chu V’mal’chut’cha from the Shabbat service, that I have since taught to hundreds of my students including here at CBI. But it was only after I arrived in the USA, that I learnt that Shenker’s compositions were associated with Modzitz, one of the most musical of all Chasidic groups. Since then I have since learnt to appreciate and use Modzitz music, such as Titkabel from Kaddish Shalem that I sang this past Shabbat Shira and on other occasions. One of the hallmarks of Shenker’s dedication to Chasidic music, was his constant pursuit of authenticity, which is often lacking in the rather loose world of Jewish music. In his recordings and musical notations of the compositions of others, particularly the Grand Rabbis of his Modzitz dynasty, four of whom he worked with over seven decades, he made sure every note was accurate. In an article in the Forward of December 9, 2016, Binyamin Ehrenkranz reports that Rabbi Shenker attended a performance last year by one of his proteges of the first Modzitz Rabbi Yisrael Taub’s famous and intricate Ezkera melo- dy. It is a 36-part masterpiece that takes 20 minutes to perform. With the music score in hand, Shenker followed every note to ensure the accuracy of the rendition, and proudly exclaimed “A-plus!” at its conclusion. Shenker’s melodies have influenced and been recorded by great Klezmer and other musicians like Andy Stat- man, violinist Itzhak Perlman, and the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. The late great singer and composer Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach attributed some of his musical influences to Shenker. Florida Atlantic University has one of the largest and most impressive digital libraries of Jewish music recordings. If you are interested in hearing Ben Zion Shenker sing his fantastic music, simply google their recorded sound ar- chives by entering rsa.fau.edu.judaic. Where it says ’search’ simply enter his name and 16 recordings will pop up. Click on any and enjoy. I would love to hear from my Wednesday SOAP class or any of my students, that you accessed and enjoyed some of these amazing recordings. Rabbi Shenker’s survivors include almost 100 great-grandchildren, and certainly his legacy will live on through his over 800 melodies many of which are integral to Jewish musical life. I look forward to seeing you at our upcoming tribute Shabbat and Kiddush on March 11, 2017 as we bid l’hitra’ot to our beloved Inge Horowitz who is moving east to be with her children. Don’t miss our joyous Purim celebra- tions on Saturday evening March 11, 2017 at 5:30 p.m. with traditional full Megillah reading, and Sunday morning’s fab- ulous Purim Spiel at 10:15 a.m., Sisterhood Shabbat, New Member Shabbat, more 150th events… Chag Purim sameach! Hazzan Ivor Lichterman 2 President’s Message…………………………….………. Help is at Your Fingertips. We live in the information age. Instead of a trip to the library, we turn to the computer or smart phone. But the huge amount of information can be overwhelming. I would like to offer some suggestions related to Judaism. Though some of us have a rich background in Jew- ish study and practice, others, myself included, do not. We have books, such as “The Jewish Book of Why” and “To Be a Jew”, which are still useful, and often consulted. But it is tempt- ing to visit the universe of information readily available at our fingertips. So I have visited a few internet sites and thought I might share a bit of what I found. I came across “Judaism 101” [www.jewfaq.org] some time ago. Since then, I have gone back many times, and have learned a little with each visit. It has a lot of information, presented in an easy-to -read style. The website is the work of Tracey Rich, who describes himself as “just a traditional, observant Jew who has put in a lot of research.” Much of it is written from an Orthodox perspective, but has information about Conservative, Reform, and sometimes other viewpoints. In fact, there is much information comparing the flavors of our faith. Spending more time exploring the website is on my list of things to do. For someone who is just learning about Judaism, or maybe needs a refresher on some topics, I think it is a good use of your time. You can look for specific information, such as all about Pesach. Among the things I have learned is the right way to wear the tallit, though there are many who I greatly respect who wear it the “wrong way”. There is a nice table to review printed and written Hebrew letters and you can see different fonts. There is a table of numerical equiva- lents for the letters, so you can have a little fun with Cantor Lichterman who, as we all know, enjoys finding connections between a number, such as your birthday, and an appropriate word. You can learn the history of the Ashkenazim and Sephardim, and even a little about other populations, such as Ethiopian Jews. You can check the proper way to greet someone on a particular holiday. There is the list of all 613 commandments. We found the prayer for putting up a mezuzah in our new house. There are recipes for traditional foods. Anyone interested in Kasha Varnishkes? There is a lot to find here. Learning to read and speak Hebrew better is an area that may be of interest. I imagine that some of us never learned, learned only a little, or don’t remember much of it. Of course, there are some highly-recommended methods. One is to come to worship service. Hearing the prayers many times certainly must have some impact, especially if you can follow the written Hebrew, even if only a few words.

Load more