upcoming services

[cellio]

I chanted the Torah portion for my rabbi today. It's in good shape (needs polish), and he pointed out a couple tricks to make some parts easier. What surprised me is that I was nervous while doing this -- enough that he noticed it in my breathing. I hope that problem disappears as I get the challenging bits nailed down more. I'd hate to sound nervous in front of the congregation.

(I was not nervous for the so-called "adult b'nei mitzvah" a few years ago. I was a little nervous the first time I chanted at Tree of Life but not the second. I don't think I was nervous when I chanted for the morning minyan the one time. And I was definitely nervous for the women's service a couple months ago, though the scroll calligraphy on that one was weird. So it's a mixed bag -- sometimes I am and sometimes I'm not, and it's not strongly tied to anything.)

In addition to this service (July 25, for any locals who care), I needed to find a couple people to help with the following week, because the rabbis will still be gone. I mentioned that I was having trouble finding someone to give the d'var torah (sermon, sort of), and he told me to do it myself and to talk about Tisha b'Av, which will be the following week. Ok, I can do that; I'd been trying to give the opportunity to someone else, but a lot of people seem to be intimidated by the idea. (Note for after the fall holidays: get someone to give a class or something in how to write a d'var torah.)

I was kind of surprised by the topic request, because while my rabbi personally observes Tisha b'Av and usually mentions it beforehand, the Reform movement in general doesn't observe this day and our congregation doesn't have special services for it. This year, he said, we're having services. It's a pity I'll be at Pennsic then; I'm kind of curious. Probably not curious enough to make the round trip, though.

Comments

[sanpaku.livejournal.com]

Good luck with the Torah portion. I find that the nervousness is a little bit inevitable and that with enough practice it will go away. The key is to do what you did -- do it in front of someone else, or thinking of the congregation -- in such a way that you psyche yourself out and make yourself nervous while practicing. That gets it "out of my system" in advance because I know the parts that might make me stumble and I practice them extra-hard.

About divrei Torah, remember that this is an art form that encourages plagiarism (well, attribution is good), so check out Aish.com and the JTS site and all those things for brainstorming ideas. Once you know the portion well it is not hard to think of something worth building off of.

[cellio]

That gets it "out of my system" in advance

Thanks. I was hoping that this approach would work. :-)

This is, by the way, the first portion I've learned completely on my own from the trope, rather than from a tape or a tutor. I had one question and got one correction yesterday, but otherwise, I figured it out on my own. I'm pretty happy about that.

Thanks for the advice on divrei torah. I read several parsha commentaries each week and have been doing so for a few years, and I also have commentaries on my shelves at home. I can usually find some interesting path to pursue. :-) (I do try to formulate the initial question or thesis myself and then go see what people have said about it, but of course I'm influenced by what I read. But it's ok to stand on the shoulders of giants so long as you give credit to the giants.)

Divrei torah

[lefkowitzga.livejournal.com]

A class, or even a round table, on how to write a d'var torah would be very useful.