A famous debate among the sages of Jewish tradition tries to resolve the question, โWhat is better: study or action?โ The rabbis argue both sides but they ultimately declare, โStudy is greater, because it leads to action.โ
This moment in historyย demands both study and action. Our community isย comprised of thousands of individuals with different stories and diverse journeys. Some of us have deeply lived the reality of racial injusticeย in the United Statesย while others of us are beginning to learn.
A few days ago, Rabbis Greg Weitzman and Juliana Karol chatted over Zoom about their ideas for learning this coming summer. Here is the transcript.
Juli: Hi, Greg. Looks like youโre Zooming from the porch today. I wish I had outdoor space but Iโm grateful for my windows. I canโt believe itโs already June. What a totally unprecedented and unbelievable year it has been. I feel torn between feelings of tremendous gratitude and pride, but also deep heartbreak and pain. And Iโm definitely exhausted. How are you planning to recharge during this singular summer?
Greg: Hi Juliana! So great to see you โ at least virtually. Though it is true that Iโm sitting on a porch, full transparency, Iโm at my in-laws! I canโt believe how these last few months have been. I, too, am incredibly grateful for the health and comfort of being with my family during this time. And just like you, I am exhausted. I was certainly not prepared for the life of a Zoom rabbi in seminary! My original summer plans were to see a lot of live music and enjoy some time at the beach โ that was how I was going to recharge from our year. Though the beach is still an option, I am less inclined to stand around 30,000 strangers. So to recharge Iโm going to focus on the little things and the little gifts. I am celebrating the chance to have dinner with my family and be home for the earliest months with my son, Jon. I enjoy running and being outside โ just reminding myself what a gift that is. And I will definitely spend more time away from my computer and more time present with my family! What about you?
Juli: I agree about less time on the computer. I definitely have a newfound appreciation for how technology can connect all of us in positive ways โ through worship, celebrating milestones, chatting at night with friends and family. This summer though, since so much of our professional and personal lives have moved online, Iโm planning to disconnect when possible. I have a lot of learning to do. The past few weeks have proven just how little I understand about racial injustice in our country. I plan to spend free time reading and listening. Then Iโm definitely looking forward to outside time with our children, picnics, and physically distant visits with family. I feel like this summer is an invitation to focus on my core blessings. And to do some deep reflection about the rupture in our world and how we might heal. Do you think itโs possible to recharge amidst all the brokenness weโre facing?
Greg: Absolutely. I also have a lot of learning and reflecting to do. I look at these next few months of summertime quarantine as a chance to lean into some of the challenging realities of the world, while still giving myself the space to reflect upon my role in them. My summer reading list has completely changed these last few weeks, and I am grateful for the space and time to do so. The world is, for lack of a better word, broken, and we need to be a part of helping to put it back together โ somehow and someway. Iโm reminded of the great lesson from Rabbi Tarfon in Pirkei Avot: โIt is not your responsibility to finish the work, but neither are you free to neglect it.โ These next few months are, in my opinion, an open invitation to begin the conversation. Do you have any books that you are planning to read on either race or racism this summer?
Juli: I have a great list of books! In fact, this summer we are launching CRS Reads and inviting congregants to choose a book on the topic of racial justice. During the month of Elul, a time of reflection and self-work leading up to the High Holy Days, we will convene discussion groups to discuss what weโve read and learned. We invite all our congregants to visit crs.rodephsholom.org/crsreads to learn more. And thank you for bringing in the words of Rabbi Tarfon who reminds us that the brokenness in the world cannot be fixed by a single person; but requires the dedicated work of the collective over generations. Iโm reminded as well of Opal Tometi, co-founder of the Black Lives Matter Movement, who said, โWords actually matter. Theyโre significant; they can transform and open up our imagination.โ I think the most worthwhile way to recharge this summer is through the transformative power of othersโ words.
Justin Callis (he/him), our Cantorial Intern, is a fourth-year student at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in the Debbie Friedman School of Sacred Music. He is the recipient of the Reuben Peretz Abelson Prize for dedication to Yiddish Song, the Temple Israel of Boston Cantorial Prize, and the Lee Gura Memorial Prize for Aptitude in Synagogue Choral Music.
