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Holy Blossom
I went to Shabbat morning services at Holy Blossom (a 15- to 20-minute walk from Debby's house in Toronto). I had intended to go for Pesach morning and Friday night, but there were logistics issues and I didn't. But I got there for Shabbat morning.
With a name like "Holy Blossom", I was kind of expecting some sort of new-age earthy-crunchy-granola-type service, but it wasn't. It's a huge Reform congregation (somebody said 2500 families), and congregations that big tend to stay pretty near the center of their movements, I would think.
[Jewish geekery ahead.]
The service used the "old" Reform siddur (blue Gates of Prayer), with God referred to as "he" and no apologies made. The service had both more and less Hebrew than I expected -- some parts were Hebrew that we never do in Hebrew, and other parts that I'm used to in Hebrew were English instead. The Torah reading consisted of most, but not all, of the parsha, not the very short excerpt that many Reform congregations do. It included Haftarah (again, some Reform don't). They read Song of Songs, which I thought was only done for the Pesach service and not for Shabbat, but I just checked the luach (the what-to-do-on-each-shabbat guide), and I was wrong. So they did that right. They also did the full hallel (or at least as full as it gets in Gates of Prayer, which I think is actually pretty close to complete), and did not abbreviate it.
There was a bar mitzvah. At my home congregation, the bar mitzvah reads as much of the Torah portion as he's learned, and that's it. Here, the bar mitzvah hadn't learned the whole thing, and they had someone else read the parts he didn't.
Also at my own congregation, the bar-mitzvah service is centered around the bar mitzvah and his family. Not so here. Yes, he read Torah (and sat in the congregation, not on the bimah, the rest of the time), and the rabbi said a few words to him, but the parents did not address him during the service, there was no elaborate ceremony with getting the whole family on (or in front of) the bimah (I've seen this), or any of that. A Shabbat service with a bar mitzvah, not the other way around. Refreshing.
They had a cantor, who was about 70 (I'd guess) and tended toward what I've heard described as "old-school performance cantoring". He wasn't leading us in prayer and song; he was singing, and sometimes we could sing along (though it wasn't clear if we were "supposed to" -- I did anyway), and other times it was too elaborate and unpredictable and we had to just listen. The cantor did the lion's share of the service; the rabbi did small bits (and gave a sermon). The rabbi looked to be pretty young -- mid-30s, maybe -- and I wonder if there's an age-related dynamic going on there between the two of them.
Random people-watching: most men who wore tallitot wore the full-sized ones, not the little ones that have become popular of late. I saw one woman wearing a tallit. (I didn't take mine -- I don't unless I know that it will be ok where I'm going.)
(Aside: my tallit belonged to Dani's grandfather, who died about 35 years ago. It is the smaller variety. So this isn't only a recent phenomenon. I don't know what it means. It's even possible that this tallit goes all the way back to his bar mitzvah and that he never wore it again except maybe for Yom Kippur; Dani's family isn't observant and doesn't tend to go to Shabbat services.)
Anyway, Holy Blossom was an interesting experience, especially for the religious anthropologist in me. I didn't get to meet the rabbi; I knew that Debby et al were waiting on me for lunch, and the service ran somewhat longer than I had expected (forgot about Hallel, didn't know about Song of Songs). So I didn't stay for the kiddush.
Next time I'm in Toronto I'll probably go someplace different; Debby said there's also a Conservative shul within walking distance.
With a name like "Holy Blossom", I was kind of expecting some sort of new-age earthy-crunchy-granola-type service, but it wasn't. It's a huge Reform congregation (somebody said 2500 families), and congregations that big tend to stay pretty near the center of their movements, I would think.
[Jewish geekery ahead.]
The service used the "old" Reform siddur (blue Gates of Prayer), with God referred to as "he" and no apologies made. The service had both more and less Hebrew than I expected -- some parts were Hebrew that we never do in Hebrew, and other parts that I'm used to in Hebrew were English instead. The Torah reading consisted of most, but not all, of the parsha, not the very short excerpt that many Reform congregations do. It included Haftarah (again, some Reform don't). They read Song of Songs, which I thought was only done for the Pesach service and not for Shabbat, but I just checked the luach (the what-to-do-on-each-shabbat guide), and I was wrong. So they did that right. They also did the full hallel (or at least as full as it gets in Gates of Prayer, which I think is actually pretty close to complete), and did not abbreviate it.
There was a bar mitzvah. At my home congregation, the bar mitzvah reads as much of the Torah portion as he's learned, and that's it. Here, the bar mitzvah hadn't learned the whole thing, and they had someone else read the parts he didn't.
Also at my own congregation, the bar-mitzvah service is centered around the bar mitzvah and his family. Not so here. Yes, he read Torah (and sat in the congregation, not on the bimah, the rest of the time), and the rabbi said a few words to him, but the parents did not address him during the service, there was no elaborate ceremony with getting the whole family on (or in front of) the bimah (I've seen this), or any of that. A Shabbat service with a bar mitzvah, not the other way around. Refreshing.
