Rabbi Esther Hugenholtz

This High Holiday cycle, I chose the theme ' V'heyeh B'rachah - Be a Blessing ' based on the blessing God gave Abraham in Genesis chapter 12. The theme ' V'heyeh B'rachah - Be a Blessing ' was incorporated musically throughout the High Holidays by Linda Wertz and myself. Linda Wertz and I 'retro-engineered' the melody of 'El Na Refa Na La' composed by Daphna Rosenberg and Nave Agmon from Israeli worship band ' Nava Tehila' , and fit (some) of the words of Gen. 12 to the tune. You can listen/watch the video of us playing/singing the song here . My sermon series focused on the first three versus of Genesis chapter 12 where Abraham (then still Abram) is charged with his mission: וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה אֶל-אַבְרָם, לֶךְ-לְךָ מֵאַרְצְךָ וּמִמּוֹלַדְתְּךָ וּמִבֵּית אָבִיךָ, אֶל-הָאָרֶץ, אֲשֶׁר אַרְאֶךָּ. וְאֶעֶשְׂךָ, לְגוֹי גָּדוֹל, וַאֲבָרֶכְךָ, וַאֲגַדְּלָה שְׁמֶךָ; וֶהְיֵה, בְּרָכָה. וַאֲבָרְכָה, מְבָרְכֶיךָ, וּמְקַלֶּלְךָ...

Sermon Parashat Beshallach 2018 Rabbi Esther Hugenholtz HaShirah HaZot – This Song ‘ Az yashir Moshe u’vnei Yisrael et hashirah hazot ’ – ‘then Moses and the Children of Israel sang this song.’ Thus opens chapter 15 of the Book of Exodus, otherwise known as the Song of the Sea, the oldest Biblical text of our entire canon. Many of us will be familiar with the ‘Shirat haYam’, the Song of the Sea. Despite its ancient, convoluted, poetic Hebrew, we are familiar with threads of it, woven into the tapestry of the liturgy. ‘ Ozi v’zimrat Yah, vayehi li lishuah ’ – ‘the Eternal is my strength and might, he is my deliverance’ is a staple of summer camps and spiritual gatherings where its well-known contemporary melody makes for beautiful harmonies. ‘ Adonai yimloch le’olam va’ed ’ – ‘the Eternal shall reign forever’ is a theological proclamation that is seeded across our liturgy. ‘ Mi chamocha ba’elim Adonai ’ – ‘who is like You, among the gods?’ is sung with gusto by cong...

photography: Esther Hugenholtz שִׁירוּ לַיהוָה, שִׁיר חָדָשׁ; שִׁירוּ לַיהוָה, כָּל-הָאָרֶץ. ' Shiru la'Adonai shir chadash, shiru la'Adonai kol ha'Aretz '  'Sing unto the Eternal a new song, sing unto the Eternal, all the Earth!'  ~ Psalm 96:1 Music has always been an inextricable part of my spirituality. I didn't grow up in a 'musical' family (we were the sort who cultivated the 'visual arts') but the musical choices of my older brothers did rub off on me: Bob Marley, Queen, Nirvana, The Doors, Jimi Hendrix and Tracy Chapman.  Queen and Bob Marley were especially formative to me. It was in this music that I found my earliest spiritual inspiration. When I was 19, I discovered Tracy Chapman and was so inspired that I decided to teach myself to play the guitar and have been writing songs ever since. Once I started getting involved with the Jewish community, I also started composing liturgical and religious music. As a ...