Carried on the Wave of a Prayer 🌊
Nasu - נָשְׂאוּ
Nasu - Click to Watch!
Rabbi Josh Warshawsky and the Chaverai Nevarech Band
Guest Teachers!
As we spotlight each of the melodies in the coming weeks, I invite you to learn from the words of some of my teachers and mentors throughout the years. I am only where I am today because of the help and guidance I have received from them. They have supported me - offered advice, honest critique, suggestions, wisdom, and Torah. I asked a few of my teachers if they would be willing to share words of Torah and Kavanah (intention) about the music and the texts from Chaverai Nevarech Vol. II. A short bio will follow each post. Thank you to my teachers - you have made me who I am!
Rav Todot (much gratitude) and Shabbat Shalom,
Josh
Carried on the Wave of a Prayer by Cantor Ellen Dreskin
Through the psalms of Kabbalat Shabbat, the myriad wonders and voices of the natural world celebrate and lift and illuminate the power of their source. Each creation uses its unique gifts to testify to the power of its creator.
Psalm 93 speaks to us of water: the majority of our make-up, source of nourishment, gentle as the morning dew and as harsh as a hurricane. Fluid, changing shape, waters below mixing with waters above, both giving and taking life with seeming abandon. Babbling brooks. Crashing waves. These are the voices of water. They embody the expansiveness of life itself, and makes navigation an awesome and thrilling task.
This setting for me is reminiscent of being carried on those waters. Setting off on a clear journey, supported by the water, slightly anxious and yet secure. The awe at the grandeur of creation grows with every moment, and our voices are added to the voices of the waters themselves, weaving amongst the waves, diving beneath the surface of the melody, immersing the words in myriad layers, then leaving the words behind entirely and becoming part of the wave. We allow ourselves to be carried into the mystery of Shabbat through voice. Ours, the waters', and God’s.
Cantor Ellen Dreskin (HUC-JIR ’86) is a communal prayer leader,
educator, coach, and consultant in the areas of liturgy, communal worship,
and deepening prayer practice. She has served as visiting
Artist/Educator/Shaliach Tzibbur at congregations across the country, and
is also proud to have been teaching and leading worship for many years at
HUC-JIR, Central Synagogue of NYC, Hava Nashira, SongLeader Boot
Camp, the JCCA Sheva Center, and online for the URJ.
Find out more at www.ellendreskin.com
The Light Lab Podcast
Stream Chaverai Nevarech Vol. II wherever you find your music by clicking here!
A great article in the Columbus Jewish News
this morning about my music and mission!