A Spiritual Open Mic Night

Last night my temple had an open mic night. I tuned in to be supportive of the organizer and performers, but stayed because it was both entertaining and uplifting. It made me realize the truth of a quote from J.S. Bach, “Music is mandated by God’s spirit.”  

Many years ago, when I moved to Ithaca, NY for a job at Cornell, I was looking for a temple to join. At the first temple I visited, two lay women with beautiful voices led services. I never looked further. I knew immediately that listening to their music each week would be spiritually fulfilling.

Music is also an essential component of services at the temple I currently attend. In fact, when we were searching for a new Rabbi, musicality was part of the job description. Last night our Rabbi, who more than meets this qualification, sang a Grateful Dead song, Ripple, which she described as liturgical:

               Reach out your hand if your cup is empty

               If your cup is full may it be again

               Let it be known there is a fountain

That was not made by the hands of men

The surprise of the evening was Ellie Flier, a young woman who went to Nashville to write country music but “found her passion writing Jewish music.” One of her songs, “Out of Darkness,” was based on a prayer acknowledging God’s creation of day and night, “Rolling back light from darkness and darkness from light.” She sang:  

We stand at the edge of the fading light

What lies ahead is out of sight

Give us the strength to cross into the unknown

Guide us through our dark despair

But when we feel you in the dark, we know we’re not alone.

In the midst of a pandemic which feels like a long night of unknown this was haunting, but also comforting.