Sarah Adams, viola, performs locally with the New York Chamber Ensemble, theย Claring Chamber Players, the Sherman Chamber Ensemble, the Friends of Mozart, and the Saratoga Chamber Players.
Violinist Michael Roth is a native of Scarsdale, NY and received his early musical training with Frances Magnes at the Hoff-Barthelson Music School. He attended Oberlin College and Conservatory, continuing his studies with Marilyn McDonald. At Oberlin, he won the Kaufman Prize for violin and First Prize in the Ohio String Teacher’s Association Competition. He completed his Master of Music degree at the University of Massachusetts where he worked with the distinguished American violinist and pedagogue Charles Treger and was a recipient of the Julian Olevsky Award.ย Mr. Roth is currently associate concertmaster of the New York City Ballet Orchestra and has appeared in chamber music and as a soloist with the company, most recently in the debut of “Slice Too Sharp”, a ballet of Biber and Vivaldi violin concerti, and “After the Rain”, violin music of Arvo Part. In addition he is a member of the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra, Principal 2nd violin of the Westchester Philharmonic, the American Composers Orchestra and the New York Pops. He was concertmaster of the Vermont Mozart Festival Orchestra for many years and often appeared as soloist there, as well as at the Caramoor and Bard Music Festivals. He has played and toured internationally with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and the New York Chamber Soloists.
Known for his sweet and โsumptuousโ (New York Times) tone, American-born Doori Na took up violin at the age of four and began his studies with Li Lin at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. He quickly made his first performance with orchestra at age seven with the Peninsula Youth Symphony as the first prize winner of the concerto competition. Thereafter Mr. Na went on to win top prizes in The Sound of Music Festival, The Korea Times Youth Music Competition, the Chinese Music Teacherโs Association, The Menuhin Dowling Young Artist Competition, The Junior Bach Festival, VOCE of the Music Teacherโs Association of California, and The Pacific Musical Society. Receiving full scholarships to private high school Crossroads School of Arts and Sciences in Santa Monica, he moved to Los Angeles to study with renown violin teacher, Robert Lipsett, at The Colburn Music School. There he appeared as soloist with the Palisades Symphony, Brentwood Symphony, and Torrance Symphony. During that time, the summer of 2004 was Mr. Naโs first time at the Perlman Music Program where his expression and musical identity were greatly influenced. He has been a part of the program ever since and participated in many of their special residencies in Florida, Vermont, New York, and Israel.
Alan Goodis is a touring Jewish musician playing over 150 events a year. Born and raised in Toronto, Alan is a proud product of URJ Goldman Union Camp Institute. Noted for his dedication to building relationships and community through music, Alan tours throughout the US to serve as an Artist-In-Residence and performer at Temples, Youth Conventions and Jewish summer camps.
Julie Silver is one of the most celebrated and beloved performers in the world of contemporary Jewish music today. She tours throughout the world, and has been engaging audiences with her gorgeous compositions and liturgical settings, her lyrical guitar playing, her dynamic stage presence, and her megawatt smile for over 25 years.
Dan is a product of the URJ Jewish camping movement. He has toured Jewish summer camps across North America for the last 15 years. A classically trained singer, Dan received his Bachelor of Music degree in vocal performance at the University of North Carolina. In 1995, realizing the potential of music to make powerful connections with Jewish youth, Dan established the Jewish rock band Eighteen. Since that time, Dan and Eighteen have released 13 albums. Songs like, Lโtakein, Bโtzelem Elo-him, Kehillah Kedoshah, Chazak, Sweet As Honey, and Asher Yatzar have become Jewish communal anthems throughout North America.
Naomi Less is an internationally celebrated singer/songwriter, ritualist and educator. Beloved for her warm smile and inviting presence, communities celebrate her imagination and innovation, tenderness and pizzazz! Her original music is sung in worship communities worldwide. Naomi serves as Co-Founder, Ritual Leader and Associate Director of Lab/Shul and is a leader in amplifying women’s voices through her work at Songleader Boot Camp and her Jewish Women Rock show on Jewish Rock Radio. Naomiadvocates for people struggling with fertility journeys as a performance artist and speaker for Uprooted: A Jewish Response to Fertility Challenges. Fun fact: Naomi and her husband wrote the song shine/Yivarech’cha, a Friday night blessing, specifically composed for URJ Crane Lake Camp, sung every Friday night in the dining hall.
