The month of Elul has arrived, and with it, the frantic preparations of body and soul for the New Year and the High Holidays. Those who follow the Sephardi tradition may have started waking early in the morning to say Selichot, penitential prayers, while Sephardim and Ashkenazim alike are sounding the Shofar on a daily basis, a call to our souls to look inward at our actions and outward to a world that needs us. In this newsletter, we'll look at a few different perspectives of how our Israeli rabbis and communities are getting ready for the High Holidays and also present three different recordings produced by the Masorti Movement of piyutim for this holiday period. Finally, while we are focused on the holidays ahead, we do not forget the "mundane" that continues to happen around us. We are including the summary of the Summer Session of the Knesset by the Jewish Pluralism Watch, detailing the current affairs of Religion and State in Israeli governance.
Chodesh Tov,
Devora Greenberg
Rabbi Arie Hasit
Rabbi Gil NativAbout the Selichot Prayers
According to the tradition of Sephardic Jews, “Selichot” (Jewish penitential prayers) are customarily recited from the beginning of the month of Elul and onward. According to the tradition of the Sages, it was on this date in the Hebrew calendar that Moshe ascended Mount Sinai to receive the Tablets of the Law for a second time, immediately after God had forgiven the People of Israel for their transgressions. According to the tradition of Ashkenazi Jews, “Selichot” prayers are said starting from the Saturday night preceding Rosh Hashana.
Once again, the first of the Jewish month of Elul has come and some of us have started reciting Selichot prayers (according to the Sephardi custom) and starting the countdown from the first of this month to Rosh ChodeshTishrei (the first of the month of Tishrei) and the Jewish High Holy Days - those joyous days which can only be called "the Days of Awe(some Joy)." Until then, time still lies before us: weeks of introspection, soul-searching and repentance, which also provide us with an opportunity for deeper introspection regarding the essence and meaning of this period.
The liturgical poem (Piyut) “Come to Us with Mercy” was composed by the scholar and lyricist, Freha bat Avraham bar Adiva.
Freha was born in Morocco in the 18th century, and migrated with her family to Tunis due to the pogroms in Morocco. She wrote the piyut “Come to Us with Mercy,” with its chorus “Who at morning time hears my voice” as a private supplication to the Almighty, and a request to bring redemption to the Jewish people.
It is customary to sing the piyut in Sephardic congregations during the High Holidays and in many Masorti congregations in Israel during Rosh Hashanah services. The poem can be found in the Masorti Machzor Pote’ach Sha’ar for the High Holidays.
Cantor Saralee Shrell-Fox, a member of Maayanot, a Masorti congregation in Jerusalem, and a cantor at Moreshet Yisrael, composed this beautiful melody for Freha Bat Avraham's piyut together with her son Maayan.
“Adon HaSelichot” one of the oldest known piyutim in the canon of High Holiday prayers. In Sephardic communities, the piyut is at the center of the Selichot service, recited daily, besides Shabbat, from the 2nd day of Elul until after Yom Kippur. The piyut has become well known across the Jewish communities of Israel, and is sung in most synagogues, with melodies coming from Turkey, Morocco, and Ottoman-era Palestine, among others. The poem, written in acrostic form, focuses on God's omniscience and awareness of the sins and failings of every human. Despite this, we ask for God to have mercy on us, despite our various shortcomings.
Rabbi Avraham Bar Ya'akov Ben Tuah (b. 16th century Algeria) was a modest man, a brilliant scholar, an esteemed lawmaker, and a talented poet. The piyut "I Will Arise to Write Poetry" was a special plea sung before the High Holiday prayers. The prayer leader, just moments before arising to sing prayers on behalf of his congregation, implored that the God of justice and mercy would hear and answer his prayers. This piyut turns both to the image of the One who sits in heaven as well as the image of the One who creates on the earth, and to all artisans who arise daily to do their work and rise up in song. The piyut is included in "Poteach Sha'ar" ,the masorti machzor for Yom Kippur. The song was composed and perfomed by Shirat Machar, the Noam youth music- singing group.
Opposing Liberal Judaism In Israel Erases People Like Me
A well thought out article by Sophie Fellman - Rafalovitz, the Masorti Movement chairperson, written as a response to last week's challanging article by Einat Wilff and Ram Vromen in the Forward.
