This live zoom concert honored groundbreaking composers giving Jewish feminist voice through song to the women of the Bible.Concert composers and performers:
Linda Baer, Bat ella, Laura Berkson, Batsheva, Tamara Cohen, Lisa Doob, Marsha Dubrow, Mary Feinsinger, Debbie Friedman, z"l, Abbie Goldberg, Albi Gorn, Sue Horowitz, Robin Anne Joseph, Eli Shirim Lester, Jackie Olenick, Stacey Zisook Robinson, Kendall Rosenberg, Beth Sass, Hannah Spiro, Judith S. Tellerman.
Goldie Mara Milgram & Geela Rayzel Raphael, Co-Hosts
ORDER OF THE CONCERT
MIRIAM--BY THE SHORES by Geela Rayzel Robinson Raphael
Interview segment, Honoring Jewish Feminist Artist Jackie Olenick
Miriam's Song by Laura Berkson
Tamara Ruth Cohen, Guest Teacher and Lyracist
Bat Ella, singing Tamara Ruth Cohen and Debbie Friedman's Devorah's Song
Judith Tellerman, Judith/Yehudit
Albi Gorn accompanying Robin Anne Joseph singing his Miriam's Fire
Eli Shirim Lester, Kendall Rosenberg, singing Eli's Lillith Knew the Truth accompanied by Hannah McGlaufin
Lilith and Me by Abbie Goldberg
Yiftach's Daughter by Batsheva
Marsha Dubrow, Anita Schubert ,and Sharon Steinberg singing Vatikach Miryam HaNeviyah | Miriam's Song by Marsha Dubrow
Ani v'Er Enu Lah, Mary Feinsinger
Sarah's Song by Sue Horowitz and Stacey Zisook Robinson
Daughters of Tzelophechad by Lisa Doob
Song of Yael by Linda Baer
Naomi by Beth Sass
Hannah and Rebecca Spiro singing Hannah's Rachel and Leah
Miriam By the Shores, another musical setting by Geela Rayzel Raphael
CONCERT BEGINS:
Opening Song: MIRIAM--BY THE SHORES ©1984 Geela Rayzel Robinson Raphael
By the shores, by the shores,
Of the Red, Red Sea,
By the shores of the Red, Red Sea;
The light of day lit up the night The children, they were free.
CHORUS
And Miriam took her timbrel out
and all the women danced. (2X)
Va-tikach Miriam ha-n’vi-a et ha-tof b'ya-dah,
va-teitzena kol ha-nashim acha-reha.
They danced, they danced
Oh, how they danced
They danced the night away
Clapped their hands and stamped their feet
With voices loud they praised.
They danced with joy
They danced with grace
They danced on nimble feet
Kicked up their heels, threw back their heads
Hypnotic with the beat. CHORUS
They danced so hard,
they danced so fast;
They danced with movement strong
Laughed and cried, brought out alive
They danced until the dawn.
Some carrying child, some baking bread
Weeping as they prayed
But when they heard the music start
They put their pain away. CHORUS
Enticed to sing, drawn to move
Mesmerized by such emotion
The men saw us reach out our hands
Stretching across the ocean.
As they watched, and they clapped,
they began to sway
Drawn to ride the wave
and all our brothers began to dance
They dance with us today! CHORUS
They danced, we dance
Shechinah dance
They danced the night away
And all the people began to sing
We're singing 'til this day!!
FINAL CHORUS
And Miriam took her timbrel out
and all the people danced.
Va-tikach Miriam ha-n’vi-a et hatof b'ya-dah,
va-teitzena kol ha-nashim acha-reha. / 2x
CODA
And the children were rockin’ just as far as you could see,
by the shores, by the shores, my God, my God we were free.
LAURA BERKSON (Clearwater, FL) Laura’s belief in the power of music to facilitate cross-cultural and interfaith understanding, promote social change, aid healing, and be a gateway to spirituality inspire her work spanning 40+ years. A pianist, guitarist, composer, performer, recording artist, choral director, cantorial soloist and educator, Laura brings her deep sense of wonder at the natural world and her identity as a Jewish lesbian feminist to songwriting that illuminates Jewish text and plumbs stories of human resilience. Through her current work as a chaplain in a health care setting, Laura explores the interconnections of creativity, spirituality and healing.