Her destiny became obvious to Joanie Leedsโ parents when, at the tender age of 2, Joanie grabbed the performerโs mic at a party and belted out the entire songโTomorrowโ from Annie. Jaws dropped! No one could remember ever hearing a big voice like that coming from one so tiny and certainly no one would have thought she would one day earn a GRAMMYยฎ Award for her original music.
A composer, multi-instrumentalist, and prayer leader, Elana Arian is one of the leading voices in contemporary Jewish music. Elanaโs music is part of Jewish life across the globe, and her compositions are sung in spiritual communities, summer camps, and synagogues from Louisville to London, from Chicago to the CzechRepublic, and everywhere in between. Elana just released her fourth album of original music, The Other Side of Fear, and her compositions have been published in countless Transcontinental Music collections. Elana serves proudly on the faculty of Hava Nashira (Oconomowoc, WI), the Wexner Heritage Foundation (Aspen, CO), Shirei Chagiga (London, England), and as an instructor at the Hebrew Union College in New York, where she teaches in the Debbie Friedman School of Sacred Music. Elana has performed at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Tanglewood, and perhaps most memorably, five separate appearances at the (Obama) White House. She lives in New York with her wife, Julia, and their two daughters, Maya and Acadia.
Known for his unique, engaging, and deeply soulful approach, Noah Aronson is considered one of the most sought after Jewish musicians in North America, making over 65 community appearances each year.
There is a reason why Time Magazine has listed Michelle in their Top Ten list of Jewish rock stars.
Kol BโSeder has been composing and performing contemporary Jewish music since the early1970s. Rabbi Dan Freelander and Cantor Jeff Klepper met as college students; over the past 50years they have released numerous CDs and songbooks. With Debbie Friedman (z”l) and others, they forged a new musical sound for American Jewish camps, schools and synagogues. Their songs, such as “Shalom Rav,โ โModeh Ani,โ and “Lo Alecha,” have become traditionalJewish melodies around the world. They are delighted to be inaugurating their fiftieth anniversary celebration by appearing in support of URJ camps, where they first composed and incubated many of their early songs.
Rabbi Mira Weller (she/her) received her ordination at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Los Angeles in May 2022. She studied Culture and Politics at Georgetown Universityโs School of Foreign Service and received her Masterโs in Jewish Education at the Rhea Hirsch School of Education at HUC-JIR. She is the proud recipient of awards for her studies in rabbinic literature, her work in Jewish education, and she was granted the Myrtle Lorch Pfaelzer-Monroe Pfaelzer Award for an Outstanding Female Rabbinical School Student (2022). Rabbi Mira speaks Hebrew and Spanish (so please practice with her!). She has a passion for uncovering new possibilities in the great wealth of our tradition and for making music inspired by Judaismโs many cultures. Her guilty pleasures include cupcakes, classical music, and philosophy.
New York bassist Roger Wagner enjoys a long and diverse career. As soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral bassist, Mr. Wagner has appeared on many of the world’s great concert stages.
Sarah Adams 
Leonard Bernstein described 
Praised by the New York Times as โirresistible in both music and performance.โ flutist, 
Margaret Kampmeier, 
Michael Roth
Our initiative for young children and their grown-ups provides a slate of offerings including Shabbat and holiday celebrations, music, classroom readiness programs, and new parent experiences. During the pandemic, we have leaned on $1m of seed funding for Sholom Sprouts established through this campaign as we offer age-appropriate virtual programs for our families with young children, who are the future of our community. We look forward to welcoming our littlest members and their grown-ups back to our new fifth floor, as well as hiring a Program Assistant to increase the capacity of Sholom Sprouts to grow. This program provides a crucial entry-point to the congregation and membership for young families.
