The publication of Mishkan T’filah presents a wonderful opportunity to examine new and meaningful ways to approach worship. Integrating the spoken word with uplifting musical settings of our liturgy can generate a dramatic worship experience. Music can be a gateway to the spirit; for many congregants searching for meaningful worship, carefully planned and balanced musical choices can provide a pathway that guides their spiritual journey. The following suggestions are offered as a guide for planning the music of worship. No one size fits all. Mishkan T’filah will be one prayer book that has variegated applications in each synagogue community, according to each congregation’s unique minhagim (customs).

Key Concepts in Planning for Successful Worship

1. Dream a vision for worship within your community and dream it together. Include all the stakeholders as a team: the rabbi, cantor, soloist, ritual chair/lay leaders, choir director, accompanist, etc.
2. Set long range and short term goals by which to measure and evaluate progress toward the vision. How will you know what you’ve accomplished or if you’ve succeeded?
3. Plan worship consciously and deliberately. Don’t just let it happen. Have the team meet regularly to discuss the planning of weekly worship. Focus on calendar, community, and world events that impact upon your unique congregation and think about integrating the meaning of these events into the worship experience.
4. Adapt don’t adopt. This is the key to success. Each congregation has its own particular history, demographic make-up, traditions, and expectations. Because one musical style works elsewhere does not mean it will work everywhere. It is essential to make sure that questions are asked and choices made fully mindful of the particular community in which the answers will be implemented.
5. Assess. Meet periodically to prioritize, strengthen, and renew the vision.
6. Work collaboratively by engaging all members of the worship team (musicians and non-musicians alike) in supporting each component of the worship. For example you may want to use a melody to set the mood for a special reading or Kavanah, or you may want to set the context with the spoken word for a new melody you’re introducing.

Pitfalls to Avoid

1. Using labels. Generalizations about musical styles (“traditional,” “classical,” “camp,” “cantorial,” “performative,”) are often inaccurate, and worse, meaningless. They also have the potential to set up different factions within the group, splintering discussion rather than unifying. Talk instead about what the different pieces of music make happen or about the mood that they create.
2. The phrases “I liked…..” or “I didn’t like……” Instead, focus on outcome and result, using phrases such as, “When we chose that reading, sang that melody, stood up, sat down, held hands, used musical accompaniment, etc., the outcome was…”
3. Valuing one mode of participation over another. Both active and passive participation in worship are desirable and can be deeply meaningful. Congregants can be as equally engaged in thought as they are in deed.
4. Discouragement! Remember that every worship service is preparation for the next worship service. Today’s innovation may become tomorrow’s tradition.

Some General Guidelines

Achieving prayerful intentionality (kavanah) is elusive, because like prayer itself, it requires reflexive action. What worshipers put in to their worship experience has a significant bearing on the power of what they are subsequently able to derive from prayer. As one plans to lead worship, consider the following elements (with thanks to Merri Lovinger Arian who developed these concepts) that may assist worshipers in finding their own meaningful kavanah during worship:

• ENGAGE the congregation in participatory prayer through both active singing and active and thoughtful listening.
• ENHANCE the texture of the musical text through the use of different voices and instruments. Vary tempos and styles to avoid tedium and monotony.
• EXPOSE congregants to new melodies and musical settings.
• EDUCATE worshipers toward greater understanding of the text as well as the special times, seasons and rhythm of the Jewish calendar.
• ELEVATE the spiritual dimension by being fully present in the moment and knowing before whom you stand – Da lifnei mi atah omeid. Be ever mindful that all prayer is intended in the service of the Almighty.

Music & Text (Text and Tune)

For any given prayer-text there are multiple musical settings. Why choose one melody over another? Does the music enhance or detract from the expression of the text? One worshiper may enter the sanctuary with strong unspoken and often diametrically opposed musical expectations from the congregant who sits in the seat next to her. One person may approach worship in mourning or with sadness; another may be seeking a joyous and upbeat gathering in the midst of community. Each worshiper’s needs must be considered in the musical mix created by the worship leaders. One way to plan for greatest inclusiveness is to consider the functions of the melodies utilized; then include each of these musical elements in the musical plan for each worship service. Consider the following types of music (with thanks to Cantor Benjie Ellen Schiller who developed these concepts) and associated challenges and questions:

• Majestic—Music that evokes a sense of awe and grandeur. How can we create moments of awe and grandeur when inclusivity (participation) has become the hallmark of our age?
• Meditation—Music that leads us inward, toward reflective, contemplative prayer. Is our liturgical music conducive to moments of genuine, personal, and private meditative moments?
• Meeting—Music with moments in which our awareness of the larger community is heightened, and we literally meet other souls through prayer. Where is the point in worship where the gathering of voices engenders a new prayer that cannot be achieved by the individual alone?
• Momentum/Movement—Music that moves us away from where we are to where we want to be. Is there a sense of flow not only within the music and the words but in the spaces in between?
• Memory—Music is at once rooted in the sacred heritage of our past and also mindful of the present. Does this music provide this sense of connectedness between and through the generations?

Tools, Techniques, Tips, and Tricks Unique to Mishkan T’filah

1. Use the chanted chatimah (the closing line of a prayer which begins with Baruch ata Adonai) as a cue to turn the page. This will promote smooth transitions between each two-page spread in Mishkan T’filah. (For example, the chatimah on p.32/33 can be used to lead smoothly into Elohai N’shamah on page 34)
2. Chant, don’t speak, instructions in order to facilitate the flow of worship. (“We rise for the Amidah, beginning on page _____.”)
3. Model antiphonal singing with designated respondent/s. One example might be Nisim B’chol Yom on pp. 36-41. The cantor or soloist might begin, with the rabbi and choir responding. Alternatively, the rabbi could begin, with a congregant, asked in advance, leading the response.
4. Identify some Hebrew text changes in Mishkan T’filah and educate the congregation to anticipate the musical nuances. An example of a Hebrew change is the ordering of the matriarchs in the Avot V’Imahot.

Other More General Tips that Work with Any Prayer Book

1. Take a known melody with an English text and superimpose Hebrew over the melody.
2. Introduce a new melody first without any words (as a niggun) and then later reintroduce it with text.
3. Use a melody multiple times in the same worship service. Start by using it as a niggun, then in a musical interlude, again hum the melody underneath an English reading, finally sing with text and tune together.
4. Repeat, repeat, repeat. It takes multiple times for most people to feel comfortable with new melodies.
5. Prepare a tape or CD of melodies (observing copyright laws, of course) that features musical settings to be introduced over time at worship services. Give it as a gift to your congregants.
6. Ensure that the musical choices have an appropriate key relationship. It can be jarring to move indiscriminately from one key to another. Each major key has a relative minor. Check in advance that appropriate transpositions are used when the printed page is written in a discordant key.

Use of Instruments

Many congregations use a keyboard instrument (electronic keyboard, piano, or organ) as a primary instrument for accompaniment. Other congregations use a guitar as the instrument for accompaniment. Some congregations have no accompaniment at all. Repertoire should be chosen to best highlight the uniqueness of the specific instrument. Consistent use of the same keyboard instrument is recommended during a single worship service.

• Electronic keyboard works well with contemporary and amplified ensemble instruments (bass guitar, acoustic guitar, extensive percussion).
• Organ affords a sustained sound to support congregational and choral singing.
• Piano is versatile and is well paired with any number of other instruments, ranging from strings to woodwinds, as well as guitar and percussion.
• Guitar works well as a portable instrument, often effective in less formal worship settings for teaching new melodies, and increasing the tempo of the music.
• Percussion—Introduce different percussion instruments gradually and learn what works best in your congregational setting. Some congregations gradually introduce percussion after the musical momentum begins to take hold and the congregational singing reaches a certain “spiritual energy.” Often an instrumentalist can sense that a prayer can tolerate a strong percussion instrument such as a djembe or bass drum. By contrast a simple tof or doumbek can produce light and gentle rhythmic variety and also strong tribal beats which, when used judiciously can be extremely effective. Portable percussion instruments such as maracas, rain sticks, wind chimes, tambourines, bongos and the like can be powerful tools when used with care. They can, also be terribly disruptive when handed out to unseasoned congregants without sufficient instruction and guidance. In this case clearly, the more is not the merrier!

