By Eileen Wingard
LA JOLLA, California — High Holiday Music will be featured as the first of a series of three Jewish Holiday Music programs from the Music Collection of the Astor Judaica Library. This free presentation will be held from 2:00 to 3:30 p.m. Thursday afternoon, September 28, in the second floor library of the Lawrence Family JCC.
Once again, I will be the moderator. My guest will be the vibrant associate rabbi of Congregation Beth Israel, Jeremy Gimbel. In 2017, he became a rabbi and earned a masters degree in Jewish Education from the Los Angeles campus of the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. He will soon be adding a cantorial ordination to his list of achievements and in July, 2024, will be taking over the cantorial duties of San Diego’s largest Reform Congregation when Cantor/Rabbi Arlene Bernstein retires from that role.
The playlist for the program will begin with the voices of two of the leading virtuoso cantors from the turn of the 20th Century, Yossele Rosenblatt and Pinyele Pinchuk. Rosenblatt was probably the most famous cantor of all times. We will hear one of his recordings of the Kol Nidre (All Vows), the best-known of all the High Holiday prayers. Pinchuk will sing Av Harachmim (Father of Mercy), heard later in the Kol Nidre service.
We will listen to Alberto Mizrahi, a current acclaimed cantor, who served for a period at Congregation Beth El in La Jolla, chanting the Une sane Tokef (We shall ascribe holiness to this day) prayer.
Rabbi/Cantor Cheri Weiss, currently spiritual head of Temple Emanu-El in Honolulu, will chant my favorite Yigdal (Praise) melody. She formerly led the San Diego Outreach Synagogue before moving to her current post.
Next, there will be less familiar music. First, a rendition of Zochreynu l’Chaim (Remember Us in Life), which originated in South Asia. This will be followed by a recording from the liturgy of the Ethiopian Jews, then, El nora Alelah (God of Awesome Deeds) from the Italian Jewish Liturgy. Finally, Ahot Ktana, from a recording from the liturgy of the first Jews who settled in Colonial America.
Next, we will listen to newer original works, Rabbi Gimbel’s Hineni (Here I Am), Debbie Friedman’s “These Are the Days of Awe” and Zehi Ozari’s Sisu v’Simchu (We Shall Rejoice).
Our final selection will be Cantor Sheldon Merel’s beautiful rendition of Avinu Malkenu (Our Father, Our King), composed by Max Janowsky.
To conclude, we will all join in with Cheri Weiss’s singing of the traditional Avinu Malkenu.
The next two programs in this series will be Shabbat Music, October 19, and Hannukah Music, December 7.
All programs will take place in the Astor Judaica Library of the Lawrence Family JCC from 2:00-3:30 p.m.
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Eileen Wingard is freelance writer specializing in coverage of the arts.
What meaningful, beautiful offerings. I wish I could be there to join you!