The Central Conference of American Rabbis just wrapped up a truly inspiring convention here in Atlanta. With deep themes of social justice, the power and importance of the rabbinate, the need to build coalitions across and beyond faith lines, and more, the more than 500 conference attendees (myself included) returned to our home communities energized and ready for action. Many hands were involved in shaping the vision and implementation of this convention including my own. My contribution was small but I think meaningful– participating in a concert at the end of an evening program featuring special guests from the Southern Poverty Law Center.
For many years I’ve had the honor of being a part of the house band (and to some extent resident composer) for a special musical community here in Atlanta– the combined choirs of Ebenezer Baptist Church and The Temple. These two choirs join forces 1-2 times a year as part of a pulpit exchange between the two congregations. Over the years several compositions of mine have become “standards” in the shared repertoire. Those songs, which include, “Rise Up”, “Praying with our Feet”, and “Not by Might”, all convey strong social justice themes in an uplifting and joyful way. They’re basically Jewish gospel tunes. And it was those three songs that were performed during the recent CCAR convention.
It was a true honor and joy for me to be able to share this special musical project with so many of my rabbinical colleagues, most of whom have no idea that I compose and perform music. That honor and joy was compounded by the fact that this was the first time that the combined choirs have performed outside of one of our respective houses of worship. Cantor Deborah Hartman, one of the primary forces behind the collaboration, renamed the combined choirs, “Voices for Justice.” “Voices for Justice” will be the name of the combined choirs moving forward as we hopefully find many new and relevant outlets for our musical message.
Many rabbinical colleagues responded enthusiastically to the music, saying that it was just the infusion of energy that they needed to be fully present for the remaining days of the convention. I am so grateful for the positive reception and for the opportunity to be a part of both the CCAR and “Voices for Justice.”
For those colleagues or anyone else that wants to get copies of the music or Mp3s or wants to chat about how to implement something like “Voices for Justice” in their home communities I’m happy to share the music and the process. Just let me know!