Some Suggestions for Introducing Additional Instruments

1. Use sparingly at first
2. Texture and layer
3. Tempo should vary
4. Use for transitions in and out of silence

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Cantor Katzew is the Union for Reform Judaism's Director of Music Programming.

Know how, why, and when to introduce new melodies. Learning a new piece of sacred music means more than simply learning a new song. It involves other valuable Jewish learning, for example, Hebrew language, liturgical text, theology, etc. Here are some suggestions that you might find helpful when you are contemplating introducing a new melody to your congregation:

• Plan ahead: Decide what new melodies you want your congregation to learn over the course of the next year.
• Prepare a CD for your congregation featuring a number of new melodies that will be introduced during the coming year.
• Set aside time before a service and invite your congregants to learn new music that will be used in that service.
• Use the new melody like a niggun (without the words) so that the congregants can become familiar with it without having to pay attention to the text. You could use thisniggun as an opening song or as a melody after silent meditation. It could be sung or played on an instrument.
• Reintroduce it, either in the same service or after using it for a week or two, with the words.
• Coordinate with the religious school music program so that students become familiar with the melodies that are used in worship services and learn the new ones that are being introduced.
• Spend some time exploring multiple settings of one text to learn how different composers interpret it and how different settings express the same text in a variety of ways.
• Once a new melody has been introduced, make sure that it is used for the next few weeks so that the congregation has a chance to become familiar with it, and then reintroduce it from time to time.
• Generally, it is a good idea not to introduce more then one new melody during a service.
• If different sh’lichei tzibur lead services on different Shabbatot, make sure that they communicate with one another and use the new melodies consistently.

"To sing means to sense and to affirm that the spirit is real and that its glory is present. In singing we perceive what is otherwise beyond perceiving. Song, and particularly liturgical song, is not only an act of expression but also a way of bringing down the spirit from heaven to earth. The numerical value of the letters that constitute the word shirah, or song, is equal to the numerical value of the word t’filah, or prayer. Prayer is song."
—Abraham Joshua Heschel

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Cantor Wolff is the Director of Student Placement at HUC's School of Sacred Music.

Each of us responds to music in our own way. Music offers a variety of paths to God and to meaning. It is difficult to talk about music since we tend to describe it with words. But music is a prayer itself, beyond words. 

There are three ways we might begin to talk about music. Each way begins with an “M” and describes how to understand how music makes us feel, by analyzing what music does. The three ways are: Meeting, Meditative, and Majestic. 

Music that unites a group of people and brings people together is Meeting. It invites all people into the group. It doesn’t matter whether we can carry a tune or not. For example, on Pesach when we sing “Dayenu,” what is important is that we sing the same song together every year. Music need not be particularly inspiring or well performed to engender Meeting; it need only be understood and shared. Meeting moments include tapping, clapping, swaying, as well as singing together. 

A second function of music, Meditative music, leads us inside ourselves to the still, small voice that is real, honest and encouraged by the sounds around us. Meditative music, such as an instrumental piece played at the end of a silent prayer, leads us to an inner “letting go.” Meditative moments include davening, silent prayer and soft lyric singing, closing our eyes, or placing a hand over our eyes when we envelop ourselves in prayer. 

The third function of music, Majestic music, evokes awe and a sense of grandeur. In the presence of Majestic music, one can imagine that one can reach almost to the unreachable. In ancient times, Majestic music served as a grand offering to God. Today our prayer language includes glorious sacred music sung by cantors, choirs and by all of us. We bow or stand high on our toes as our prayers, through the music, reach heights expressing our yearning to reach toward the transcendent. 

Please understand that the three “M’s” do not describe the musical style of a piece, but rather how it functions. Folk music can be majestic. Meeting music can be in the form of a grand “Sh’ma.” The sounding of the shofar can be Majestic, Meeting, or Meditative, all at once. Music can and should overlap in its function.

A service succeeds when it has all three of the “M’s” in a healthy balance. Each congregation decides its own balance. Sometimes the service itself dictates the balance because of its mood. For example, a Friday night Shabbat service may be Meditative, simply because people are tired from the week and in need of a contemplative mood in order to gradually enter Shabbat. By Saturday, people may be more energized, ready to reach toward majesty and to sing out together with fervor.

Some Talking Points to Help in Our Discussion of Music
Questions and comments by Benjie Ellen Schiller, based on notes compiled by Joyce Winslow

1. How does meaningful prayer evolve from the way music interprets text, or does music create meaning on its own? Can you think of music that “speaks to the soul” without words?
2. What is the balance of the three “M’s” in your congregation? What songs or melodies does the congregation find the most affecting and moving?
3. Consider creating a balance between our tradition and our current needs. “Authentic” music is not necessarily always the most effective.
4. Cantors, musical leaders and the congregation need a common vocabulary when discussing music. For example, when congregants ask for participatory music, do we always assume that it is of one certain style? Consider having an occasional sermon or seminar on music by the cantor so that we can become more informed partners in its discussion.
5. To help people become familiar with congregational music, count on their memory. The repetition of music week to week and the balance and flow of music in a service can enhance both meeting and memory. The momentum of the music can often help to offset objections of using something new.

A cantor or musical leader needs to teach music to the congregation and lead it, but also needs to listen to the congregational voice and understand it. A leader knows how to include others’ voices, and when to hold back to allow the congregation to take the lead. Similarly, the congregant knows when to sing out loudly or to softly harmonize, when to sit back and listen, or when to be willing to learn a new melody.


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Cantor Benjie Ellen Schiller is Professor of Cantorial Arts at the Brookdale Center of HUC-JIR in New York City.

From the very earliest of times, music and prayer have been inextricably linked in Jewish tradition. As prayer is often an attempt to express the inexpressible, to reach out to the unknowable, and to ask for the seemingly unattainable, it is not surprising that one looks to music to help in this sacred task. Referring to prayer, Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel writes, “The inadequacy of the means at our disposal appears so tangible, so tragic, that one feels it a grace to be able to give oneself up to music, to a tone, to a song, to a chant.”[1] It is in the music of the Jewish people that one finds “…the joys and triumphs, the tenderness and warmth, the agony and sorrows, the prayer and the protest...”[2]

I. The Tradition of Music Within Jewish Worship

Sacred music is first mentioned in the Bible during the time of King David.[3] When the Ark was first transferred to Jerusalem (c. 1000 BCE), the ceremony featured instrumental music and dance (II Sam. 6). Immediately thereafter, even before the First Temple was built, singers were appointed to be in charge of the singing that accompanied the daily and special offerings. (I Chronicles 6: 16-33). Music continued to accompany the sacrificial worship throughout the First Temple period. During the Second Temple era, the music accompanying the service may have been even more elaborate. It featured Levitical choirs and accompanying instrumentation that included woodwinds, percussion, brass and strings.

Towards the end of the Second Temple period, as synagogues began to develop, the worship music that emerged reflected the halachic prohibitions against the use of musical instruments. In respect for the destruction of the Temple, the role of music was somewhat de-emphasized. Early synagogue music was dominated by different types of chant. There is evidence that the art of chanting Biblical verses may have dated back to the time of the Second Temple. The actual codification of the scripture cantillation, as we know it today, didn’t happen until the 7^th- 9^th centuries, with the culmination of the most sophisticated system of notation created by the Massoretic school of Tiberias.

