Gearing up to 5783
Dear friends,
It's been a while since we've been in touch! I hope summer has been fantastic for you. I wanted to share with you a few exciting updates. First of all, Adina and I had a baby! Jona Liba was born on July 15th 2022 right as Shabbat was arriving, weighing 6 lbs 13 oz exactly! We've been taking some time as a family and it has been the most incredible five weeks together already!
Meet Jona!
Blessing the new month And looking to the future
Shuvah - Rabbi Josh Warshawsky and the Chaverai Nevarech Band
Tomorrow on Shabbat we will bless and announce the new month with a prayer called "Mevarchim Chodesh". In it, we express our hopes and dreams for the next month. We wish for goodness, for success, to be immersed in Torah learning. We end with the words:
חַיִּים שֶׁיְּמַּלְאוּ מִשְׁאֲלות לִבֵּנוּ לְטובָה. אָמֵן סֶלָה
A month (and life) where all the requests of our heart will be fulfilled for good, Amen Sela.
This song, Shuvah, is all about those aspirations, those hopes and dreams. These words sit buried at the end of the Torah service, right before the most famous lines that we sing every time we return the torah to the ark: Etz chayim hi lamachazikim ba, the Torah is a tree of life to those who hold fast to it. But we skip over these beautiful lines that come before it! How do we make the Torah into a tree of life? by heeding the words that come before: “Kohanecha yilbeshu tzedek v’chasidecha yeraneinu” – when priests are robed in justice, then those who love You will rejoice. It turns out that the robes and breastplates and uniforms that the priests are supposed to wear, covered in jewels and gold, don’t matter. What matters is for our priests to be robed in justice. What does it mean to wear justice? What would it look like if people could look at our leaders, look at us, and see justice on us? What could the world be like if we could look around and see justice on people’s bodies just as clearly as a pair of pants or a hat? We can all be taking steps to make it clear that this is what we stand for.
Fall 2022 Tour and HHDs Compilation Album!
As we move towards 5783, I'm so excited to be starting up my Shabbat residencies, starting with next week at Ahavath Achim in Atlanta, GA! Below is my Fall 2022 tour schedule. I can't wait to sing with so many incredible communities this year.
Next week for Rosh Chodesh Elul, I will be releasing a High Holidays Compilation album! These songs are my current contributions to the High Holidays musical canon, and I hope they help you prepare for these days of Awe. I am also re-sharing my High Holidays praylist, which is my spiritual soundtrack for the next 40 days.
Wishing you a meaningful High Holiday Season, and be on the lookout for highlighted tracks every Thursday!
Shabbat Shalom,
Josh
Get ready for the High Holidays with The Praylist on Spotify
