Tropeful: Recent Episodes
Cantor David Reinwald
Tropeful is a podcast that explores how trope (Biblical cantillation) interprets the text, bringing new insights and understanding.
D’var Torah delivered on Friday, January 17, 2025
Ever since I first learned to translate the Hebrew of the Tanakh, of our Hebrew Bible, I have always been enthralled with the language of the text and its layered meaning. I give a lot of credit for this to my first teacher of Biblical Hebrew at Indiana University, my professor Ah-Seng Choo, of blessed memory. I studied with Ah-Seng for two years. He was a scholar of Hebrew and Near-Eastern languages who did the majority of his studies at Harvard, and passed along a lot of his knowledge to us. In an era before iPads, Kindles, or iPhones, we were expected to lug this Hebrew concordance to class. It was so heavy in my backpack, and because of this, there were many classes where I either forgot to take it or conveniently chose not to – maybe more the impact that I would have had to carry it around with me for a good portion of the day. A Hebrew concordance is basically a very specific type of dictionary that shows the usage of various words, and even in using it, it sometimes would lead me to some “interesting” translations. But, delving into the language of the Tanakh and the Torah often leads one to the interesting choices of the process of translation. There are often multiple directions in which to go, as is the case in any situation where moving away from the original language literally can leave one “lost in translation.”
If one asked me what my favorite word is in the Torah, I would instantly tell you that it is “hineini,” “here I am,” the single expression used by Abraham, Jacob, and Moses to respond to God in a dialogue that is not just a statement of physical presence, but of one that is wholly spiritual. My most favorite phrase in the Torah is likely one in this week’s Torah portion of Shemot, the first portion of the book of Exodus. In this portion, we meet Moses for the very first time – maybe something funny for us to say as Jews, but imagine meeting Moses with little-to-no knowledge of everything he is headed toward, and that is where we are this week. With that said, a LOT happens to Moses in this single week. He is born, grows up amidst the Egyptians while defending two Hebrew slaves, marries a Midianite woman, and then encounters God! That’s a lot! After Moses encounters God within the burning bush, he asks, who shall I tell my people sent me as their leader to free them from slavery? And, God responds with the phrase “Ehyeh asher Ehyeh.” This phrase is rather difficult to translate, bordering upon being not fully intelligible. It is a palindromic phrase, beautifully round– beginning and ending with the same word, and is chanted on very commonplace tropes which do not elevate the words through the chant. The chant doesn’t illuminate the text, but rather leaves the words to stand out on their own. And, that is entirely what is essential and in the moment here. Anything that would detract from the poetic beauty and foretelling nature of the text would also detract from this moment.
This phrase “Ehyeh asher Ehyeh” could be translated as “I will be what I will be” or “I am who I am.” God even shortens the name in a second mention and says just “Ehyeh” … “I will be.” The mysteriousness of this phrase has always been something for me that embodies something deep, spiritual, and all-encompassing.
Just prior to this moment, Moses questions God and perhaps himself in this demanding moment where he has been chosen for this quest toward freedom. He says “Who am I to go to Pharaoh to free my people?” Today, we would call this “imposter syndrome,” something that many of us including myself have experienced when we don’t feel the full weight of our own ability to be everything with which we are tasked. This can be true even if others see us as fully and authentically capable. And, in a moment like this, there is a balance between the humility one needs to be genuine to oneself alongside some element of ego which needs to rise to give us the strength to move ahead, without overinflating oneself to a point of selfish pride.
Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, the former chief rabbi of the UK of blessed memory, teaches that those who ultimately possess great qualities of leadership throughout the Hebrew Bible are generally those who question their own value to begin with. This lack of superior ability is a sign of the humanity within them. Rabbi Sacks also notes that Moses is actually an outsider. He grew up in Egypt among the Egyptians and he married a Midianite woman, which means he spent a decent amount of time set apart from his people both in Egypt and in the lands known as Midian. When he says “who am I?,” it pulls at his identity. And yet, in the heart of the moment, in seeing the need to fight for the one suffering, for any Israelite, he is at one with his people. He, too, is an Israelite and always has been.
Rashi, the Medieval commentator who was almost solely focused with the underlying meaning of language found in our texts, speaks almost in a Midrash to say that Moses perhaps further responds to the words of God to scratch his head and say – I know you will be all that you will be through thick and thin, but in this present moment, I don’t want to preface future sorrows among my people.
And, perhaps that is what the Israelites need the most in their present moment. Moses is a leader who will be with them and stand alongside them.
So, for me, while I appreciate every step of the journey to fully understand this mysterious verse of text – in the end, I would rather just be led into the mystery.
Let it be what it will be.
Shabbat Shalom.
As published in the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle.
https://jewishchronicle.timesofisrael.com/the-power-within/
I was excited to bring Tropeful Torah to the bimah for the service on August 9, 2024 for Parashat D’varim. I hope you find this enlightening.
D'var Torah: Va'etchanan (as published in the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle, July 28, 2023) ~ “The Shema as a guide”
Link to published article
I wrote this D’var Torah last year, in 2022, and I reread it this afternoon and really loved all that I had to say then. I thought I would have posted it here, but alas, I hadn’t! So enjoy! Shabbat Shalom, and hope you are staying Tropeful!
In the section which I chanted today, we heard of the details of six cities of refuge which were to be shelters for anyone who had accidentally killed someone – today, what we would term accidental manslaughter. This idea of an understanding of this early system of justice is incredibly fascinating to me. It understands the burden placed on this individual if they were truly only guilty of something borne out of an accident. It also recognizes that in the society of the day, people took justice within their own hands, and thus, an individual in this circumstance was in a state of danger, as someone related to the one killed could come after them.
In a country where we at least attempt to run our justice system with the ideal of ‘innocent until proven guilty,’ there is something rather modern even in this Biblical perspective. A d’var Torah written by a former classmate of mine, Rabbi Elliot Kukla for the American Jewish World Service, puts this into modern context – imagine the burden realized by a doctor who overlooks a vital and ultimately fatal symptom or a driver distracted by something out of their control. If one of these circumstances leads to an accidental death, in an instant, it changes the lives of all connected to the incident. Rabbi Kukla also points to the perspective of communal responsibility. For example, could an avoidable death of a patient be caused by a doctor working in an overstressed medical system? Could a distracted driver be overworked and unfocused?
In Parashat Masei, there is an understanding that the community has provided these safe spaces – sacred places of peace, where the one who has committed the accidental death must actually remain for the rest of their lives or until the high priest dies and an amnesty is declared. Unfortunately, in this Biblical system of justice, this individual becomes somewhat of a prisoner for the benefit of their own safety.
Last year, I had the opportunity to visit Hawaii for my very first time. On the Big Island, there is a national park called Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau. The first word – pu’uhonua refers to one of many places of refuge that existed in Hawaii from Medieval Times until the 19th century. In this place and others like it, a fallen warrior, or refugees displaced by war could find a place of peace. They are described as sacred places protected by Lono, the God of Life. They were places of rising consciousness and likewise to this week’s Torah portion, of communal responsibility giving these refugees a second chance.
I find these parallels so interesting, as they both represent the drive to create a bit of civility, safety, and asylum amongst otherwise chaotic situations.
I want to point out one other interesting fact about this week’s portion related to the trope system of chanting, even though it is unrelated to everything I have just mentioned. In chapter 35, verse 5, which would fall into the 5th traditional aliyah, we find a trope phrase that only occurs once in the entire Torah. The trope is called yerach ben yomo, ‘a one day old moon,’ and karnei farah, ‘horns of a cow,’ fittingly named for the shapes of the trope symbols. Also amusingly fitting is the fact that the trope karnei farah, which look like horns of a cow, finds itself on a section in the text describing the measurements of land for … raising cattle.
And with that, I wish you a Shabbat Shalom.
This week, we talk about endings in the Torah, as we celebrate ending the second book of the Torah, the Book of Exodus, with Parashat Pekudei. Chazak, Chazak, v’Nitchazeik!
