Rabbi's Corner

FROM THE DESK OF RABBI KOSTER

A Musical Reaching Out

The Jewish people and their music have their roots in the Middle East, specifically in the land of Israel, and their branches everywhere. They have lived, for over 2000 years, amongst many cultures, both Eastern and Western - from Iran to Israel, to the Western Mediterranean and North Africa, to Europe, and most recently, the Americas. Thus, there is a unique property of Jewish music that defies geographical location.

For millenia, Jews have been global wanderers; from the beginning of the common era, about 2000 years ago, until quite recently, they have lived amidst many cultures not their own. To preserve their identity, in a sea of foreign culture, Jewish people have always deemed it wiser to incorporate foreign cultural elements into the Jewish mainstream than to resist all outer influence absolutely. Thus, to a large degree, Jewish Music is a cross-cultural phenomenon, the music of the wanderer, the music of the world. Undoubtedly, certain Jewish ritual musical forms have their sources in antiquity, but the idea of creative adaptation has been a hallmark of Jewish musical life for a very long time; thus, Jewish Music has many faces. Yet its underlying mission has always been the thought that the world is so constituted that we can achieve peace and mindfulness if we adhere to certain ideals and truths. We do so by putting ourselves into contact with the creative forces that shape life and make it worth living.

Music is one of those forces with it melodious insistence to see our world beyond its daily routines. Gerard Edery and I have always shared the idea that music is a pathway for all of humanity in its quest for meaning. We live in a period of time that has seen tremendous shifts and changes, an age of war and economic uncertainty, but also an age with an ever growing spiritual potential and a refocusing on the truly important matters in life - each other and our community.  I am thrilled and honoured that Gerard has consented to be our voice for our March 7th benefit concert, which is after all, a musical reaching out to our community and a call for help to continue to financially support its mission of being a community open to all. In order to remain so, I would ask all of you to come and join forces to keep the doors of this community wide open.

 Rabbi Chava Koster