Miriam. Lyrics and music: Laura Berkson © Laura E.Berkson/Brave Ann Music 1983
Narrow places we have left behind us
Never knowing what may lie ahead.
Moving through a wilderness toward freedom
Feeding souls on hope as much as bread.
REFRAIN:
Miriam, it’s gonna be a long journey
Miriam, we’re gonna need a song
Miriam, it’s gonna be a long, long road And we’ll keep movin’ on.
Women reach to give birth to new spirit
The harmony of voices has begun
Asking all of earth’s life now to join us
Our singing bodies blazing in the sun. Refrain
Freedom is the ownership of choices
To choose my future I must know my past
History gives reason to our voices
Giving strength to visions that will last. Refrain
And we look back on darkness not to own it,
But to see the lessons of the night
For the fear is ready to reclaim us
Though we’re building courage in the light. Refrain
BACKGROUND: MIRIAM © 1983 Brave Ann Music/BMI by Laura Berkson. The Hebrew word mitzrayim, translated as “Egypt,” is the plural form of meitzar, literally “a narrow place.” The foundation for this song was set by two guided meditation experiences on personal journeying through mitzrayim, the Narrow Places that constrain us. The song’s imagery is inspired by the Biblical account of the prophet, Miriam, leading the Israelite women in dance and song after the Israelites had crossed the Sea of Reeds, escaping mitzrayim. Miriam’s story is interwoven with visions of women from antiquity to contemporary times claiming our voices and lifting them in gratitude and joy. Embracing an unknown future, we acknowledge that the road may be arduous at times. With faith, song and strength of spirit our personal journeys and the journeys of generations continue.
TAMARA RUTH COHEN (Philadelphia, PA) is a Jewish feminist educator, writer, activist and rabbi. She is VP and Chief of Program Strategy for Moving Traditions where she works at the nexus of Jewish teen engagement and feminist education. The editor of the Ma’yan Passover Haggadah, Tamara is a ritual weaver and liturgical poet who was blessed to collaborate with Debbie Friedman, z"l on several songs, most of which they wrote for healing services and feminist seders they led together around the country. Tamara currently serves on the board of Women’s March, Inc, is engaged in anti-racist education in her minyan, and has been an advocate for LGBTQ rights, inclusion and liberation in a range of settings including the Conservative movement and the University of Florida. www.movingtraditions.org [3]
BAT ELLA (Tel Mond,Israel) Bat ella Birnbaum, known professionally as Bat ella, is a leading Israeli soul singer who is most known for building bridges within the Israeli society and between Israelis and Palestinians. She presents pluralistic, egalitarian and Israeli Judaism and celebrates that Judaism belongs to all Jews and that there is more than one way to be a Jew. Her songs of prayer and inspiration from the Jewish and Israeli sources are in melodies and arrangements that express the rich musical tapestry of the Israeli melting pot. L’chi Lach is her musical production devoted to the renowned Debbie Friedman, for the first time in Hebrew. www.bat-ella.com [4]
Devorah’s Song by Debbie Friedman and Tamara Cohen
Chorus
Arise! Arise! Devorah
Arise! Arise! and sing a song
Arise! Arise! Devorah
Uri Uri dabri shir
Devorah the prophet was a judge in Israel
She sat beneath her palm tree on a hill
And people came from everywhere to hear judgement honest and fair
Devorah the prophet, Devorah a mother in Israel Chorus
Devorah the prophet was courageous, strong, and wise
Her people lived in peace for fourteen years
The proud tribe lived together as one for the first time since the world had begun
Devorah the prophet, Devorah a mother in Israel Chorus
Devorah the prophet a woman of fire, her torch in hand
She led the Israelites to victory Barak said Devorah I cannot fight unless you are standing right by my side Devorah the prophet, Devorah a mother in Israel. Chorus
Judith/Yehudit by Judith S. Tellerman. Judith has been portrayed by many visual artists. I wanted to convey with music the incredible burden she undertook of killing Holofernes along with the contamination and impurity of death and her voyage to healing. Judith was the only one standing between Holofernes, the General of Antiochus IV Epiphanes, Hellenistic king of the Seleucid Empire, and Bethulia, the last stronghold before reaching Jerusalem. To Holofernes, Judith was a helpless frail creature, like a deer that he, the beast, could devour. Misled by his arrogance, he let down his guard. But Judith was like a deer in Yedid Nefesh, “va’arutz” —running to G*d for strength and courage to kill Holoferrnes to end the battle. My gratitude to Rabbi Meir Chai Benhiyoun, who described the process of the purification with the Red Heifer that non-linearly helped me to compose the song’s lyrics.