By the 12^th century, one finds reference to Jewish Psalm singing, often antiphonal in nature. Prayer modes, linked to specific times and seasons, developed. These traditional motifs were known as “nusach”, pertaining to a version or manner of style in which the prayers are executed musically according to a given tradition. Nusach became the normative form of musical expression in worship, with different versions (Ashkenazic, Sephardic and others) developing in different geographic regions. In many places, specialists (chazzanim or cantors) were appointed to serve as sh’lichei tzibur (prayer leaders, literally, “representatives of the public”) to lead the chanting in worship. For these professionals, nusach was the basis for their chazzanut (cantorial art), a framework from which they improvised according to their individual talent and skill.

The rise of Hasidism in Eastern Europe in the early 18^th century in many ways represented a populist rebellion against the professionalization of Jewish prayer life. The Baal Shem Tov and his followers taught that through prayer, God could be accessed by every one. A favorite Hasidic musical form is the niggun—a simple, wordless tune—that can be sung easily by every member of the community, not only by trained musical specialists.

In the 18^th and 19^th centuries, reformers in Western Europe adapted the style of synagogue worship, enhancing decorum and formality. These changes were reflected in synagogue music, as the organ was introduced as a staple in liberal congregations. Cantorial art changed as well, becoming increasingly formal. Composed (as opposed to improvised) music, performed by a trained cantor and choir, became the norm in many congregations.

In the late 20^th century and into the 21^st, music continues to play a critical and controversial role in synagogue worship. Congregants increasingly come to synagogue looking for connection and community. Synagogues have responded to this by becoming more intimate in many ways. The architecture of newer synagogues emphasizes closer proximity between the clergy and the congregant, creating a more intimate space. Clergy are creating moments for congregants to share their stories within worship, seeking to promote connectedness between members of the congregation. Music, too, has followed suit. The more intimate sound of the guitar or piano is often used to replace the overwhelming power of the organ as the instrument of choice in worship. Newer synagogue compositions often invite congregational singing, rather than (or, in addition to) cantorial performance.

In each age of Jewish history, Jewish sacred music grows and develops, reflecting the particular needs of the age, and the growth of the liturgy itself. In every age, worship has been enhanced by the unique power of music.

II. The Power of Music

I never cease to be amazed by the indisputable power of music. In my work as a music therapist, music educator, song leader, and prayer leader, I have seen music touch people in a way that nothing else comes close to achieving.

I remember as a music therapist, sitting with geriatric patients who could barely tell me their children’s names. Yet, the moment I began to play a melody for them on the piano, the lyrics of the song would pour out of them, word for word, with astonishing accuracy. Something about the engaging quality of music managed to stay locked securely in their memories, and the instant they heard those familiar tunes the words came tumbling forth. Similarly, when these patients would sit and speak with me about their lives, invariably they would share wonderful memories they had singing in their synagogue or church choirs. A smile would form on their lips as they shared stories of communal religious moments they experienced through participation in these choirs. These “performing” groups performed a function that I am not sure their choir leaders ever imagined. These choirs forged lifelong relationships and memories that brought a sparkle to these seniors’ eyes, too often dimmed by aging and loss.

Then there was the middle-aged gentleman who, recovering from surgery performed on a malignant brain tumor, shared unabashedly that what he had missed most during his convalescence, were his weekly synagogue choir rehearsals. He could well do without the board meetings and countless other committee meetings that he was missing, but eagerly awaited his return to his synagogue choir community.

As an educational tool, music has been proven to be effective in the learning of new material. How did each and every one of us learn to recite the letters of the alphabet? We sang them, of course! Many a Hebrew teacher teaches body parts, colors, days of the week, and members of the family, through songs composed for just that purpose. My own husband learned the names of the first 37 presidents of the United States of America in much the same way. Music compartmentalizes information in a way that is easier for people to store and master. Similarly, the liturgy of our worship services is most effectively taught through the various musical settings that are available to us. An example of the efficacy of music in this arena is best exemplified by Debbie Friedman’s setting of the Mi Shebeirach prayer. For most Reform Jews, this liturgy was completely foreign prior to Debbie’s composition. Now, most Reform Jews can recite this text, almost as easily as they can, the Sh’ma or Bar’chu. This musical setting breathed life into a liturgical text that for many was completely unfamiliar. Music teachers in our religious schools harness this most accessible medium as a tool unparalleled in the school setting.

Dr. Howard Gardner, a Professor in Cognition and Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, developed the Theory of Multiple Intelligences. In it he explains that different people learn in different ways. Specifically he speaks of music as one of these portals of learning.

It has been said that music is the heartbeat of a people, and if one is to study the culture of a people, one can learn volumes just by hearing their music. The music of a people tells their story. Judith Kaplan Eisenstein put it beautifully when she stated, “When we live for a moment with that music, we are touching the pulse itself, and our own is quickened in turn.” [4]

Music touches, teaches, transforms, and has the capacity to help individuals transcend their solitary existence to become part of something much greater.

III. Music as a Means of Building Sacred Community

As I have already suggested, music is a medium which bonds people together, our synagogue choirs being a case in point. As a song leader in a number of Jewish camps, time and again I would be reminded of the central role that music played in building these camp communities. Whether it be the highly spirited “A minor medley” of Israeli folksongs, that brought the community to its feet dancing hand in hand, or the more mellow section of the repertoire that had people rocking back and forth, arm in arm, music was at the forefront helping all of this to happen—carefully orchestrated in such a way as to respect and respond to the community it served.

But what about “sacred” community—k’hilah k’doshah? Synagogue 2000, a trans-denominational synagogue transformation project that is committed to helping synagogues examine their current structure and reimagine ways to be better at what they already do, devotes the first 18 months of its 3 year curriculum to the study of Sacred Community. A sacred community is defined as one in which its members are welcoming, caring, and responsive. The conversations that happen within a sacred community are different than those you would hear elsewhere. Committees that comprise a sacred community are seen as teams with common goals. Its members “check in” with one another in a formalized manner, to assure that people are caught up with what is going on in one another’s lives. People study together, pray together, sing together, and share each other’s life’s journeys.

Where does music fit into this community? In ritual, in celebration, in programs, and most importantly for the purpose of this article, in worship. For it is when the community comes together to pray that one can most easily see the sacred at work. Music is, once again, in the forefront. How one selects music, “performs” music, teaches music, and uses music within worship directly affects the strength of the sacred community it seeks to create. For as Rabbi Pinchas Koretz taught “... Alone I cannot lift my voice in song—Then you come near and sing with me. Our prayers fuse, and a new voice soars. Our bond is beyond voice and voice. Our bond is one of spirit and spirit…”[5]

IV. Music as a Means for Creating Meaningful Worship

For the traditional Jew, prayer is a commandment. One comes to the synagogue to pray because one is commanded to do so. Music can heighten that prayer experience and enhance the text in such ways as to bring deeper meaning to the ancient words. The nusach chanted during the worship service sets the tone of the service, signaling a particular time in the Jewish calendar, connecting the prayer with all the history and meaning of that particular time. Melodies of old connect the person praying to a tradition and a long history—an understanding that the sacred act that she is involved in is a link in a long chain. Those melodies intensify the prayer experience as they bring to mind parents and grandparents who came before, uttering these very same words and melodies, hundreds of years before. These melodies serve as touchstones—a guidepost—as one proceeds through the prayer experience.

For the less traditional Jew though, prayer services can be somewhat daunting—the language, foreign and difficult to pronounce, and the customs, unfamiliar and awkward. Often it is the music that can help ease these people into the prayer experience. For music is the universal language, and music can help level the “praying field!”

