A wise person (my Mom) once told me, "We all find our own path to God."  In my childhood and college years, I tentatively started down a few different paths, trying to find the one that was right for me.  In my early twenties, I attended Shabbat services for the first time.  I didn't know what to expect, I couldn't understand a word of Hebrew, and I didn't know anyone in the congregation.  But the music, oh the music!  That went straight to my soul.  For me, that was the light that illuminated my particular Divine path.

Flash forward a number of years and I am blessed and humbled to be leading my 8th High Holy Day service as Cantor for Congregation Beth Ohr, a community that has long placed music at the heart of its services and my absolute favorite group with whom to sing.  As Cantor, I believe that every voice, raw or trained, quiet or "enthusiastic," adds to the richness and the power of the prayers I lead.  There is no such thing as a "wrong note" if one's heart and soul are behind it.  There is no such thing as a "bad singing voice" when singing to the Holy One.   I invite you to add your voice to the chorus this year. Whether in full throated song or so soft that only God hears you, every voice is welcome, valued and honored.

The past few years have been hard, this summer has been hot and full of strife, and I am not naive enough to believe that we can sing our problems away.  But by joining together in singing words of praise, lament, apology and forgiveness, words that are thousands of years old, and some that are much newer, we can ease our burdens, lighten our hearts and help to raise up our fellows. 

 

I look forward to seeing and hearing all of you as we traverse the path of the Holy Days together.

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Cantor Andy