Judith by Judith S.Tellerman
Judith is fasting. We pray: deliver us from evil.
Judith of Bethulia, there’s a task upon me waiting,
Waiting for a woman with the will to save Yisrael.
I go and I implore into the jaws of the enemy.
Strike the leader down, and the fight will be no more.
I ask you, God, how did I ever come to this,
When all I ever did was pray for peace?
We love you, Judith, you’re not alone.
Remember Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca, Jacob and Rachel. We’ll bring you home. We’ll bring you home.
A widow with a dream, you give hope to the hopeless.
Please help me face the enemy. If the leader dies, then the battle will be ended.
The children will be spared. Think of all the lives.
And it’s hard to care, to be the one who must end it. Now I see, for peace, this I must bear.
We love you, Judith, you’re not alone.
Remember Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca, Jacob and Rachel.
We’ll bring you home. We’ll bring you home.
When the war is won, will there be any peace for me,
As I recall what I have done?
When the ashes of a mem’ry are all that’s left of me,
From a fire in my heart, living waters wash me clean.
I ask forgiveness to transform all the pain.
But to save the children, I would do it all again. 2x
ALBI GORN (Hastings-on-Hudson, NY) has been a singer/songwriter for almost 60 years. Brought up in a secular household, it was only when he married Robin Anne Joseph, a cantor, that he began to learn about Jewish traditions. He fell in love with the idea of midrash, and used biblical stories as the basis for two songs, two plays and a novel, focusing mostly on biblical women. Miriam’s Fire has been sung yearly at his temple’s Passover service for over a decade. http://albigorn.com;https:// www.robinannejoseph.com [5]
ROBIN ANNE JOSEPH (Hastings-on-Hudson) singing Miriam’s Fire, is a cantor, composer, recording artist, and Jewish educator. She has developed a unique style of storytelling through song—MidraShir. As soloist, and one-half of the duo B’shert, Robin has also performed and recorded her original Jewish folk-rock. Celebrating her 40th year as cantor and educator at Temple Beth Shalom in Hastings-On-Hudson, NY, Robin can also be found on the bimah of theater, helping to run the theatrical production company GoJo Clan Productions with her husband Albi Gorn. https://www.robinannejoseph.com
BACKGROUND: Miriam’s Fire by Albi Gorn. Many years ago, in our synagogue’s women’s studies group, we were pondering the reason why, when Aaron and Miriam challenge Moses’s authority, Aaron gets a slap on the wrist and Miriam is disfigured and gets sent from the camp into the wilderness. My take on this was that this was a test—a test for Miriam and for all women who would follow. In order to rightfully take their place alongside men and as leaders in their community--on the Biblical stage and on the modern bimah— women would need to deal with a lot of resistance from men. Confronting the roadblocks, discrimination and isolation conferred upon them from a male-dominated world, it would be left to Miriam, all women, and ultimately all Jews to learn how to practice their faith in exile.
Miriam’s Fire by Albi Gorn, performed by Robin Anne Joseph
Standing by a great sea, where I’ve stood before,
Seems like whenever you need salvation, you’ve got to make it to the opposite shore.
And I don’t think I can make it, until I hear the chants,
Somewhere a prophet sings a timeless blessing, Leading her people in a victory dance.
CHORUS
Miriam, teach what you’ve been shown.
When you’re exiled from the campfire, you must build a fire of your own.