When you think of a building or architectural landmark that has had an impact upon you, what is the first thing that comes to mind?
This was what I immediately began to think about when I was approaching this week’s Torah portion in preparation to lead our Torah study this coming Saturday. This is because this week’s portion spends a decent amount of time presenting a blueprint for the building of the tabernacle. And, as detailed as it is in every component, each of these materials has a reason for being included and, no different from today, the type of material also had a purpose. Some materials were purposely decorative, while others were practical.
I have much more to share this Saturday about the architecture that has influenced me and made me think, and I would love to hear more about what has influenced you.
In the meantime, check out this super interesting TED talk by David Byrne (of Talking Heads fame, and currently performing his Broadway show American Utopia) where he talks about the influence of architecture on the composition of music throughout history. It is quite enlightening, and definitely right in line with my Tropeful perspective.
Next week is New York’s Fashion Week, but this week the fashion week is in the Torah. Parashat Tetzaveh depicts and describes all of the garments worn by the priests in times preceding the ancient temple, but that would eventually carry over into the temple ritual. Aaron and his sons wore garments that today remain centerpieces in our tradition. You see them every week, for they are in the ark dressing the Torah. These include the choshen, the breastplate on the Torah. It can be designed with carvings of silver depicting the hands of the priests, the tablets of the 10 commandments, or it is sometimes adorned with 12 different stones, each for a different tribe. These stones are specifically mentioned in this portion. And, I love the multitude of color in the symbol of those stones. There is even a belief that the 12 stones for the 12 tribes is the source for the idea of today’s modern birthstones. Fashionable, or what?
The other garments worn include the ephod, today’s modern Torah cover, and in the past, a sort of tunic worn by the priest. The priests also wore a blue robe called a m’eel which had images of pomegranates on it and carried bells -- today the crowns of the Torah are called rimonim -- pomegranates, and sometimes are even designed to look like pomegranates, and almost all crowns have numerous bells. Our connection to hearing a Torah move around the sanctuary toward us is one that is sometimes heard before it is seen. One can imagine in the ancient temple that they heard a priest approaching before they saw him, expecting and perhaps being able to prepare themselves for his presence.
Now today, as a cantor, I rarely don garments that mark me so opposedly different from the congregation. Yes, all Jewish clergy wear tallitot at all services, but it is mainly us being in front of the congregation that marks us as the leaders. My weekly Shabbat fashion is no different from what most people would wear to a business meeting. Once a year, during the High Holidays, we don white robes, and it is perhaps at that time that we look most different and offset from the regular service attendee.
I have often had the experience, however, when I am at temple for a casual gathering when someone says to me, “Oh, I didn’t recognize you, Cantor! You aren’t dressed up.” This person likely got used to my “Shabbat clothes,” and suddenly I appeared different to them. I always find this to be funny, because clothes clearly do not create cantors or leaders -- but they surely create an impression. And, this is what this week’s portion is about– how we set ourselves apart. Judaism has so many elements of setting things apart-- the most prime example is Shabbat as a day set apart from the rest.
Here in this week’s Torah portion, clothes set apart the clan of the priests from the rest. Comparably, think about how what a bride and her wedding party wears elevates their stature in a ceremony. One does not need to ask any questions in identifying who is who. Yet, I challenge us to ask if the Torah wants us to think of the priests as holier than the rest or just ones who needed to be reminded that they were consistently doing holy work? What they wore stood as a reminder to everyone, including to themselves, of the commitment they had made to the bold requirements of their position. Today, each and every one of us can do holy work of our own choosing and we have various visual reminders of this, from tallitot to mezzuzot, and also from the experiential things that point us in this direction, for example prayer, attending services, Torah study, and devoting ourselves to mitzvot and acts of social justice. So, how do we mark the actual work we do as holy and how do we offset the way we approach it? Perhaps, we could always start with a blessing that allows us to step into these moments with meaning and value.
Within the choshen, the breastplate,the priests had another garment-- the umim and tumim, believed to be a piece of parchment that had the name of God written on it. Placed within the choshen over the priest’s heart, this seems to represent that secret, mystical power, encompassed deep within us, felt in our heart and soul--the ultimate connection to the divine. When we have moments of doubt or questioning, but also in our great spiritual highs, we may find answers in this mystical calling and connection to God. It is neither rational nor explainable. It is a gut feeling. It is knowing what is right or wrong for ourselves. It just … is.
Shabbat Shalom. I am taking a week off here, but will be back next week with some thoughts to share about Parashat Tetzaveh. See you then and Be Tropeful!
In honor of today’s International Holocaust Remembrance Day, which was established by the UN for this day commemorating the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, I have been thinking back to my travels in Vienna during my sabbatical in February, 2020. During that leg of my trip, I also took a day trip to the Mauthausen concentration camp, which is about 90 minutes outside of Vienna.
In April of 2020, I did a three-part series online which I called my Travel Diaries, with the second of the three focused on my travels in Austria. I focused on all elements of my trip, including much of the culture and learning much about the Austrian Jewish community. I had the privilege of visiting the Stadttempel (City Temple) in the heart of Vienna, where the famous cantor Solomon Sulzer served. It was incredible being there in the place where his music was born.
My tour to Mauthausen was powerful and eye-opening.
I share my archived video of my Tour Diaries below for anyone who would like to learn more about this history and culture. They are cherished memories for me.
(Note: In the video below, I was still learning how to broadcast from Zoom to Facebook at that time, so you may want to fast-forward the video to 3 minutes in to skip over my confirming that the technology was working.)
This week, we are taking a special look at one prominent element that is in this week’s Haftarah (Sephardic tradition - Isaiah 6:1-13; Ashkenazic tradition - Isaiah 6:1-7:6, 9:5-6). Find the text here.
The Torah portion for Parashat Yitro is also one of the most significant moments to look at from a tropeful perspective. I discussed many of these enlightening perspectives in the past which you can find in the episode for Yitro 5777.
Every year, when Parashat Beshalach comes along, it is a special time for lovers of music and for cantors too! This Shabbat is known as Shabbat Shirah (the Shabbat of Song), connecting with the recitation of the Song of the Sea, which includes the Mi Chamocha, in this week’s portion. This is meant to be a week where we celebrate the musical intersection of music and Torah, so we shall do just that!
In place of my standard podcast this week, I have decided to share a Spotify playlist of some of my favorite settings of Mi Chamocha, and I’ll tell you, if you search “Mi Chamocha” on Spotify, you will be overwhelmed by hundreds of results. Why are there so many settings of Mi Chamocha? It is likely the chain of tradition in every generation of songwriters and composers who have wanted to find their own voice connected to this eternal song of our people. The myriad of ways that these artists have approached Mi Chamocha with creativity and with wide difference in style is astounding and, overall, just an amazing musical experience. In a sense, I feel that by just listening to a handful of settings of Mi Chamocha, one can really musically encapsulate one of the most fundamental representations of the Jewish community.
So enjoy this (limited) playlist, and then share with me any favorite settings of your own that I may have missed! I’m ready to listen! ♫
Once again, this week, we take a look at how the trope delineates the interrogative. A question and then an answer.
It is the last Torah portion of 2021 or the first of 2022 … you decide! The focus this week is on the trope’s connection to Moses’ questioning of his abilities and his self-consciousness. (And I’m glad to be reviving the podcast!)
As we near the end of the 2021 year, I am wanting to return to my podcast and blog in one shape or another. Perhaps this is a wonderful point of return, as we begin the second book of the Torah right at the turning of the year.
This week’s portion brings back memories for me of the wonderful passion that was instilled in me by my esteemed teacher of Biblical Hebrew at Indiana University, Ah-Seng Choo, of blessed memory. I speak of Ah-Seng often when I talk about my earliest studies, because he really bonded me with the importance of the elements of the language. Without him, my interest in how trope coincides with the meaning of the language would likely have not emerged in the way that it has.
