shabbat shiraH by cantor felder-levy

“Sing and your heart will know the secret of eternity,” so writes contemporary Jewish poet Alden Solovy, who adds, “your voice will join the chorus of angels.” On Saturday, February 8, 2020, Shabbat Shirah, the Sabbath of Song, our congregation with the help of our wonderful Shir Hadash Volunteer Choir, will raise our voices towards the heavens. Come and join us as we sing our way through our morning worship using music composed by popular Jewish Women Composers; including, Debbie Friedman, Rachelle Nelson, Natalie Young, Peri Smilow, Elana Arian and Naomi Shemer and more.

Rabbi Tlalit Shavit of Rosh Pina will be our guest and speak about the struggles of women in Israel. Rabbi Shavit leads the Be’Rosh Pluralisti Congregation located in the northern area of Israel, the congregation aims to create pluralistic relations, to bring Jewish spirit and meaning into people’s lives and to seek out and act for social justice. They are the proud users of a Shir Hadash Torah on loan.

With a BA and MA in Jewish Thought & Philosophy from Tel Aviv University, Rabbi Shavit has been teaching at seminars and colleges around Israel for the past 25 years. On completion of Rabbinical Studies at HUC in Jerusalem 6 years ago, she began leading the Gilboa Congregation before moving recently to Rosh Pina.

Born on the secular Kibbutz Sdot Yam, Rabbi Shavit’s journey of spiritual awakening is one of deep personal connection and a wanting to create a way of living where inside and outside meet. 

Rabbi Shavit will also be attending our Friday night Family Shabbat service on Friday, February 7 where she will be showing some dolls that are part of the “Ashangulit” project, the Ethiopian Doll project, between her congregation and Ethiopian Jews resettled in the area.

Alden Solovy writes in his poem, “Sing Praises”: “Listen to your own voice. Listen to your own prayers. This is your power and your peace. This is your pulse and your heartbeat. This is your life. Sing praises, sing praises.”

We invite the whole congregation to join us for this wonderful morning in song and prayer, as we join your voice with our voice and sing praises. A kiddush lunch will follow services and a sing/play-along will follow the lunch (please register by Wednesday, February 5, to ensure that we have enough food). Bring your voice and/or your instruments and join us in an hour of singing.  Music will be projected so everyone can follow. Want to practice in advance? Connect with Mark Allen who will be our musical director.  We will be singing some of the music featured in Shir Shabbat services and more. For more information about the music portion of the program, contact Mark Allen at board-ritual@shirhadash.org.

Torah Portion: Beshalach Shirah
Haftarah Portion: Judges 4:4-5:31

Kehillat B’Rosh Pluralisti is led by Rabbi Tlalit Shavit and is located in the town of Rosh Pina. The community was established in 2010 at the initiative of a number of residents of Rosh Pina who formed an active community of members from the town and the region. The congregation holds Kabbalat Shabbat and Havdalah services, holiday celebrations, beit midrash studying, b'nai mitzvah courses, and celebrations. They've recently held services at ancient synagogue sites in the region, including the ancient Korazim synagogue.

Get Involved: We welcome your involvement and participation! Please email our Shir Shabbat chair to find out more.

For a full list of upcoming Shir Shabbat services and the lay leadership participating at each service, visit our Shir Shabbat Services page.