Beginnings

How we begin the prayer experience is important. We need to recognize where the congregants are coming from—a missed train, a late babysitter, a hassled week at work, a week of being indoors with a sick child. They need to be welcomed into the prayer experience. I was reminded recently about how important this Kabbalat Shabbat experience can be. As I sat in Congregation B’nei Jeshurun in Manhattan, I couldn’t help but notice that we sang together in prayer for a solid half hour, before reaching Lecha Dodi. This conservative synagogue is not alone in its recognition of the importance of this beginning time. At Congregation Kol Hanishama, a Reform congregation in Jerusalem, Rabbi Levi Kelman also takes this warm-up time, this welcoming of the Shabbat, equally seriously. And so we learn from both experiences, that taking the time is important. It needs to be inviting, and not intimidating.

We need to be cognizant of who it is that plans our worship services. The Jewish professionals of the congregation plan our worship—those who do this “religion thing” as a profession. Getting into prayer is something that most probably comes easy to them! But not true for the layperson. She needs to be nurtured and guided into the experience. The opening music is our first chance! The music needs to be relatively easy to access, and familiar. I do not want the congregant to be focused on an awkward rhythm, or difficult melody. I want her to be looking inward and focusing on prayer. When carefully planned, the music at the beginning of the service can help her do just that.

Transitions

How one transitions from one part of the service to another greatly affects the prayer experience. The music that one selects during these transitional times needs to support the feeling that one is creating. For example, how one moves in and out of silence is terribly important. There needs to be a sense of quieting down, a slowing of the pace. Silence is not a familiar space for many of us whose lives are usually accompanied by a din of competing calls for our attention. Yet, the silent prayer is often cited as the part of the service that people most look forward to. When we select music that precedes the silent prayer, we need to help guide people to this special place. Similarly, when we come out of this silence, we want to help people hold on to the calm that they have just experienced, and so we select music that matches that quietude, gradually increasing the dynamics and tempo as we proceed onward through the liturgy.

It was not until the death of my father, that I understood the importance of the transition that was needed following the Mourners’ Kaddish. In most congregations, the next moment is filled with either announcements or a closing hymn. For the first time, I understood as a mourner, how jolting that closing hymn, or congregational announcement could be, coming on the heels of that prayer. Attention needs to be given to that transition, in such a way as to provide closure for the person saying Kaddish. In some congregations, that transition is accomplished by the rabbi reciting something in English, acknowledging how we as a congregation take the names of all of these people into our hearts. This transition can also be handled musically, with the insertion of an a cappella refrain, that is appropriately contemplative in nature, possibly using the text of Oseh Shalom. We ask people to open their hearts, and be present in prayer, and we need to be sensitive and respectful of their needs and their vulnerability.

Enhancing the Text

The music that we use in our worship services need to reflect the texts that they are accompanying. Surely we understand that our liturgical texts are sacred and enduring, yet sometimes we say the words, not really think about their meaning. Music is an opportunity to check in on the meaning of the text. When chosen sensitively, music can enhance and sometimes even bring new or deeper meaning to these age-old prayers. Think about that time in our service when we ask God to grant peace to us, and our people. Think of all the beautiful melodies that have been written for Sim Shalom, Shalom Rav, and Oseh Shalom, to name just a few prayers. Those melodies that you remember are the ones that truly gave extra meaning to those moments. What about the joy of the Israelites crossing the Red Sea, as they spoke those ancient words: Mi chamochah ba-eilim Adonai? Again, we can almost hear the joyful, triumphant melodies that have been composed expressly for that moment. And what about all of the new melodies that have been written to support the healing moments that congregations are now creating within their regular worship settings. These melodies capture the urgency of peoples’ prayers for healing for loved ones, in a way that the text alone, simply cannot do.

Our worship is made ever more meaningful by the inclusion of music that helps guide people into prayer, helps them make transitions within the service, and enhances and deepens the meaning of the text.

V. Music in Worship Today

We are living in a time when people finally get the importance of music in worship. They may not be in agreement as to how that music should sound, or how that music should be “performed” but everyone is in agreement that music is crucial to the prayer life of a congregation.

There was a time when people yearned to be spoken to and sung to! People flocked to Carnegie Hall in large numbers to hear great orators like Rabbi Stephen Wise, and great chazzanim like David Kousevitsky. They were lifted and inspired by these experiences, and they walked out of these great halls having transcended their mundane, day to day existence. That was the same generation who went to their doctor’s office, heard the doctor’s diagnosis, and left the office knowing just which pill to take for what ailed them. When asked though, why the doctor had prescribed that particular medication, or whether or not they had questioned a particular procedure that was being suggested, the answer would always be, “No. He is the professional. He knows best.”

Those times are long gone. People want to be involved in a very different way. They want to discuss the doctor’s diagnosis. They want to understand the doctor’s prescription, and they want to be part of the conversation. Similarly, people want to be empowered in prayer. They quite literally, want a voice in prayer. They want to be able to sing the sacred texts. As my dear friend and colleague, Cantor Benjie Ellen Schiller states, “Singing gives them the sacred key that allows their access to Jewish sacred tradition.”[6]

And so rabbis and cantors alike are responding to this hunger for empowerment by offering their laity opportunities to study Hebrew, lead t’filah, chant from the Torah, and sing along in prayer as much as possible. Cantors are needing to think about the keys that they are singing in, and the accessibility of the melodies they select. Similarly, our seminaries are thinking about the training that our rabbinic and cantorial students are receiving to help them prepare for this new breed of congregant. In the School of Sacred Music at Hebrew Union College, guitar is now a required instrument for all cantorial students. A new required course has been added to the cantors’ curriculum entitled “Understanding and Empowering the Congregational Voice.”

Congregations across the denominations are seeking ways to involve the congregational voice. Some rabbis are using the formerly reserved “rabbi’s sermon slot” as a time for congregational discussion. Others are engaging the congregation in chevrutah study (partnered discussion), to help them understand the parashah that is about to be read from the Torah. In many congregations, prior to the recitation of the Mi Shebeirach blessing, clergy are inviting congregants to say the name aloud of the loved one for whom they are requesting healing. Other congregations are reserving a time during the service where people can share their “shehechiyanu moments” of the past week. Congregants share aloud what they are grateful for, or what simchah they have just celebrated. And still, in other congregations, prior to the recitation of the Kaddish, congregants who are commemorating a yahrtzeit are given the opportunity to say something about their deceased love one for whom they are reciting Kaddish.

How better to encourage congregational participation than through the music? We are seeing the creation of special worship service models where congregational singing is the norm—Friday Night Live, One Shabbat Morning, Shabbat Unplugged, the Carlebach Minyan, to name just a few. Some congregations learn to expect this particular type of service as the 1^st Shabbat of every month. Others exist weekly as an alternative minyan. Some are created with very little in the way of spoken text—one congregational melody followed by another congregational melody, sometimes woven together by a story or an iyun offered by the rabbi. As the community together intones one prayer after another, the sense of K’hilah K’doshah is pervasive. People are empowered, involved, and engaged. Many speak of these Shabbat experiences as the highlight of their week.

Of course, not everyone wants to participate in this way. Some, in fact, find this kind of worship to be somewhat imposing and would far prefer to listen. Some are uncomfortable with the expectation of participation. They miss the more classical and traditional melodies usually sung solo by the cantor. This presents a challenge for the clergy and the lay leadership of the congregation. How do we respect the needs of all of our congregants? How do we create an inclusive community, where everyone’s prayer needs can be honored? It is not so easy to accomplish. Some congregations feel that by offering a monthly menu of services that include a different style each week, all congregant’s needs will be met. Others feel that they need to offer multiple minyanim that meet simultaneously every week, so that all needs can be addressed each Shabbat. Needless to say, the staffing requirements for this kind of worship can be quite labor intensive, and for many congregations, simply prohibitive. Although the solution to this question is not yet clear, the journey to discovering this solution is an exciting challenge.