As I approached this week’s portion again, I was drawn to one of the most mysterious verses of Torah possibly in the entire Torah found in Exodus 3:14. (Find the text here, via Sefaria.) I clearly remember translating this text in class, and when we got to this verse, where God responds to Moses’ question as to how he should present the name of God to the people, as one that evades translation. Is it “I am who I am,” “I will be who I will be”? … the meaning is certainly lost in or locked outside of the ability of translation. There is so much said in this simple three word, palindromic phrase. It is beautifully round. I will add here, as it is my regular focus, that the trope here doesn’t illuminate the text. It is entirely average in its basic trope pattern.
But, the words are what stand out. And, that is entirely what is essential and in the moment here. Anything that would detract from the poetic beauty and foretelling nature of the text would also detract from this moment.
The Talmudic commentary brings to light an idea that God is speaking to the people in the present, through Moses, and marking God’s own presence in the present moment and continuing to the future.
No matter the interpretive drive to fully understand this mysterious verse of text, I would rather just be led into the mystery.
Let it be what it will be.
Shabbat Shalom.
When I was younger, I was first introduced to the saga of the story of Joseph that continues in this week’s Torah portion, Vayigash, by way of none other than Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical. My sister at one point would play the cast recording of this musical literally every day at full blast. Now while the catchy songs still continue to linger in my mind, for any of us that have spent time with the original text of the portion, we have come to quickly learn that there is a great depth to the wisdom of this story that holds its own next to the still fun and campy elements of the musical.
At the start of Joseph’s journey, we initially saw a young man who was the most favored among his brothers bringing about jealousy among them. While their heinous acts to nearly kill him and then sell him into slavery are borderline criminal, Joseph was merely acting upon his ego against his brothers. After all, who as the youngest of eleven brothers wouldn’t want to try to hold their place against all of their older siblings? Joseph’s journey continues forward with trying moments and yet he holds on. When he discovers his innate talent as a dream interpreter, he notes prophetically that this is actually God’s vision and he is merely being guided by this divine inspiration. Joseph’s talent elevates him to a place of new opportunity when he becomes Pharaoh’s right-hand man, and suddenly, even though he has been tested by a road of adversity, he has stumbled into new fortune. Today, we would often call this a ‘blessing in disguise.’
In this week’s portion, Joseph reveals his identity to his unknowing brothers, and I was initially drawn to three verses which spoke to me out of the incredibly human portrait they paint of Joseph.
The first in Gen. 45:5 reads:
וְעַתָּ֣ה ׀ אַל־תֵּעָ֣צְב֗וּ וְאַל־יִ֨חַר֙ בְּעֵ֣ינֵיכֶ֔ם כִּֽי־מְכַרְתֶּ֥ם אֹתִ֖י הֵ֑נָּה כִּ֣י לְמִֽחְיָ֔ה שְׁלָחַ֥נִי אֱלֹהִ֖ים לִפְנֵיכֶֽם
“Now, do not be distressed or reproach yourselves because you sold me hither; it was to save life that God sent me ahead of you.”
Joseph seeks to calm his brothers, and then he continues in verses
7 and 8:
וַיִּשְׁלָחֵ֤נִי אֱלֹהִים֙ לִפְנֵיכֶ֔ם לָשׂ֥וּם לָכֶ֛ם שְׁאֵרִ֖ית בָּאָ֑רֶץ וּלְהַֽחֲי֣וֹת לָכֶ֔ם לִפְלֵיטָ֖ה גְּדֹלָֽה: וְעַתָּ֗ה לֹֽא־אַתֶּ֞ם שְׁלַחְתֶּ֤ם אֹתִי֙ הֵ֔נָּה כִּ֖י הָֽאֱלֹהִ֑ים וַיְשִׂימֵ֨נִי לְאָ֜ב לְפַרְעֹ֗ה וּלְאָדוֹן֙ לְכָל־בֵּית֔וֹ וּמשֵׁ֖ל בְּכָל־אֶ֥רֶץ מִצְרָֽיִם
“God has sent me ahead of you to ensure your survival on earth, and to save your lives in an extraordinary deliverance. So, it was not you who sent me here, but God; and God has made me a father [meaning: an advisor] to Pharaoh, lord of all his household, and ruler over the whole land of Egypt.”
Joseph, who could point his finger at his brothers and say, how could you have done this to me?, rather stands before them in great deference to what he sees as God’s bigger plan for him and his brothers, and thus really for the entire land, which is suffering from famine. I was so moved by this moment. It brought me to think about my own experience over the past year in which I delved into my own study of Mussar, a practice that is introspective and spiritual. Mussar, the Jewish tradition of focusing on how individual traits and values operate and inhabit our own lives, made me think of the very first middah, the first trait that one begins with in such a practice. This is the trait of anavah, humility. You see, one has to step back in an act of humility to make room for the growth and enlightenment one is seeking to find through this process, so it is only natural to begin with this focus on humility. In this portion, Joseph models this trait while also embodying an open-heart and forgiveness for his brothers. Gone is the ego that once was the catalyst for everything that followed. On the nature of ego, esteemed teacher of Mussar, Alan Morinis says:
“The cause of much suffering can be traced back to issues of ego. The Mussar teachers find ego lurking behind anger, as the source of impatience. The Talmud goes so far as to equate egotism with idolatry. This is not just a convenient metaphor; there is room for only one deity on the altar of our lives, and if we elevate ego to that rank, then we provide no place for God at the center. Being egotistical is not like idolotry; it is idolatry. And humility is the antidote.”
Joseph sends his brothers home with generous gifts, and just before they leave, he says in verse 24: אַֽל־תִּרְגְּז֖וּ בַּדָּֽרֶךְ
“Do not be quarrelsome on your way (home).” This almost parental advice is once again sparked by Joseph’s immense humility to say to the brothers: Let’s put the past behind us. Don’t argue about what happened. Let’s move forward. Could Joseph have given them any greater gift than that?
Rav Kook, the first chief rabbi of Israel and one of my favorite thinkers and teachers, noted that Joseph’s journey from his anger-stirring prediction to his brothers that they would one day bow down before him to the fulfillment of that prophesy spanned a total of 22 years. 22 is also the number of letters in the Alef-bet. Rav Kook noted that through the combinations and permutations of these letters, we are able to express all of our thoughts and ideas, and yet if we were to lack even one letter, we would be unable to fully create certain expressions.
Likewise, a dream could take years to be realized -- maybe even as long as 22 years. When I reflect upon the actual dreams that I have at night -- both the good ones and the not-so-good ones, I sometimes find myself wondering what they all mean. I like to become my own Joseph, looking for what Rav Kook warned us “not to disregard.” For he said, quoting a Kabbalistic teaching, that “in every vision, there resides some element of truth and some grain of wisdom.” After all, Andrew Lloyd Webber and his lyricist Tim Rice did say that “Any Dream will Do.”
Ken Y’hi Ratzon. May this be God’s will. Amen.
Hello and welcome to anyone who is visiting my podcast page for the first time. While this podcast has been on hiatus now for close to two years, the beauty of Torah is that it is timeless! I hope you enjoy some of the archived podcast episodes, and I hope to return to creating new Tropeful insights at some point in the future.
I began my Tropeful podcast five years ago as a project that stemmed out of several unique Torah study sessions I had led looking at the portions through the perspective of the trope. Encouraged to take this idea further and with a past background in radio and media, I was inspired to create my podcast.
Tropeful has been on hiatus due to my work obligations during this unusual time in our world, but I hope you enjoy perusing the full archive of episodes, as well as several blog posts that tracked my activities during my sabbatical in early 2020 (prior to the start of the pandemic).
Shalom, everyone.
