SAR High School gave me and Rabbi Moshe Drelich the space to redo the way we recite Selichot in school. We created a Selichot booklet that has ideas, guiding questions, and an accessible translation for students - and we are already seeing and hearing positive feedback from so many teachers and students. The booklet is visually pleasing as well, thanks to the tireless efforts of Gila Kolb. We kicked off this renewed focus on Selichot with a Motzaei Shabbat Selichot program, where I found myself - beyond my comfortable limits - leading a communal Selichot for the first time in my life. My Zaidy ah was a baal tefillah and his pleasant voice and musical comfort with the tunes of tefillah - especially those of the Yamim Noraim - were clearly passed on to some of my siblings and cousins. The depth of his experiences as a survivor of the Shoah was prominent in his tefillah as well. I had never imagined that I would be in that space, leading a tzibbur. My father-in-law Eddie Schwartz is also a talented baal tefillah, and Ive been moved deeply being around his davening over the past several years - and if you know what the past several years have been like for the Schwartz family you know that being around for those tefillot was/is moving, challenging, inspiring, heartbreaking, heartbreaking, heartbreaking, and maybe moving towards reassuring but maybe not but deeper than anything and profound and human and divine. My own father is someone whose tefillot match the strength and depth of his character. Being around him when he says ותשובה ותפילה וצדקה מעבירין את רוע הגזירה is transformative. Standing next to him as he performs וידוי is humbling. Hearing him valiantly recreate the tunes of his father-in-law (my Zaidy) - all the while him knowing that it may not come out perfectly - has always been heartwarming. I am grateful to have had the chance to channel some of the above and more in a safe space this past Motzaei Shabbat.
Posted on: Tue, 23 Sep 2014 00:28:07 +0000
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