VI. Where Are We Headed?

We are living during a wonderful, opportune time. People finally get the important role that music plays in our Jewish lives. It is our responsibility to seize this moment. We must listen, we must respond, we must educate, and we must lead.

The purpose of music in prayer is to deepen the prayer experience. We must take the emphasis off of the particular music that is being sung, and instead shift the focus on how well it serves the prayer experience. The truth is that in order to meet the diverse needs of our praying communities, we must find an artful synthesis of the many Jewish musical styles available to us. Cantor Jack Mendelson, a dear friend and colleague, who serves on the faculty of the cantorial schools of both Hebrew Union College–Jewish Institute of Religion and the Jewish Theological Seminary, refers to this as Jewish music fusion. We need to find a way to move prayerfully from nusach to folk music to chazzanut, from participatory moments to listening moments, from the majestic sounds of the choir to the communal voice of the congregation. For it is in this combination of musical style that we will find a way to speak to everyone. The answer need not lie in everyone being able to sing everything, but rather in everyone’s being engaged and honored in the prayer experience.

With an increased emphasis on serious Jewish adult education, congregants can be taught to appreciate chazzanut and nusach, and eventually to even participate in both. Our Jewish musical heritage is a rich one, and one that we surely want to keep alive. In order to do that we need to partner this genre of music alongside the more easily accessible folk melodies, allowing our congregants opportunities for engagement both through listening and singing along. As a dear friend and colleague, Cantor Ellen Dreskin, taught me, if we are indeed creating sacred communities, where one honors the traditions of all of its members, every melody of every prayer need not speak to each and every person in the same way. We just need to recognize that each person relates to prayer differently, and different melodies will serve people in different ways. As long as we know that the intent of each piece of music is about heightening the prayer, then we can trust the integrity of the selection. We can learn to appreciate the different styles, and we can weave an even richer tapestry of Jewish worship music.

—Merri Lovinger Arian teaches at HUC-JIR School of Sacred Music in New York, while serving as the Synagogue 3000 Consultant on Liturgical Arts at HUC. Merri is also the Director of Music for Synagogue 3000. This article first appeared in the revised edition of Teaching Tefilah—an A.R.E publication.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Books and Articles

Eisenstein, Judith Kaplan. Heritage of Music: The Music of the Jewish People. Wyncote, PA: The Reconstructionist Press, 1990.

Hoffman, Lawrence A. The Art of Public Prayer: Not for Clergy Only. Woodstock, VT: Sky Light Paths Publishing, 1999.

Hoffman, Lawrence A. and Janet R. Walton, eds. Sacred Sound and Social Change. Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 1992.

Synagogue 2000. Itinerary for Change: Prayer. Los Angeles, CA: Synagogue 2000, 2002.

Music

Arian, Merri Lovinger. R’fuah Sh’leimah: Songs of Jewish Healing. Los Angeles, CA: Synagogue 2000, 2002. Songbook. Available from Transcontinental Music Publications.

——. Nefesh: Songs for the Soul. Los Angeles, CA: Synagogue 2000, 2002. Compact disc.

Taubman, Craig. Friday Night Live. Sherman Oaks, CA: Sweet Louise Productions, 1999. Compact disc and songbook. Available from A.R.E. Publishing, Inc.

——. One Shabbat Morning. Sherman Oaks, CA: Sweet Louise Productions, 2002. Compact disc and songbook. Available from A.R.E. Publishing, Inc.

Where are we going with the music of prayer of our Reform synagogues? Does some larger cultural process exist within the contemporary Jewish community that somehow will predetermine our sacred music as it develops into the next century?

Although the numbers of affiliated Jews are diminishing, due largely to our successful assimilation, an inner core of synagogue regulars—those who religiously attend our services and "keep the fires burning" within our communities—is thriving. Enthusiasm is flowering among those seriously committed to synagogue life. They exhibit impressive vigor and passion for prayer, study and social activism. They take our adult education courses, attendkallot (study retreats), learn to read from the Torah and sing in our volunteer choirs. Some are so hungry for involvement, learning and spirituality that they even join synagogue committees!

These regulars have wholeheartedly expressed their desire to sing within the service. We cantors have responded to their call for inclusion by finding ways to sing with them, rather thanfor them at every possible opportunity. Let us first try to understand the underlying sociological, psychological or spiritual reasons for their desire to participate actively in the service. They tell us that they feel welcomed and accepted within our community when we invite them to sing with us. Moreover, singing prayers has become their entrance into Jewish ritual life as well as their gateway into learning Jewish sacred texts. Through singing Hebrew or English words, made possible either by soaring melody or simple nusach (prayer modes), they feel empowered to pray as Jews, in a way that undeniably links them with the larger Jewish community and affirms their Jewish identity. Singing gives them the sacred key which allows their access to Jewish sacred tradition. If the regulars are giving us this message, we can only imagine how first timers feel!

Our future will include ever more communal singing within our synagogues. Today we join singing the melodic refrains within large, complex compositions for cantor, choir, instruments and congregation. In such settings of rich, sophisticated harmony and several layers of melodic counterpoint, modern composers often include sections with lyric melodies. From the first hearing, congregants can easily relate to these accessible moments and eventually enjoy the more challenging sections as well.

What are the musical elements of congregational song and how will this song develop? Which styles are timeless and which will disappear with the next stylistic wave? I believe that we will see a gradual increase in traditional chant within our services. Cantors will teach us to chant some of the liturgy in nusach, whether in Hebrew or English. In addition, we will continue to implement various ethnic traditions within Jewish sacred music. We have discovered the Chasidic niggun, Sephardic melody, and we are rediscovering Yiddish music and culture. We are experimenting with Middle Eastern and Yemenite traditional music. Secular American styles too have permeated our contemporary musical idiom. In short, we are broadening our definition of contemporary liturgical music by incorporating various musical traditions, ancient to modern, from across the Jewish spectrum. Our artistry will be proven as we attempt to integrate this rich, diverse mix into an artistically cohesive whole!

How do we create a fluid, musically-sound, and spiritually-meaningful service? What will be the balance of styles? Is our music to become fully participatory? Will the pendulum swing so far toward inclusivity that we exclude music requiring the performance by a cantor and a professional choir and instrumentalists? We must first consider a larger perspective. What dynamics affect our choices of particular musical styles? Jews today want to feel both welcomed and empowered to participate within the service. They have sought out the synagogue for communal gatherings. They come perhaps to find solace, or to meet friends. They come, in some way, to meet God. Many are burdened by the mundaneness of their lives and yearn for meaning and purpose to nourish their minds and calm their souls. What kind of prayer will speak to them? How will the music help them on their spiritual path?

We need to understand clearly what occurs within music itself that creates a sense of prayerfulness. If we could scientifically break down sacred music to isolate various moods of prayer, perhaps we could perceive how certain prayer experiences directly relate to particular musical expressions. We have spent too much energy defending particular musical styles as if the music were the end in itself. Let us instead develop a new vocabulary of sacred music that will focus on the unique phenomena at the intersection of prayer and music.

Here are descriptions of three distinct kinds of prayer. Even though the following terms appear simplistic, perhaps they will help us discuss synagogue music beyond purely musical categories.

Our first mood is Majestic: That which evokes within us a sense of awe and grandeur. A classic example is the music of the First and Second Temple periods. The Levites, with full choir and orchestra, assembled a magnificent offering suited only for God. What is our equivalent of majesty in musical prayer? Our liturgical texts certainly intend to inspire such passion on a regular basis. Look at the texts of the Torah service, Kedushah, Adon olam,Shema, or Hashkiveinu, not to mention our High Holy Day and festival liturgy. When are we ever so moved within our service as to sense the majesty implicit in so many of our prayers? How can we create awe and grandeur when inclusivity has become the hallmark of our age?