While my podcast has been on hiatus over the past year plus, due to my work responsibilities, I wanted to return today to pay my honor and respects to my teacher Cantor Israel (“Izzy”) Goldstein, of blessed memory. Cantor Goldstein passed away on Saturday, July 31, 2021, and was a constant in my education at the NYC campus of HUC-JIR Debbie Friedman School of Sacred Music between the years of 2002-2006.
The ‘theme song’ of my podcast is an excerpt from Cantor Goldstein’s setting of “And you shall love,” his setting of the V’ahavta text (in both Hebrew and English), and is a favorite of mine. It is lyrical and in its treatment of the text, it pays close homage to the original trope while turning it into a musical delight. When I originally created this podcast and knew I needed an intro and outro melody for each episode, I looked no further than Cantor Goldstein’s setting to know that it was the perfect complement to what I had to share on Tropeful.
The V’ahavta, including Cantor Goldstein’s arrangement, was my topic of conversation on the episode I created for Parashat Va’etchanan in 2017/5777. This is the portion in the early part of the Book of Deuteronomy which includes the Sh’ma and V’ahavta. Listen to it here.
I do hope to find the time to once again return to Tropeful one of these days, and when I do so, I will carry forward Cantor Goldstein’s beautiful melody once again.
Until then, my friends, be tropeful.
Tropeful is back (again)! This time, I am starting fresh with a Taste of Tropeful (about 5 mins of insights per episode). We can do this! Be Tropeful.
Through the end of the month, I will reflect upon my travel and two weeks in Europe. It is hard to encapsulate everything I did, as when I travel, I am constantly on the move, and often do so much in a single day. But, I wanted to reflect in greater depth and detail on some of the things I did and experienced and what all of this meant to me.
[Most of the photos which accompany this part of my trip are on Facebook here, and I had to reload them without my previous captions in order to put them in a separate album (I am not sure why!). So, if you are perusing them and wondering what something is, please just leave a comment. I wish Facebook would make it easier! (The original postings with all of my original captions are also all together with all of my European photos here, if you scroll way back.) If you can’t access either or both of these, please add me first as a friend on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/davidreinwald]
I am also feeling very lucky at the moment that my travel occurred last month, with all of the disruption of the travel industry at the moment, and I am really sorry to those who had current travel plans which are being affected by everything that is happening. I obviously knew nothing of what would be happening at this time when I set my plans in motion, and likewise, have found myself creating plans B and C this month in replacing original plans that I created to travel to Japan (and my figure skating lessons that I just had planned even just got cancelled yesterday … at least for now, as the rink decided it was closing late yesterday until, at least, late March).
And now, February in France …
I flew direct to Paris from LA, and flew on an airline I hadn’t flown on prior — Air Tahiti Nui. This is a partner airline of American Airlines, and I flew with miles that I had accrued and saved, so that is why I went with them. I found this airline to be a really great experience, and I would highly recommend them for any future travel.
When I landed at the break of dawn in Paris, I knew I had a REALLY long day ahead of me, so I kind of held my breath and said, here we go! It took me a little time to get my rental car in place, because we had arrived a bit early and they weren’t able to check me in until the time noted on my reservation. I got an almost brand-new Toyota hybrid that had GPS installed within it. It ultimately was a great choice, as I never had to remove a GPS unit from the car. I otherwise was really cautious about never leaving anything in the car, as I had read about break-ins, especially in rentals. I gladly had no issues the entire time.
As I drove out of Paris, it was a Monday morning, and I was in traffic, but it soon thinned out and I headed north. As I entered the southern part of Normandy, everything just turned into gorgeous rolling fields that you could see for miles, and I was in total awe. It reinvigorated me early on in the day and filled me with the spirit of adventure! I was heading for the ruins of a castle that I had found in one travel guide — I had seen they were on my way to the area I was staying in Normandy (Bayeux), so I thought it would be great to stop there. This was called Chateau Gaillard. Once I arrived there, it was very windy — make that a very cold wind, so I didn’t stay outside much. But, it gave me enough time to snap a few photos. As I have mentioned in the past, I have a penchant for “thin places,” like these ruins, where past meets present. There is just something incredibly powerful being in these places that connects with my soul. When I first got there, I climbed up a hill, and it was a moment before I got to a point where I was literally standing above the castle ruins. It was a breathtaking moment for me, despite the cold wind. Okay, a cold breathtaking moment! :)
Chateau Gaillard from afar. I saw it from above and then from over the river after I had driven about five minutes away. Both were stunning, but this was likely the best view. In fact, there was a small Bed and Breakfast located right there at this point with this very view.
Driving around Normandy was easier than I could have imagined. One thing that American drivers could learn from the French is how to drive on the highway — French drivers only use the left lane for passing, and then so politely return to the right lane, even if they are passing another car a few seconds later. It makes for a very orderly style of driving. Navigating the roads with the GPS was a cinch, and for all I read about managing tolls in France, all I needed to do was put my credit card in the machine, and I was on my way in seconds. Simple! The hardest part of driving may have just been the downpouring rain throughout the week, and even that was simple to deal with as a driver with experience driving outside of California! (Sorry, Californians, but you don’t know how to drive or manage in the rain. hehe!) I was learning the road signs as I went, and I will admit, when I was taking a break eating, I returned to the picture I had snapped from a Rick Steves guide of road signs to make sure I knew what all of them meant. European road signs are fairly ubiquitous throughout all of Europe (or, at least, the EU), but they have some strange looking pictures on occasion (for example — the picture of an intersection to be aware of almost looks like a cross — not entirely intuitive in its meaning). Oh, I also did make sure to change the language in the car GPS to English. I kept everything in KM, though, and I have to say, I am now an expert in translating from Celsius to Fahrenheit in my head rather quickly (double the temp. and add 32!).
Before I arrived in Bayeux, I stopped for a few hours in the sea town of Honfleur. I visited the playful museum of Erik Satie, a museum that is in a modified interior of his home. Most of you likely know his Gymnopedie no. 1, but I heard a lot of music that made me want to explore his unique music much further. While a well-known composer, I wouldn’t say his music is played as often as it should be, and I never studied any of his music when I was in school. After exploring the museum and taking a pleasureful stroll around a few of the narrow streets of the town, I had about an hour remaining on my parking meter, but was feeling that I needed to get going, as I still had over an hour drive to Bayeux (Normandy is really large, and I was on the eastern border of Normandy, needing to drive to the central area). I didn’t want to get tired, while still moving on a lot of adrenaline, but I knew it wasn’t going to last much longer.
I drove to Bayeux. When I arrived at my AirBNB, I had trouble getting in. I later learned that the owner had emailed me information of the code to get in the gate, but I hadn’t had anywhere to access my email throughout the day. Luckily, I called a customer service number, and got everything I needed. Meanwhile, it was absolutely pouring outside, and about all I wanted to do now was retire to my room. If I was to change anything about my trip, I would have stayed at a hotel for the first place that I chose — as I would have had the amenities of food available through the hotel. The AirBNB room was super nice, but this was probably the only minor misstep I made in organizing everything for my trip. I had chosen that location, though, because it was central to everything in Bayeux. And, I later saw that Bayeux is an extremely quiet and sleepy town, where much of nothing was open later at night. I think later that night, I decided to go find a grocery store, and happened upon a smaller grocery store. I bought what I thought was yogurt. When I tried it later, I was like, Wow, this is super good and sweet! I then realized that I had bought vanilla pudding! hehe! Oh well! It’s vacation.
I had long wanted to visit Normandy. I wanted to visit the WWII landing beaches. I wanted to visit Mont St. Michel. I wanted to eat fresh camembert cheese. (And I recalled once I was there that the American author David Sedaris lived somewhere in Normandy with his husband … although a friend told me recently that they thought he had since moved to England.) This was the sole purpose of my trip to France.
