The Honey Jar - Congregation Ohev Shalom

Volume 5, No. 9 Page 7Kippur. kinot (dirges) are thepiyyutim recited on Tisha B’Av.Unfortunately today thesebeautiful poems are chanted bymost congregations only on theHigh Holy Days. It is the additionof these piyyutim that makes theHigh Holy Day services markedlydifferent (and longer) from thatof the Shabbat and the Yom Tovservice. A contributing reason forthe general disappearance of thisform of piyyut during other timesof the year was the ongoingopposition of some Rabbis whoconsidered the piyyutim to be anunwarranted and improperinterruption of the obligatoryprayers. Since the music of theseprayers was not governed by therules of Nusach, many Hazzanimtook advantage by composinglong, often tedious, musicalsettings to these prayers. As aresult, outside of the HighHoliday period, the only Piyyutimthat are still in widespread useare the short Prayers for Rain andDew recited on Shmini Atzeretand the first day of Pesach. Somecongregations (including ours)still recite hoshanot whilemarching with lulav and etrogon Sukkot. Fewer still recite theunwieldy and complicatedspecial piyyut for Shavuot calledAkdamut. Written in Aramaic,Akdamut is interesting in that it isof a form called Reshut, a request(to God) for permission to digressfrom the usual order of prayers.This reshut was composed at atime when the Torah reading forShavuot was chanted in Aramaicrather than Hebrew. TheAramaic reading of Torah haslong since disappeared from anysynagogue service, but theAkdamut remains. You will hear itrecited prior to the Torah readingon the first morning of Shavuot(Wednesday, May 19).Some of these piyyutimwere just so beautiful that theyhave survived the test of timeand we still recite them everyShabbat. It’s a rare Jew whohasn’t heard of Adon Olam, EinKelohenu, L’cha Dodi, or Yigdal.For many of our congregantsthese wonderful words of lovefor God are their favorite reasonsfor coming to services. I alsohave a special love for certainpiyyutim, mostly because of theway they sound to me whensung out loud. I will write aboutthem in more detail in the future.Please let me know if there arepiyyutim that are special to you. Iwould be happy to put those atthe top of my research list.B’shalom,Cantor Steven FriedrichCommunicationsCommittee ReportThe Board of Directors islooking to update our publicidentity, or “Ohev Shalom look.”The recently formedCommunications Committee issetting guidelines for aconsistent, cohesive look inflyers, ads, press releases,stationery, The Honey Jar, andour electronic venues ofwebsite, Facebook, and weeklyannouncements.We’re looking forward toa future unveiling!Adult Education --Please note!The trope class originallyscheduled for May 5 hasbeen cancelled. Trope classwill resume in June and willspecifically focus on HighHoliday Torah trope, to beutilized for this year’s HighHoliday Torah readings forRosh HaShanah and YomKippur. Anyone wishing tolearn (or upgrade) the HighHoliday Trope should contactCantor Friedrich to discusspossible meeting times. Amorning trope class can beformed if there is enoughinterest.The “X-rated Version ofMegillat Ruth” originallyscheduled for Wednesday,May 12, has been postponed.It will be presented onTuesday evening, May 18, byboth Rabbi Gerber andCantor Friedrich as part ofour Tikkun Leyl Shavuotprogram following ShavuotMa’ariv services that evening(see page 4 for a completeShavuot schedule).