Our second mood is Meditative: That which leads us inward, toward reflective, contemplative prayer. It is to know the "still small voice" within ourselves, the one that often eludes us. Consider the Silent Prayer, "May the Words," Mi shebeirach, even Kol nidrei. Is our liturgical music conducive to moments of genuine meditation.

Our third mood is Meeting: Moments in which we become aware of the larger community and literally meet other souls through prayer. When all voices join to create a resounding chorus of prayer, when every voice contributes its sound to the entire whole, a new expression of prayer is born. Even among strangers, we sense both a personal and a spiritual connection with those with whom we pray. Imagine a seder table when everyone joins to sing a blessing or song. We have so many opportunities to create "meeting moments" within our liturgy: When the Torah is taken from the ark, or at the beginning or end of a section of the service, or on Yom Kippur. Whether majestic or meditative—whatever the musical style—the meeting of voices defines this type of prayer.

These "three M's" of prayer just begin to address the many subtleties of the dramatic and musical nuances inherent in sacred music. Invariably there are overlaps, for the boundaries between majestic, meeting and meditative easily blur, but that does not lessen the distinct function of each mood within a service. This separating of prayer experiences reminds us to focus upon the larger process of what prayer does, rather than solely upon the repertoire we choose. We will never get beyond our disagreements about musical style! Sacred music nurtures meaningful, honest prayer, whether or not the music we ultimately choose satisfies our artistic selves. The real test is whether our sacred music satisfies our spiritual selves, as individuals and as a community. To me, a successful service offers a healthy combination of all three moods of prayer to express an array of three paths toward knowing God.

Today our people call out to be included. They ask us to enrich their sense of meeting. Whether they know it or not, they do not wish to abandon either the majestic or the meditative moods of prayer. Ultimately these three moods succeed when they complement and balance one another. When a part of the whole is not fulfilling our communal needs, however, we must examine the effectiveness of that part and its relationship to the whole. Do we offer an array of paths to God in which all can appreciate? Does our music express the affective moods of our sacred texts? If we assess our meeting moments, both at specific times and within the entire service, perhaps we can determine how our music can encourage a sense of welcome and empowerment, even amidst a fully balanced range of moods and styles. Let us make a correlation, then, between our prayers and their most vivid musical expressions. Let us do this as individuals, and then with our community. I hope that our prayers will continue to uncover the majesty within the Godly world around us and the intimacy of our sacred relationship with the Divine. I pray that we meet one another, both in honest debate and in the prayers we sing.

—————

Cantor Schiller is Professor of Cantorial Arts at the Brookdale Center of HUC-JIR in New York City.

 

Certain issues that are central to the employment of Mishkan T'filah are also central to the crafting of meaningful worship in general. The following service outlines strive to provide:

• An appropriate balance between Hebrew and English
• Varied use of instruments
• Moments of active vocal participation as well as moments of contemplation and meditation
• Sensitive attention to the myriad needs of the individual congregants
• Moments of celebration, meditation, comfort and challenge
• Smooth transitions between worship moments, and a treatment of the worship experience as a complete organism, as opposed to a string of individual prayers.

Things to Keep in Mind as You Look at these Outlines:

1. These services may be too lengthy in their entirety for your particular congregation—the settings and progression are only suggestions as to how to meet the above-mentioned criteria. Please adapt, don't adopt.
2. Keep the big picture in mind—if a musical setting is suggested as a participatory moment, and your congregation is not familiar with the melody (for example), then it isn't participatory for you. Choose a setting that is.
3. Use instruments sparingly and in a variety of ways. Sometimes a single flute, reed instrument, or violin is the perfect backdrop for a particular prayer. It is wonderful if you have an entire band, but using all the instruments all the time can be counterproductive to the natural flow of the service.
4. Add new melodies one at a time and continue to use a new melody consistently for four weeks or so. But three weeks in, you might consider beginning one other new melody.
5. Explain, acknowledge, converse and communicate with your congregants. Trust is a huge factor here.

Kabbalat Shabbat and Maariv
p. 130 Niggun (could be one that you will want to use again elsewhere in the service, i.e. Mi chamocha) to welcome, read English with music underneath, segue to

p. 131 Yis'm'chu Hashamayim (folk/congregational tune), segue to...

p. 132 Or Zarua (Nichols—congregational, but with 3 part niggun), segue to

p. 134 Zamru L'Adonai (unknown—Shabbat Anthology III) segue to

p. 135 Rom'mu (Taubman) segue to

p. 136 either beginning niggun (if it was upbeat) or Ki Va Mo-eid niggun (Carlebach—just theniggun, no words) underscoring English on p. 136 and ending with singing. Segue to

p. 138 Lecha Dodi (Rottenberg), verses 1, 2, 3, 5, 9

p. 140 mellow out with Tov L'hodot (either Carlebach or Chasen, depending upon if you'd like English here—Chasen is not in the prayer book. Tzaddik Katamar (Lewandowski) can also work very well here, if it is a congregational favorite. Objective is to quiet things down.

Invite the congregation to greet and bless each other—blessing each other can conclude with the blessing of the Angels of Shabbat by singing Shalom Aleichem on p. 142, or move directly to

p. 144 Chatzi Kaddish(chanted nusach)

p. 146 Barchu (minhag hamakom—the custom of your congregation)

p. 148 Ma’ariv Aravim, read in Hebrew or English, or chant Hebrew lines responsively while reader intersperses lines of English at top of page 149. Uses both nusach and English, illuminates meaning of the prayer.

p. 150 Ahavat Olam (Debbie Friedman/congregational or D. Maseng choral)

p. 152 Shema (minhag hamakom—the custom of your congregation)

p. 154 V'ahavta (minhag hamakom—the custom of your congregation)

Time for an iyun t’filah—-an elucidation of a prayer; a verbal expansion of the concept of g'ulah—redemption not found in the prayer book, if possible don’t read it rather just speak it

p. 158 Mi chamocha (melody depends entirely upon mood of preceding iyun t’filah which must be coordinated with service partner, or bring back niggun from beginning of service)

p. 160 Hashkiveinu (D. Friedman or C. Taubman) or
Option 1: nusach works, but for all of the above, be careful of the transition from a very upbeat congregational Mi chamocha to a more mellow or meditative or traditional Hashkiveinu.
Option II: Taubman Hashkiveinu then segue to "Guide My Steps" p.375, return to "Ha-Poreis Sukkat Shalom (Klepper)—all in the same key.

p. 162 V'shamru (Katchko acapella, segue to congregational melody)

p. 164 Introduction to the Amidah— Adonai S'fatai Tiftach

p. 166 Avot V’Imahot thru K'dushah (minhag hamakom)

p. 172 K'dushat hayom (Hebrew at bottom of page, chant nusach in background under the reading of the English on the bottom of p. 173, concluding with chatimah

Continue with individual prayer, either the texts in the prayer book or their own. Conclude this private prayer time with R'tzeh (Richards) p. 174

p. 284 Aleinu (minhag hamakom)

p. 287 Choose one of the English readings, then conclude with Bayom Hahu. If you are using the Isaacson Bayom Hahu, then instruments can certainly underscore whatever reading occurs.

p. 291-295 Choose an appropriate introduction to Kaddish. Use instruments to underscore.

p. 296 Mourners' Kaddish
Conclude Kaddish with V'imru Amen (Shur) or Oseh Shalom (Spanish/Portuguese) or just the first two lines of the Hirsch Oseh Shalom to provide a buffer before announcements/closing song/kiddush/whatever comes next.

Conclude as is your congregational custom with song, blessing, etc.