Driving in Normandy, you find yourself driving through countless small towns, and there are these signs that note you are entering the town, and then sometimes 30 to 60 seconds later, there will be a sign with the name of the town on it, now crossed out. This means that you are exiting the town. It cracked me up how small some of these places were. There also often is a demarcation on the road to show that you are driving pass the border of the town. This may be for legal purposes showing the legal border of the town. I got used to the speed limits in KM/H, but I rarely knew how fast or slow I was driving in MPH. It often felt slower, and yet on the highways, you could drive a bit faster than what I was used to in the US (I later came to calculate that it was somewhere between 65-80 MPH on highways, but a bit slower on residential streets in the towns — generally closer to 20 MPH, as compared to the usual 30-40 that we are used to).
After a good evening of rest, I began my tour of WWII sights the following day. I will say that if one spent a full week in Normandy, there still would likely be WWII sights left to see, among the actual historical sights, as well as countless museums. I started off with Omaha Beach and Pointe du Hoc. The latter has impeccably preserved German bunkers that you can climb in and out of. It is a visceral experience seeing and feeling what this part of the German front consisted of. And, the more you visit all of these sights, you realize you are standing on the precipice of what began the end to the European element of WWII. It is such an important part of history.
The craters created by the bombs at Pointe du Hoc are deep, and remain a visual example of the perils of war.
The cliffs at Pointe du Hoc and the view beyond are beautiful, until you also understand that the U.S. and British forces climbed these cliffs bravely to arrive on the shore.
Here, one can see the elevation and steepness of these cliffs even better. This view reminds me of what one sees in Ireland (which isn’t really all that far away across the British Channel). The elevation is not as high as in Ireland, but this was a steep obstacle for the troops with the Germans above.
While my visit thereafter to the American cemetery was a solemn and moving one, I was just as moved when I visited the beach at Arromanches. This was one of the first landing sights for the U.S. and British troops, and they created an artificial port there with floating roads for tanks. It was quite an achievement in engineering. Parts of the port still remain, both on the beach and floating far off (further off, what remains is basically a breakwater that enabled the port to float without damaging waves … it obviously didn’t last though for 75 years).
American Cemetery, Normandy
Remnants of the artificial port at Arromanches
One funny story — in my attempt to visit the German battery at Longues sur Mer, my GPS was routing me and told me to drive down a tiny residential alleyway. It then said “you have reached your destination,” and at that point, I had entered a stone-fenced courtyard of an old home. A man was outdoors tending to his garden on the side. I realized I was not in the right place, and at that point, I heard his lawnmower stop, and he came to look to see why I was now trying to turn around in the courtyard of the home. I waved at him, a bit embarassed, realizing that the GPS didn’t seem to be set right. I headed back on my way, and found the battery several minutes later.
One of four preserved artillery at the German battery at Longues sur Mer.
My drive to Mont St. Michel on the following day was incredibly rainy for the first 2/3rds of the drive. I was wondering if it was going to be this wet as I arrived, but the weather said it was supposed to clear — and, with luck on my side — it did! Somehow, I had really wonderful weather karma throughout almost my entire trip. Anytime, I was going to visit somewhere, that was pretty much when the rain stopped! I found Mont. St. Michel to be really a beautiful and unique place to visit — albeit, it has its touristy nature as well. It was the perfect time to be there, as I can see how visiting it during the high point of the tourist season would make it overly crowded and not as pleasant an experience.
Mont St. Michel, upon arrival the tide was coming in. When I left, all of that water had subsided (and left a lot of mud — the mudflats, as they are called).
I also got to visit the Bayeux tapestry, which was only a short walk away from where I was staying. I thank those who encouraged me to go view it. It was really an interesting view into the earlier history of Normandy — specific to the Norman conquest. The namesake history of Norman-dy. ;-)
I spent my last two days of my France trip based in Versailles. I ventured into Paris for one evening, and that was enough of a visit to Paris for me — most likely since my feet and legs were VERY tired. I also found navigating the train into Paris to be one of the most confusing things I ever did. I later discovered this was because there were two different train lines traveling into Paris, and there was also a service change on one of the lines. All of this caused a delay on my trip into Paris, so by the time I arrived, I was a little “vermished.” I did get to stop in at the Shakespeare and Co. bookstore — a place I’m sure I would frequent often if I actually lived in Paris. It was fun seeing many books available here in the U.S. in their British printings. Back to Versailles—a funny note is that I had this image in my head of Versailles as this quaint town. In reality, it is much more a small city, and so once I arrived there, I found I was done driving for over a day and happy to park my car and leave it be. There were just too many pedestrians everywhere, and, in fact, I was about to become one of them.
My tour at Versailles was super interesting, and filled also with crazy amounts of walking. It was there that I think I really felt my feet were going to fall off! It was next to impossible to find the Queen’s Hamlet (which has been compared to Disneyland). This was Marie Antoinette’s little playground area. Because of construction on the property, it was very roundabout walking to and from it, and that was probably what killed me the most! :) As Shabbat descended upon Versailles, I actually found the synagogue there, but I think I was an hour too late for their service — and the door wasn’t open either. I was ready, though, to get my bags together to get ready to travel on to Vienna the next day.
I had five days in France that I will certainly remember for a lifetime and I am so grateful to have had that experience.
Versailles Palace — I don’t think any pictures one takes of large edifices such as these really ever do them justice.
Paris — eternally beautiful, especially at night. This was enough to take in and know that I had gotten a taste of Paris on this trip (this was my second time there).
A super powerful moment for me when I saw this French phrase book in a display case at the American Cemetery museum. I have the very same one that was issued to my Grandfather, Aaron Newman, a WWII veteran (who escaped the Battle of the Bulge by a single day).
Hello friends! If you have been following my sabbatical journey here, but are not my friend on Facebook, for the moment — please join me over there. Because of the sheer volume of pictures, anecdotes, and reports from my travels, it is easier for me to keep them in one place.
I look forward to ‘befriending’ you over there.
www.facebook.com/davidreinwald
I spent most of last week in NYC with my mom, and it was a really lovely visit. Among the highlights were definitely lots of really great food and taking in the great culture of the city. Here are some things we did:
- Saw three great shows on Broadway: Jagged Little Pill (great musical performances), Ain’t Too Proud (also really great musical performances), and The Inheritance, Part I (I am reading Part II in the script to give myself the full experience!)
- Ate at Katz’s Deli, Sardi’s, some great diners, and had NY bagels nearly every morning (why can’t we have good bagels everywhere in this country? Now that’s an initiative to get behind!)
- Introduced my mom to the Tenement Museum, one of my very favorite places in NYC and likely one of my favorite museums in the world (albeit, it is a very non-traditional ‘museum’). If you have never visited there, I highly suggest it, and my two favorite tours are Sweatshop Workers (this was the first tour I ever did there, and I did this again with my mom) and Shop Life (which I sent my mom on first before joining up with her). The museum also has one of the most interesting and nicest gift shops.
- Attended services at Central Synagogue on Friday evening. They were so lovely and the music was phenomenal. I was ordained as a cantor at Central in 2006, and hadn’t been back there since. It holds a special place in my heart because of that. We were joined by my good friend Kay Magilavy, who I know through my many years at my second home in Jersey City, Temple Beth-El, where I served as student cantor for four years. I also learned that Central Synagogue has a cap of 2600 members at any given time and you have to get on a waitlist of 18-24 months to become a member there. What a problem to have!
- We visited with friends Emily, Dan, Hannah, and Andy Eckman in Brooklyn and had a wonderful lunch with Debra Stolzenberg at one of two diners that we enjoyed. It was great seeing a few friends.
- I also reconnected with many former teachers and a few colleagues at HUC on Wednesday for their weekly practica—these are basically ‘fake service’ presentations that are an essential part of the cantorial training program. I hadn’t been back in the HUC-NY building in a very long time, and had not attended any practica since my days at HUC, so this was a really special moment for me. The practica were presented by two second year students—thus, these were the first they ever presented of the four that are required of the program (two contemporary and two traditional practica). Both students did an excellent job, and I was really delighted to see how the feedback section which follows has been updated to be really positive and helpful in its constructive criticism. In my days, there were times that the feedback and discussion didn’t always flow in this direction, so it is a wonderful improvement.
