ABOUT THE ARTIST
Joshua Warshawsky came to Becomings through Rabbi Brad Artson, the dean of Joshua's rabbinical school. As a rabbi and musician, he is constantly seeking to find connections between music and liturgy, between faith and the world around us. In the melodies that he composes, he seeks to think about the deeper meaning behind the words, and how the music can help us to better express what the words are already trying to say.
Joshua Warshawsky came to Becomings through Rabbi Brad Artson, the dean of Joshua's rabbinical school. As a rabbi and musician, he is constantly seeking to find connections between music and liturgy, between faith and the world around us. In the melodies that he composes, he seeks to think about the deeper meaning behind the words, and how the music can help us to better express what the words are already trying to say.
Hame'irah
THE UNIVERSE BEGAN WITH A HUM.
A hum… and then a bang. And each day it grew larger and larger and contained more and more. We cannot live each new day in the same way we lived the last, for we have all of the experiences and memories of the previous day filed away in our internal memory bank. And so each day is created anew, filled with new opportunities. And each day, we have the potential to become partners with God in the act of creation, adding to the world in a way that only you can.
These words have sat nestled beneath the “Barchu” in our siddurim for hundreds of years, waiting for their power to be unleashed and their message to be understood. This section of our Tefillah is all about creation, leading us into the other main themes of our central Tefillot: revelation and redemption. We begin with the creation of the whole world. How can we pray without first acknowledging the miraculousness of our own existence? Without mentioning the fact that we are even present at this moment to offer words of gratitude? And so the first thing we do is speak of mercy. “The Holy One, who lights up the world and all of her inhabitants with mercy.” The key here is light. The first act of creation, mentioned first, and inherently interwoven with the divine attribute of mercy. And then this: “And in the Divine’s goodness, every single day, She renews the act of creation.”
And in thinking about creation and rebirth, we were immediately drawn to the feminine. Hebrew is a gendered language, and most of the time in liturgy the masculine suffix is used for God. But here, praying for rebirth and renewal, we wanted to sing to The Divine in the feminine, and so we changed the suffixes to reflect that: Hame’irah, Uv’tuvah, Mechadeshet.
Now is the time for us to be partners with God again in creating a better world. May we continue to merit to be partners with the Holy One. Grant us the capacity to value our friends and family, and to enrich the lives of those whom we love.
Change happens every day. Sometimes it’s hard to see and hear, like a hum,
But if we all hum together, we can move mountains.
Va'ani Ashir Uzecha (Psalm 59)
These words come from Psalm 59, which is a psalm that is not a part of our liturgy. I found them when searching for texts in the Jewish canon that speak of strength. The most familiar is the phrase, “Ozi v’zimrat Yah vayehi li li’yeshua,” from the Song of the Sea (Shirat Hayam). There is a midrash (story/explanation – exegesis) that goes along with these words from the Shir Hashirim Rabbah (Exegesis from the Song of Songs). Shir Hashirim Rabbah is filled with parables of a king and the king’s relations with various people in the kingdom. In this particular midrash, the king has in his possession many precious jewels and stones; rubies and emeralds, diamonds and gold. The king’s child approaches the king and says, “Father, let me have those.” And the king says, “They’re yours, they’ve always been yours, and to you I give them.” The rabbis liken this parable to the people of Israel as they stand at the shore of the red sea before it has been split. The Egyptians are at their backs and they are frightened. They call out to God and say, “God! Give us strength! Ozi V’zimrat Yah!” And God replies, “It’s yours, it’s always been yours, and to you I give it.” And the midrash continues, “v’ein oz ela Torah,” and there is no strength except for Torah.
So what does it mean for the Torah to be our strength? I thought about the words of this Psalm, “Va’ani ashir uzecha,” And I will sing Your strength.” What does it mean to sing Torah into the world? How can we sing our strengths into the world? To sing is to share, to publicize. In this case it is a communal act. And through singing Torah, God’s strength and gift to us, we find our own Torah, our own strength. The words of this verse begin “Va’ani ashir uzecha,” And I will sing YOUR strength, but they end, “Uzi eilecha azamerah,” MY strength, I will sing out to You.