Shabbat Morning

(The first few melodies are meant to create a communal feeling, and may be considered more on the informal side. Many congregations are happy to listen later on, if you begin with melodies that are more on the participatory side)

p. 192 Mah Tovu (D. Maseng) This arrangement is majestic/soaring in nature, is published for choir, yet has a chorus that the entire congregation can sing. Eventually, if they like, they will catch on to the verses as well.
Segue to: (room for possible iyun t’filah on the upcoming combination of prayers, with music underneath, as both Mah Tovu and Elohai can be played in the same key)

pp. 194-96 Asher Yatzar and Elohai (Debbie Friedman)
Many people do not know there is a beautiful duet which contains the text to both of these prayers, bringing together gratitude for both body and soul. This is wonderful for a volunteer choir, or for one clergy member to lead the congregation in "Elohai" (the more well-known of the two) while the Cantor sings "Asher Yatzar."

p. 198 Nissim B'chol Yom (nusach)
These blessings might be chanted in Hebrew or English—I have also heard Rabbi Elyse Frishman chant the key words in the right margins (where we might normally insert "amen") in between the blessings in order to illuminate the upcoming Hebrew.

p. 204 La-asok b'divrei Torah (nusach)
The nissim b'chol yom segue right into this final blessing. In congregations where there is Torah study, one might insert it here, or do a short d'var on one aspect of the siddur orparashah, and allow congregants to discuss among themselves.

p. 218 Psalm 150 (Yemenite, antiphonal, something participatory) include in final chord, "we continue on p. 224." (Sing it!)

p. 224 Chatzi Kaddish (nusach)

p. 226 Bar'chu as is the congregation's custom

p. 228 Yotzer Or
Read in Hebrew or the first paragraph in English. Slow down the communal reading in preparation for Or Chadash (use a congregational melody, end with chatimah)

p. 230 Ahavah Rabbah
Read in English—perhaps use top of 230 first paragraph, then segue into V'ha-eir eineinu if the congregation knows it. Cantor should pick up where congregational singing ends (biy'shu- atecha) and continue thru chatimah. (Look out for addition of V'ahvi-einu l'shalom....!)

p. 232 Shema and V'ahavta as is minhag hamakom

Insertion of iyyun tefilah here—illuminating second paragraph of V'ahavta, the concept ofg'ulah, OR reading English p. 237 or 239....

p. 240 Mi Chamocha (Lipson)

p. 242 Intro to the Amidah
Begin "traditional" Adonai S'fatai Tiftach—after two or so repetitions, continue instrumental while reading "O God, You are as near as the very air we breathe..." on p. 243—repeat singing of kavanah once again at end of reading. Or begin with just one instrument playing thekavanah with reading underneath and sing after.

p. 244-248 Avot thru K'dushah as is minhag hamakom—for K’dushah
(Nusach or Bonia Shur)

p. 250 Yis'm'chu (D Maseng)
Again, this piece has a chorus that is congregational, yet is published chorally. The verses are solo in nature, interesting/upbeat, fun for the Cantor.

The piece above is extremely energetic, as are many settings to Yis'm'chu (for good reason!). Whatever comes next must be read in a similarly energetic/celebratory manner in order not to be jarring and provide a smooth transition to the rest of the Amidah.

p. 252 In English—chant chatimah in keeping with Yis'm'chu melody.

p. 255 Read English at bottom—chant chatimah

p. 257 Read English at bottom—chant chatimah
Alternatively, underscoring the reading on page 257 with Finkelstein's "V'al Kulam" for several weeks in a row is beautiful, and subliminally preps the congregation for hearing this as a vocal duet or choral piece eventually. Using instruments to introduce melodies first, even over the course of a month or so, is a great tool.

If you sing Sim Shalom after this, you must choose a setting that doesn't destroy the mood set by Modim. I recommend going directly to Silent Meditation after p. 257.

p. 260 Elohai N'tzor (Maseng if you have a choir)

May the Words (Schiller)
Either can segue into a congregational melody/Oseh Shalom if you like, but I prefer to keep it a meditational moment altogether.

Service for the Reading of the Torah:
p. 263 English at the bottom (familiar from Gates of Prayer)

p. 264 Ki Mitzion

p. 266 Baruch Sh'natan thru bottom of page

Page 267 provides options for a longer Hakafah.

(personal preference—a VERY brief mi shebeirach after each aliyah—shows folks that it's not just for healing—one sentence, maybe even begin in Hebrew and then switch to English so that people understand what you are doing)

p. 270 V'zot HaTorah (Portnoy)

I like this melody both because it continues into a niggun while the Torah is being dressed, and because if you proceed directly to returning the Torah to the Ark, it is an easy segue to
p. 274 Eitz Chayyim Hi/Hashiveinu (Lefkowitz)

If you are looking for a Bar/Bat Mitzvah musical blessing from MT, Benjie Schiller has a lovely setting to the Talmud passage at the top of p. 281.

p. 284 Aleinu

p. 287 read English, concluding with Bayom Hahu.
If you are using the Isaacson Bayom Hahu, then instruments can certainly underscore whatever reading occurs.

p. 291-295 Choose an appropriate introduction to Kaddish. Use instruments to underscore.

p. 296 Mourners' Kaddish (no instruments under, in case you were wondering)
Conclude with V'imru Amen (Shur) or Oseh Shalom (Spanish/Portuguese) or just the first two lines of the Hirsch Oseh Shalom to provide buffer before announcements/closing song/kiddush/whatever comes next.

SHABBAT SHALOM!!

Weekday Shacharit (a 30-45 minute example)
This outline is a bit simpler. I have assumed less accompaniment, no choir, a smaller congregation or minyan. For a more elaborate outline, please see Shabbat Morning.

p. 30 Mah Tovu (round)
If the congregation will hold on to the basic melody and "chorus" words, it is lovely for the Cantor to lay the "verses" on top of that in an improvisatory fashion.

p. 33 Read English, top or bottom, with Elohai N’shamah music in background

p. 34 Elohai N’shamah (Debbie Friedman)
Sing once thru, then continue instrumental under reading of p. 35 bottom, and conclude by singing the chatimah in the same Elohai N’shamah melody.

p. 36 Nissim b'chol yom—if in a small group, go around and ask each person to lead one (Hebrew or English). The congregation can respond with "amen" to each blessing.

p. 52 Ashrei (nusach)

p. 58 Barchu (weekday nusach)

p. 60 Yotzer (Laura Berkson)
Begin melody, read any of the English selections, end again with melody

p. 62 Ahavah Raba—read in Hebrew or English

p. 62 V'ha-eir Eineinu
V'havieinu thru chatimah (nusach)

p. 64 Sh’ma (minhag hamakom)

p. 66 V'ahavta

Iyun t'filahon G'ulah—Redemption

p. 72 Mi chamocha (weekday nusach)

p. 74 Preparation for Amidah (see Shabbat morning)
Avot, G'vurot, K'dushah

p. 83-95 Read odd numbered pages aloud, person by person as above (suggested either here or nissim b'chol yom—probably not both)

p. 98 Sim Shalom (Chassidic)

Silent Meditation

p. 100 Yih'yu L'ratzon (Weinberg, acapella)

Aleinu and Mourners' Kaddish (see Shabbat morning)

—————
Cantor Dreskin has served as the Director of Programs for Synagogue 3000 and as both, the cantor and educator, at Woodlands Community Temple, White Plains, NY and Fairmount Temple, Cleveland, OH.