- Oh — my mom and I also attended a taping of the tv show The View, which was just a lot of fun, and on my mom’s list of top things she really wanted to do.
- We stayed in a 1920’s apartment/airbnb with a three floor walkup. It was a very authentic NYC/Manhattan living experience. The location was great! (And now I sound like a New Yorker!) It is safe to say that we got our fairshare of steps every-single-day. (And, yet, it seems neither of us actually lost weight … darn!)
I am now back in California for approximately a week, and will be getting ready for my extensive Europe trip rapidly approaching. I am fitting in a whole lot of Orangetheory classes also, as they don’t roll over, and I have to make sure I get them all in! I, unfortunately, lost two classes last month, but this was due to me being sick and there was just no way to fit them in or to force myself to work out and potentially make myself sicker.
I am set to have a session with the sound healer I am working with this week, and then on Friday, am going to this really cool-looking visual/music meditation called Mesamerica in Costa Mesa (has anyone done this? It looks amazing. I will let you know what I think.) And, for Shabbat evening this week, I am attending Beatles Shabbat at B’nai Tzedek in Fountain Valley. If you would like to join me, please let me know. (Dinner with RSVP at 6:30, service at 7:30)
I am happy that I seem to be getting over my cold, one week after I chose to spend Shabbat at home. Tonight, I will be at Temple Bat Yahm, as Prof. Paul Liptz will be speaking there. I send Shabbat greetings to all at TBS who are celebrating the annual Sisterhood Shabbat, and hope your weekend with Beth Schafer is a great one!
I had a music and art-filled week, spending a day and a half up in LA. It was fun to spend an extended time up there, as despite living in the LA metro area, I haven’t really indulged in extended time exploring everything in LA. Tuesday, I went to a special concert at the Hollywood Palladium—one of only four where Coldplay are currently playing songs from their newly released album from the fall, Everyday Life. It is a really beautiful album, that I only listened to in full for the first time this past week. It is an eclectic mix of styles, including many songs that are a bit more subtly stated, but also includes some really upbeat styles that the band has become known to produce. The concert featured special guests Femi Kuti, the famed Nigerian musician, and his ensemble on two pieces, as well as the ingenius jazz composer and musician Jacob Collier on two other songs. The band, in its social awareness, is concerned with the environmental effects of large band tours, and is trying to come to a resolution on how they can tour and be environmentally friendly. I hope they come to a solution, as they are indeed incredible performers and bring more than just music in the experience of seeing and hearing them live.
On Wednesday, I headed to Downtown LA, and was headed toward MOCA (who now have free admission, FYI!), but then, in search of parking, drove past the LA Central Library. I thought it would be great to see if they had a tour there, as I knew of others who had toured the building. Whaddya know — there was one in literally an hour, so I headed in that direction. I was a bit hungry, but thought I could put off lunch for another hour. The tour was incredibly interesting, and focused mostly on the library’s history and architecture. I read The Library Book (Susan Orlean) this past year, and it is an incredible book centered on the history surrounding the LA Central Library’s massive fire in the late ‘80’s, but also talks a lot about the sociology of libraries. For anyone who grew up with a penchant for spending a day at the library, this book is for you. (Yes, that was me more than just a couple of times!) I, then, climbed the steep hill from the library back up to MOCA, along Grand Ave., got lunch, and had a nice, but brisk walk around MOCA.
Wednesday night, I saw Sting’s The Last Ship, and it also happened to be the opening night of the LA production. (I didn’t time this out on purpose.) I saw Sting and his wife arrive on the red carpet. There were many other celebrities there that night, however, I was rather cold from hanging out outside waiting for the doors to open (there really are a lack of places to go to around The Music Center!), so I didn’t see the others arrive. Based on pictures I saw a day later, I discovered that amongst the crowd there was Annie Lennox, Dustin Hoffman, Melanie Griffith, Katherine Zeta Jones and Michael Douglas, among many others. Scroll through the Center Theatre Group’s Facebook post here to peruse the opening night pictures.
On Thursday night, I attended the next concert in my cabaret series subscription at Segerstrom, Lillias White. She shined most when singing her showstopping song “The Oldest Profession” from the Cy Coleman show from which she won her Tony award, The Life.
I am moving into more detailed work now on my new CASA case, which is exciting. Scheduling is a little tricky between my busy schedule over the next month and my youth’s schedule, but hopefully we will be able to make it all happen.
I am also getting prepared to travel to NYC next week to take advantage of everything NYC has to offer alongside my mom. We can’t wait.
Shabbat Shalom, all.
May you find the light in everything that you do this weekend and in the coming week.
This is very much a theme of my sabbatical and has been present for me over the past week. When I find myself in moments that lack clarity, when I am in need of focus, or even as my head is a bit stuffy and hazy at the moment with this cold that has returned, finding the right music for the moment is always something that I need in my life.
I was moved this week watching performances at the NAMM convention. Particular memories that stand out are an extremely young guitarist in the Gibson room who was rocking the stage like a pro, the Langley Ukulele Ensemble, who spread their love and joy through their music, and the ever innovative and musical life force that is Bobby McFerrin. His sheer genius mesmerizes me. On Saturday night, I had the opportunity to attend the Canvas Acoustic Guitar Festival in Irvine. This festival, organized by local guitarist Donovan Raitt, has been happening for the past several years and features top fingerstyle and acoustic guitar players from all around the world each year during NAMM. I was absolutely entranced by their performances and I need to listen to more music of this style! On Sunday, I attended a shorter chamber orchestra performance of the Pacific Symphony at Soka, featuring two Mozart concertos, one for flute and one for violin
I chose to celebrate Shabbat at home this past Friday, when my cold was getting me down, but I’m looking forward to visiting Temple Bat Yahm, Central Synagogue (NYC), and Cong. B’nai Tzedek in the weeks to come. I am really enjoying visiting a different congregation each week.
I am spending a couple days up in LA this week taking in more healing music and theater, as well as excited to continue forward in work I’m doing with CASA later this week.
Wishing everyone a good week ahead …
Week Two … I visited Beth Chayim Chadashim for Shabbat last Friday. It was wonderful seeing Cantor Juval Porat leading alongside layleader and president Jay Jacobs. I had long wanted to experience a service at BCC, and am so glad I was able. This Friday, I will visit Cantor Natalie Young at Temple Beth El in Aliso Viejo, where her Soul Spark Shabbat should have us living within the meditation and loving the heartfelt music.
Last night, I had the pleasure of hearing my former professor Paul Liptz, the current OC JSP one month scholar. He spoke on the topic of Israeli Arabs and their place in society and Israel’s history. Paul is brilliant and one of the most engaging speakers. I highly recommend catching one of his 30 lectures that he is presenting throughout Orange County this month.
I began some very initial work on a new CASA case today, and I look forward to see where that road takes me over the next six months or so. I remain incredibly dedicated to that work.
In the coming days, I will be attending the NAMM convention (Nat’l Assn of Music Merchandisers) where there are thousands of instruments and music-related merchandise on display, in addition to a multitude of performances and workshops. I am focusing on many of the music education workshops that will be offered. And, among the more notable performers are Bobby McFerrin and Sarah McLachlan!
My daily goal remains to make each day the best it can be. I have found this relaxed time of learning, enlightenment, and soul searching to be invaluable thus far.
Hello everyone from sabbatical-land!
It is amazing to me that I am only one week in as of today, as I have done a lot in a single week. But, then again, that is ME.
I attended services last Friday night at Shir Hama’alot. I was particularly excited to see their remodel of their building, as I have not been in the building since it was complete. Their sanctuary is absolutely gorgeous. I had a lot of fun observing my friend and colleague Rabbi Bryan Zive lead alongside Rabbis Steinberg and DePaolo. Their junior choir sang beautifully in the service, and it was really cool how they have screens embedded in the back wall of the bimah area to project elements of the service.