They had a cantor, who was about 70 (I'd guess) and tended toward what I've heard described as "old-school performance cantoring". He wasn't leading us in prayer and song; he was singing, and sometimes we could sing along (though it wasn't clear if we were "supposed to" -- I did anyway), and other times it was too elaborate and unpredictable and we had to just listen. The cantor did the lion's share of the service; the rabbi did small bits (and gave a sermon). The rabbi looked to be pretty young -- mid-30s, maybe -- and I wonder if there's an age-related dynamic going on there between the two of them.
Random people-watching: most men who wore tallitot wore the full-sized ones, not the little ones that have become popular of late. I saw one woman wearing a tallit. (I didn't take mine -- I don't unless I know that it will be ok where I'm going.)
(Aside: my tallit belonged to Dani's grandfather, who died about 35 years ago. It is the smaller variety. So this isn't only a recent phenomenon. I don't know what it means. It's even possible that this tallit goes all the way back to his bar mitzvah and that he never wore it again except maybe for Yom Kippur; Dani's family isn't observant and doesn't tend to go to Shabbat services.)
Anyway, Holy Blossom was an interesting experience, especially for the religious anthropologist in me. I didn't get to meet the rabbi; I knew that Debby et al were waiting on me for lunch, and the service ran somewhat longer than I had expected (forgot about Hallel, didn't know about Song of Songs). So I didn't stay for the kiddush.
Next time I'm in Toronto I'll probably go someplace different; Debby said there's also a Conservative shul within walking distance.
Every synagogue is different
One of the most frustrating aspects of this, IMHO, is the tunes will indubidably vary from synagogue to synagogue. I've heard three "official" tunes for Adon Olam and lots of "unofficials" ones. I've even heard a couple of different tunes for the Shema, the one prayer that's usually constant amongst all synagogues. The V'ahavtah (sp?) has a couple of different tunes (or none) depending upon the congregation and whether they choose to sing the traditional Hebrew chant or do Debbie Friedman's English language version.
Anyhow, you get the idea. I wish they could give out sheet music with services the way Christians do.
Re: Every synagogue is different
And yes, every synagogue is different. Seth and I did a lot of "shul-shopping" when I moved up here, and they all conduct things in their own little way. We finally found a synagogue that while perfect for neither of us, is perfect for the "both" of us. The only Debbie Freedman we sing on a regular basis is her Misheberach song.
I was not so amused when we sang Adon Olam to the tune of Let it Snow. But I kind of enjoy the other more interesting versions of it. Ein Keloheinu is another that has a zillion tunes beyond the boring one that most shuls sing.
Re: Every synagogue is different
This is actually something that doesn't bother me at all. It's probably due to my incredible luck that I seem to have inherited a bit of the musical gene that runs in my family. As a result, I can pick up tunes very easily if they're at all logical and I'm singing in unison. (Rounds and harmony take more work, and modern/dissonant music a lot more.)
Re: Every synagogue is different
Oh, sure. And I love the variety. I drew an inappropriate conclusion based on a name and got surprised when I shouldn't have, but I did enjoy the service.
I wish they could give out sheet music with services the way Christians do.
Would be nice -- but how often do the Christians who receive sheet music actually sight-read it? My impression is that you get pretty much the same approximate muddle with or without sheet music. :-) (I'm talking about congregational singing, not choirs.)
music
The cantor at this place did surprise me a few times, though. Sometimes he was doing "art music", and the rules for that are completely different.
By the way, while I have studied some amount of music theory and am, I think, a competent (ameteur) composer, I don't listen to melodies analytically by default. It's much more driven by instinct, but the music education enlarges the palette from which to choose. Or something like that.
Debbie Friedman
Think "song based on the theme" more than "version". It's not a precise setting of the text, and it's more English than Hebrew. While I've occasionally heard it in shul, I've never witnessed it being used by the congregation instead of the actual Hebrew text.
There is variation in the trope. The "melody" that everyone around here uses for that paragraph, and that everyone can sing from memory, is, according to the trope, wrong. I've heard several cantors and rabbis sing the trope as written, and it's rather different. My rabbi is trying to move us toward the correct trope, I think. (He's stated the intention, but hasn't acted on it yet. Well, except they sent out a CD to the membership, done mainly by our cantor, with all the melodies for the Shabbat evening service, and this corrected trope is on it.)
I have no idea where this other, pervasive melody comes from, or how common it is beyond Pittsburgh. In Pittsburgh, I've heard it in Reform, Conservative, and Reconstructionist congregations. (The local Orthodox seem to say, rather than chant, the Sh'ma, as best I recall.)
Re: music
Cool...
Sometimes he was doing "art music", and the rules for that are completely different.
Indeed. That's one reason why I prefer to be someplace which isn't lead by a cantor, or rather isn't lead by a "performing" cantor.
while I have studied some amount of music theory and am, I think, a competent (ameteur) composer, I don't listen to melodies analytically by default. It's much more driven by instinct, but the music education enlarges the palette from which to choose.
Very well put. I'm very sure that I listen by instinct since I haven't had any formal musical theory :-)
Re: Every synagogue is different
Re: Every synagogue is different