pasting

HYMN TITLE	TMP #	COMPOSER
Adon Olam	982045	Rossi, Salamone
" "	991503	Helfman, Max
" "	983021	Gottlieb, Jack
Anim Zemirot	990747	Fromm, Herbert
Ein Adir (Mipi Eil)
Ein K'Eloheinu (Sephardic/Ladino)
Ein K'Eloheinu (Chassidic)	993280	arr. Max Janowski
" "	991320	Jochsberger, Tzipora, arr.
" "	993280	Wurman, Hans
Mah Tovu	991390	Adler, Samuel
" "	991616	Lewandowski, Louis
Shachar Avakeshcha (Early Will I Seek you)	991645	Freed, Isadore
" "	992036	Steinberg, Ben
Shomeir Yisrael	992038	Steinberg, Ben
" "	986321	Janowski, Max
Yigdal
" "
SHABBAT
Chiri Bim
Come O Sabbath Day
D'ror Yikra	992081	Parker, Alice, arr.
Ki Eshm'rah Shabbat	984002	Shur, Bonia/Hedayeh, Gladis, arr.
Mah Yafeh Hayom	991701	Sargon, Simon, arr.
Mizmor Shir L'yom HaShabbat (Psalm 92)	985505	Friedman, Debbie/Levin, Sheldon, arr.
Shabbat Hamalkah	986021	Janowski, Max
HYMN TITLES
Shabbat Shalom (Shir Hamaalot)	991349	Adler, Samuel
Shabbos (Yidn Zol Zein)
Tzur Mishelo	991321	Jochsberger, Tzipora, arr.
" "	991449	Davidson, Charles, arr.
Y'did Nefesh
Yah Ribbon	982026	Jacobson, Joshua, arr.
" "	993176	Solomon, Robbie
Yom Zeh L'Yisrael	991114	Steinberg, Ben
" "	991112	Sharlin, William
Havdalah
Eliahu Hanavi	991076	Richards, Stephen
" "	990702	Adler, Hugo
Lay'hudim Hay'ta Orah
Laner V'liv'samim
Shavua Tov, May You Have a Good Week
Songs
Adonai Oz
Al Shloshah D'varim
Am Yisrael Chai	991448	Weinzweig, John
Eileh Chamdah Libi
Esa Einai	993148	Hemmel, Ronald
" "	991210	Aloni, Aminadav
Gesher Tzar M'od	TBP	Isaacson, Michael
Hal'li (Psalm 146)
Havah Nashirah
Heiveinu Shalom Aleichem
Hineh Mah Tov	991250	Sargon, Simon
" "	991709	Starer, Robert
" "	993227	Contzius, Erik L.F./Myerov, Joseph/MacCabe, Sharon, arrs.
Hymn Titles
Im Ein Ani Li Mi Li?
Im Tirtzu
Ivdu et Adonai B'Simchah
L'chi Lach	985504	Friedman, Debbie/Sargon, Simon, arr.
Lo Alecha
Lo Yisa Goi	990684	Davidson, Charles
" "	993139	Isaacson, Michael, arr.
Mah Gadlu	TBP	Isaacson, Michael
Miriam's Song
Modeh Ani
Od Yishama
Or Zarua	986308	Janowski, Max
" "	991633	Fromm, Herbert
" "	991072	Lipson, Mark
Oseh Shalom	984010	Shur, Bonia
" "	991282	Sharlin, William
" "	992030	Eddleman, David
Ozi V'Zimrat Yah	991041	Adler, Samuel
" "	991753	Folk (arr. Eleanor Epstine/Matthew Lazar)
" "	982006	Epstein, Eleanor, arr.
Pitchu Li	982019	Solomon/Jacobson, arr.
Shehecheyanu	991495	Corrsin, Lori
" "	982040	Pik, Tsvika/Jacobson, Joshua, arr.
" "	983002	Gottlieb, Jack
Shir Chadash	993151	Aloni, Aminadav
Siman Tov Umazal Tov
T'fillat Haderech	985502	Friedman, Debbie/Levin, Sheldon, arr.
This Is Very Good (Hineh Tov M'od)
V'eizehu
V'haeir Eineinu	991461	Steinberg, Ben
Hymn Titles
V'nomar L'fanav	990680	Davidson, Charles
V'taheir Libeinu	990836	Coopersmith, Harry
Y'varech'cha Adonai MiTzion
Yis'michu Hashamayim
Israeli Songs and Dances
Al Kol Eileh	991450	Shemer, Naomi/Rosenblum, Yair/Jacobson, Joshua, arr.
Ani V'atah	991453	Gabrielov, Miki/Jacobson, Joshua, arr.
Bashanah Habaah
Dodi Li	993107
Eli Eli (Halichah L'Kesariah)
Eretz Zavat Chalav
Erev Shel Shoshanim	993107
Hava Nagilah	993137	Faktori, Daniel, arr./Jacobson, Joshua, ed.
" "	990726	Bass, Warner (ARR)
Iti Milvanon	993107	Chen, Nira
Kol Dodi
Lu Y'hi
Mah Navu	986111	Janowski, Max
Mitzvah Goreret Mitzvah
Od Yavo Shalom Aleinu (Salaam)
Shir Lashalom	991450	Shemer, Naomi/Rosenblum, Yair/Jacobson, Joshua, arr.
Tzaddik Katamar (Psalm 92)
Ush'avtem Mayim (Mayim)
Y'rushalyim Shel Zahav
Y'rushalayim (Mei-al Pisgat Har Hatzofim)	990808	Freed, Isadore, arr.
Days of Awe
Achat Shaalti
Avinu Malkeinu	991063	Isaacson, Michael
" "	991091	Adler, Samuel
" "	986203	Janowski, Max
Hymn Titles
Hashiveinu	990688	Davidson, Charles
L'Shanah Tova
Three Festivals
Livracha
Sisu V'Simchu	990323	Zeira/Helfman
Sisu V'Simchu B'Simchat Chag
V'samachta V'Chagecha
Sukkot
Turn, Turn, Turn
Pesach
Avadim Hayinu	991084	Richards, Stephen
B'chol Dor Vador
God of Might (Adir Hu)
Let My People Go (Go Down Moses)	986113	Janowski, Max
L'Shanah Habaah BeY'rushalayim
Miryam Han'viah
Shavuot
Al Tifg'ivi
Kaddish D'Rabanan	985500	Friedman, Debbie/Levin, Sheldon, arr.
Chanukah
Hanerot Halalu	982001	Lewandowski, Louis/Jacobson, Joshua, ed.
Light One Candle
Mi Y'maleil (Who Can Retell)	990239	Fromm, Herbert
" "	986405	Janowski, Max
Maoz Tzur	993150	Roter, Bruce Craig/Levi, Michael, arr.
" "	992055	Marcello, Benedetto/Zytowski, Carl, arr.
" "	990314	Adler, Samuel, arr.
Not By Might	991201	Friedman, Debbie
O Chanukah
Hymn Titles
Tu B'Shvat
Hashkediyah Porachat
Ki Tavo-u
Purim
Chag Purim
Shoshanat Yaakov
Utzu Eitzah
Songs of Memory
Al Naharot Bavel
Ani Maamin	990708	Helfman, Max
" "	993268	arr. Matthew Lazar
" "	993241	Honigman, Ronna
Ashrei Hagafrur	991369	Feldman, Charles
" "	991059	Hodkinson, Sidney
By the Waters of Babylon	990491	Chajes, Julius
" "	990241	Marcello, Benedetto
Eli Tzion	991040	Adler, Samuel
" "	991051	Fromm, Herbert
Lo Ira
VeY'huda L'olam Teisheiv
Yesh Kochavim
Zog Nit Keinmol/Partisan's Song	993116	Pokras/Turovsky, Vladimir, arr.
" "	990247	Chajes, Julius
Meditation and Healing
El Na R'fa Na Lah
Kol Han'shamah	984003	Shur, Bonia
Lamdeini Elohai
O Guide My Steps
Open Up Our Eyes
Hymn Titles
National Hymns
America	990101	Waghalter, Ignatz
America The Beautiful
God Bless America
Hatikvah	990729	Kosakoff, Reuven
" "	TBP	Isaacson, Michael
O Canada
Star Spangled Banner
*TBP = To Be Published