On Saturday, I headed to Palm Springs with my boyfriend Michael and reconnected with my good friend Doug, who I had not seen in several years. He graciously hosted us over the weekend, and I stayed there for the duration of the week, while attending the midwinter cantorial retreat. It was my first time back at the retreat in what I think was about five years. I immersed myself in prayer, professional development workshops (including an incredibly interesting presentation by a psychologist on his own experience as a South African native indoctrinated into the racist beliefs of apartheid, and how this has become a major focus of his work today), and I got to hear a handful (or more!) of really great new music, that I look forward to using in the future.
Prior to the retreat beginning, Michael and I attended two documentaries in the Palm Springs Int’l Film Festival. The first was a biopic about the music producer David Foster, and was incredibly insightful and also made us sway and tap our toes. It was really interesting to see the “behind the music” stories on Foster working with notable artists such as Whitney Houston, Celine Dion, Michael Buble, Josh Groban, and so many others, and how he had shaped their music and their careers. On Sunday, we saw another documentary called Oliver Sacks: His Own Life. In preparation for this, I had been listening to the audiobook of Sacks’ Musicophilia over the past week. Sacks was an erudite neurologist who attracted patients with the most complex issues of the mind/brain. His book was incredibly intellectual, and if I even picked up on half of it, I really still immersed myself in his wisdom. The documentary was a fascinating portrait of this man who passed away in 2015. It shed light on his own personal story, how he got so invested in his work, and the path his life took as one who initially struggled with balancing his homosexuality and family’s response to his eventual success and fame as a brilliant mind. Sacks was the one who did the research behind what eventually turned into the film Awakenings, and his most known book is The Man who Mistook his Wife for a Hat.
After the retreat ended this morning with a really lovely service with lots of modern music, I attended my third documentary of the week (I have discovered in the past week that I really love documentaries — something that I likely knew, but hadn’t fully put my finger on), I saw a film called Rewind. I was drawn to this film because it was described as a retrospective on the director/subject’s struggle after being sexually abused in his childhood, and a call out for the power of advocacy. With all of my work over the past year and a half with CASA, this film was just a natural fit. As the film progressed, I recognized the last name of the family mentioned, but wasn’t sure at first why. I soon figured out that there was a connection to a former cantor at Temple Emanu-El of NYC. This film was incredibly produced and the story was immensely powerful. I found the whole of it quite disturbing — which I would have found no matter what the connections were, but knowing that a cantor and Temple Emanu-El played a large role in this story was even more disturbing to me. This is a film that I will be thinking about long after having seen it, and I was rather disturbed by how Temple Emanu-El had handled the situation. Many of the elements of this story had played out during the years that I was a cantorial student at HUC in NY. This film will likely be available on TV in May, and you can learn more about it here.
I had last attended a film festival back in April, when really on a whim, I attended a handful of films at the Newport Beach film festival. I found it such a delightful experience. There is the ability to see films that are rather exclusive or have yet to be released (while some are also using the platform of the festival to perhaps search for a distributor). Often at these festivals, the director and actors (for fictional movies) will be in attendance, so it offers a really special experience to be able to hear directly from them about their vision and experience in creating the film and then, hence, being on the journey with the film as it is brought to audiences. I highly recommend attending a festival, if you have never done so. Whether a film buff or not, you will get something special out of the experience.
To all my dear friends,
I will be on my scheduled sabbatical from January 1 until March 31, so that is why you won’t see me around at TBS over the next three months. Although, I do expect to run into some of you around town! I wanted to share a little about what I hope to be doing, experiencing, and learning over these next three months, as well as how you can follow along with my journey. This sabbatical, the first I have ever had in my career, is one that will bring me both personal and professional growth. I will be working on a variety of different themed areas including: music and the arts, vocal development, reading enlightening books, traveling to some new and beloved places, personal growth in areas of health and fitness, and seeking out some adventures that I have yet to have the time to pursue.
We just returned from the URJ Biennial convention held in Chicago this past week. Every two years, thousands of members of the URJ descend upon this convention, and we experienced so many amazing moments of learning, prayer, enlightenment, and I was especially excited about all of the new music. I can’t wait to bring my experiences from the biennial forward in my plan to visit congregations in the area on Shabbat to experience their services in person, to gather new ideas and more new music, and ultimately share all of this with you. It is somewhat of an irony that we clergy as prayer leaders rarely get the opportunity to experience services at other congregations or in other worship spaces to open our eyes to new modes of prayer and service-leading. While these days, it is easy to watch a livestream of services around the country, nothing compares to the actual energy of being there in person.
I am looking forward to reading many books that have been sitting on my bookshelves to expand my mind to new horizons. I am eager to be with colleagues at the Palm Springs Mid-Winter Cantorial Conference to learn and network together. This conference is a dual Reform and Conservative gathering, so it enables me to make connections beyond our movement. While in Palm Springs, I also hope to catch a film or two at their international film festival. I will also be attending the NAMM (National Association of Music Merchandisers) music education days, to experience some workshops led by nationally recognized leaders and teachers. I am additionally excited about working with a local sound healer to study with her and learn about the principles of ancient sound healing and how I can incorporate this into my work.
I am perhaps most excited about a dream to travel to Bosnia to visit a family heirloom -- a Torah cover with my great-grandfather’s name on it. I will get to meet the members of the small Jewish community of Doboj and can’t wait to share all of the stories of my travels in Europe upon my return.
I have also left a considerable amount of time open to new adventures, some of which are still in the works, and I look forward to sharing many of these experiences right here on my Tropeful podcast website: www.tropeful.net
I hope to see many of you before I am on sabbatical. Let’s celebrate together at our pre-Chanukah service on Friday, Dec. 20th, and I will be at the chanukiah lightings in the Orange Circle on Dec. 22, 23, 26, 28, and 29, as well as at services through the end of the year. And, of course, I won’t miss out on eating a few pancakes with Brotherhood on Dec. 25th!
I am ever grateful to everyone at TBS for affording me this opportunity for personal and professional growth. I send my deep gratitude to my fellow staff and to temple volunteers who all are helping to cover for my absence and ensure that the needs of the temple and its programming continue uninterrupted.
Wishing you all a very Happy Hanukkah/Chanukkah/Chanukah/Januca ...
and everything good to come in 2020.
Hello there, my Tropeful friends. I wanted to share this wonderful commentary on this week’s portion, Parashat Tzav, by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, who explores the shalshelet trope (my favorite!) in all of its very contexts. Be Tropeful! http://rabbisacks.org/trying-tzav-5774/
What’s in a name? How does trope connect to names to empower our understanding? The answer lies within.
Find the texts discussed at these links: The end of Parashat Bereisheet discussed begins here (move to the 7th aliyah to reach the end of the portion) and Parashat Noach can be found here.
As we begin the Torah anew this year, I present a flashback to my very first episode of Tropeful on this week’s parashah. I went back and relistened to this episode and found it a refreshing and insightful throwback! :) In this new year, may you be Tropeful.
We explore how simple and deliberate trope can make an important statement in this week's Haftarah. Find the text discussed here.
We focus on parallels found in this week's Haftarah portion, found in the Song of Deborah.
Tropeful has been on hiatus this Fall due to an overly busy work schedule. The podcast will return in early 2018. Please stay tuned.
To the Tropeful community - while the High Holidays have all of us exceptionally busy during this time of year, fret not -- Tropeful will return soon with renewed focus and vision for this new year. Thank you for listening during the past year. It is amazing that Tropeful will soon celebrate its one year anniversary and I'm excited to journey forward. In the meantime, wishing you G'mar Chatimah Tovah.
We take a look at the Haftarah this week -- for our very first time actually here on Tropeful. How is the poetic nature of the Haftarah reflected through the rhythm of the phrasing of the trope? This week's portion is a perfect example.
And ... Join me for my Harmony in Unison performance tomorrow, August 31st at 8 pm EST/7 pm CST/5 pm PST. You can join the group here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1768444576753418/?ref=br_rs. (And if you missed the live performance -- it is archived for your viewing pleasure anytime, anywhere!)
Can you translate not only the text to English but the trope as well? Listen on, and I'll explain how you can and maybe even demonstrate it -- then the challenge becomes your own! Trope, Trope, shall you pursue. It's Parashat Shoftim.
A week that I have been patiently waiting for -- the portion that includes the Shema and V'ahavta. Let's look at tradition and how it has carried us forward musically to this very day.
It's the end of the Book of Numbers. It's a Double Portion! It's the final appearance of our rare tropes, including the rarest of the rare ones!
We explore how trope facilitates connecting two separate portions and the art of flashback.
In the most controversial portion in the Book of Numbers, how does trope define one single moment? -- three words alone, where the trope is elemental in telling us much more. Or, the trope at least leaves us with more essential questions.
It's the fourth of five of our rare Mercha K'fulah (Double Mercha) tropes in the Torah. What does it do here and what does it mean? Listen on to find out!
I offer you a taste of Tropeful Torah this week as we center in on just three verses of Torah comprising the Priestly Benediction. As each verse grows in the amount of words it offers, what is happening with the trope and how does it literally embody the meaning of this blessing? It's all here this week. Come and study.
Patterns abound in this number laden opening of the census in the first portion of the appropriately titled Book of Numbers. This was the portion that began my journey into Tropeful Torah study and I think this is the most interesting week yet. Come and see why!
It's my bar mitzvah portion (Bechukotai, to be specific)! This is also one of the portions that initially sparked Tropeful ideas in my mind. Come and be enlightened as we end the third book of the Torah. Chazak, Chazak, v'nitchazeik!
As we arrive at the very center -- the heart of the Torah, we find ourselves at yet another double portion. One thing I have learned from my half year of my podcast journey is that as rewarding as making a podcast is, this singular journey is a challenging one for me to produce a great podcast every week. Fortunately, I am a fan of many other podcasts and they are ones that I would love to share with all of you to help you explore a diverse variety of perspectives. Most recently, I have also joined a collective of podcast fans who discuss one weekly chosen podcast, almost in the style of a book club. It is rather neat! If you are interested, sign up on Facebook for the New York Times Podcast Club.
So, let me leave you with one brand new podcast that I would like to help find its audience. It is the second podcast from the URJ entitled: Stories We Tell. I hope you enjoy it. Find it here.
I am so much in delight that the podcast craze has caught on. I have been a lover of podcasts for over a decade and a half, and it is funny to me that there is a resurgence of them now. But, whether it be from the popularity of people binging on true crime podcasts like Serial or S-Town, or the ability to listen to a whole string of episodes at once, or really whatever reason -- I am just grateful that so many have finally discovered what I already loved. So, listen on!
And, until next time -- Be Tropeful.
In lieu of a podcast this week, I encourage you to explore this challenging double portion and while studying it, think about what may be one example of tzara'at in your own life. Make your focus modern and find something that plagues you today that you are looking to improve or change. Try to think of something where you believe you can make or a find a positive change. See if you can find a way forward and let's make this portion, one which spends much of its time on the negatives of others, to actually begin to make a step in a positive direction for ourselves. Find the text of portion here.
Another rare trope. The most dramatic and tragic story in the Book of Leviticus. Do they intersect? Come and study Parashat Shemini Tropefully with us. www.tropeful.net
Tropeful is on a break this week for Passover. Wishing you all a Chag Sameach! Until next week, Be Tropeful.
It's our final shalshelet :( ... Wait, no, let's celebrate! It's a shalshelet ordination!
We begin the Book of Leviticus, and I first asked myself a question and found an answer! Now, I ask of all of you to engage with this Tropeful community and share your questions and insights this week! Leave your comment below the episode at tropeful.net (Apologies that this episode got delayed in its posting due to a technical issue.)
We are tracing the repetition of one specific trope pattern and phrase of text this week. This is kind of where it all started for me! The phrases that we are studying are: Exodus 35:6, 35:23, 35:25, 35:32, 35:35, 36:8, 36:35, 36:37, 38:18, 39:24, and 39:29. Yes, all of those! Find the text here: http://bit.ly/2ncHJRg
Exploring the jovial nature of the trope for Megillat Esther. There's a whole lot going on in the whole megillah!
Tropeful is on a break this week, so that you can share your own insights and perspectives on this week's portion. Please enlighten us and leave a comment or a word of Torah! Be Tropeful.
This week, we explore the extra special musical happenings within Shirat HaYam, the Song of the Sea.
We look at the first example of text which foreshadows a continued theme later in our texts and an essential theme in the structure of our prayers -- redemption from Egypt.
As we begin moving through the Book of Exodus, I venture for the first time to explain how chanting in English can draw light back onto the original text. What does it tell us and what is the process I go through to create this?
This week, I have found myself overly busy just having finished our beautiful and harmonious Sisterhood Shabbat, as well as continuing the extensive journey of creating our forthcoming Purim shpiel: Hamiltaschen. I am fully committed to continuing the podcast, but recognizing that nearly every other podcast out there has weeks where they take a break or two, I am feeling that very need this week! So, thank you for continuing to follow the podcast, and this week, I would like to suggest a few other podcasts and blogs that you may find interesting:
On the Other Hand: Ten Minutes of Torah (Union for Reform Judaism) Join President of the URJ, Rabbi Rick Jacobs, in his weekly, modern Torah commentary.
Moment Magazine's 2016 List of Top Ten Jewish Podcasts
OMGWTFBible This is a very unbridled, no-holds-barred approach to the Hebrew Bible, but host David Tuchman is both a really skilled translator, as well as a comedian. He both understands the text and its nuances, and the parts where it is just amusing and happily enlightening. Try it out.
And I can't help but include this one, as much as my podcast isn't political:
100 Days. 100 Letters. is an interfaith blog of scholars and clergy each writing insightful letters to the new administration, and along the way, teaching of the values that each religion represented can teach to all. It is too beautiful not to share, and was an idea conceived by a former professor of mine, Rabbi Andrea Weiss.
I'll be back again soon, a little later in the week, with Parashat Va'era. Be Tropeful.
We conclude the Book of Genesis by looking at the treatment of names in this final portion.
How does trope create and handle conclusions in phrases, verses, and aliyot? As we end one year and start another, I ask these more general questions in this week's episode.
Can one trope alone be pivotal and give us information in a singular moment? We explore that question this week in Parashat Vayeshev, the first of several portions exploring the story of Joseph. (Correction Note: I incorrectly introduced this portion in the recording as "Parashat Vayetzei.")
In the portion which I consider one of the most beautiful in the Torah, does the trope rise to this beauty? We explore a small section of Parashat Vayishlach to find out. Find the text discussed here: http://bit.ly/2hEH48u
How does a dream become reality? How is reality reflected in a dream? These are the essential questions of this week's portion. And the trope goes along with it. Find the text discussed here: http://bit.ly/2gMD04v
We focus this week on the dramatic rise at the end of the portion, where we see an elevation in both the trope and the plot.
Tropeful explores how drama is created by the trope and how the trope responds to drama in the text. You also will hear the contrast between two systems of trope: the regular trope and the special system for the High Holidays. Find the text discussed here: http://bit.ly/2fC7qZQ
Tropeful explores how one specific trope creates meaning by singling out certain words in this portion. Find the text discussed here: http://bit.ly/2fBLMTC
Tropeful seeks to find meaning in the text of Parashat Noach through the perspective of the trope.
In the debut of the Tropeful podcast produced and hosted by Cantor David Reinwald, we explore how trope brings new insights and understanding to the first portion of the Torah, Parashat Bereisheet. Find the text discussed here: bit.ly/2f0yr6T