Standing by a mountain, feeling kind of small,
Wondering whether in my life’s journey,
I will ever have any voice at all,
But once upon this mountain, a voice like mine was heard.
She said, “God has spoken through all who stand here,
Now we’re empowered to spread the word.”
And as long as I am searching, for a foothold in the sand,
I fear my soul will be forever restless, lured by the promise of a Promised Land,
But when I journey inward, a flicker can be found,
And wherever I rekindle Miriam’s Fire, I find myself on consecrated ground.
ELI SHIRIM LESTER (Santa Monica, CA) is a songwriter, singer, musician and producer of both secular and spiritual music. He is also a reverend, gabbai, teacher, and retreat leader. Eli conducts workshops and classes on music and creativity, and is known as a teacher of Kabbalistic Drumming. He is also a bassist, percussionist, singer, musical director and band leader. He writes in many genres including children’s songs, pop, R&B and Blues, country, religious, rock, Jewish Gospel, novelty, soundtrack music, spiritual, and jingles. He directs, writes for, and performs with his band, "The West Coast Rhythm And Jews”, and, ”The Jewbilation Choir.”
KENDALL ROSENBERG (Santa Monica, CA) singing Lilith Knew The Truth, is an interpretive vocalist, creative artist, poet and joyous messenger of hope and love. Her background and academic training is in musical theater. Kendall is currently engaged in interfaith-interspiritual studies and ministerial certification with an emphasis on end-of-life midwifery. She enjoys wholehearted expressions and is forever in awe of creative actions of the spirit. www.facebook.com/kendallrosenberg
Lilith Knew the Truth by Eli Shirim Lester
Verse 1
We're the same as one another,
Every one of us had mothers.
It's time to celebrate them one and all.
Of ancient days and new ones,
When you feel the spirit moving,
It's the gentle voice of women you hear call.
Chorus
They are Sarah and Rebecca,
Hagar, Eve and Leah,
Queen Esther and Lot's daughters,
They are Rachel and Tamar.
They are Hannah and Delilah,
Miriam and Dina,
Pharaoh's daughter and Tziporah,
Midwives Zilpah and Bihla.
And all of our foremothers,
So like Deborah and Ruth.
Like the wives of truly great men,
Lilith knew the Truth.
Verse 2
They're only mentioned in the Bible,
But they're core to our survival.
They've been around since Adam's heart was whole.
In case you didn't know it,
And ‘though history may not show it.
They're a vital part of every living soul.
Chorus
And all of our foremothers,
So like Deborah and Ruth.
Like the wives of truly great men,
Lilith knew the Truth.
ABBIE GOLDBERG (Bethel, ME) is a writer and artist from the mountains of western Maine. She is an alumna of the JOIN for Justice Community Organizing Fellowship and The New Opera and Musical Theater Initiative where she workshopped her original musical, Believing Cassandra, with her collaborator Sivan Spector. She is also a cofounder of the Jewish drag troupe Turmohel, where she performs under the name Chava GoodTime. You can follow those antics on instagram at @Turmohel and @Chava_GoodTime. She is excited about using art including zines, puppetry, theater, drag, and music to make Jewish history, knowledge, and thought accessible to larger audiences. Abbie believes it is through art that we can imagine and begin to build a better world. https://www.youtube.com/ user/birchtreeawesome/videos?view=0&sort=dd&shelf_id=0 and soundcloud here https://soundcloud.com/abbbz-2
BACKGROUND: Lilith and Me, by Abbie Goldberg. Growing up Jewish in rural Maine, I didn't have much access to Jewish knowledge or community. I looked for myself in books I read about girls shuddering in attics and shivering in railroad cars. I was desperately searching for any sign that Judaism meant more than hiding. When I learned about Lilith, I saw empowerment, resistance, and a sort of I-don't-care-what-you-think-about-it joy. She became my entry point into a religion that is full of those things I recognized in her and more! I wrote this song in honor of that moment of discovery.
Lilith and Me by Abbie Goldberg
Verse 1
She says, “You may call me a demon,”
She says, “or have you not met my pet snake?” She says, “Yes I guess I left a lot behind. But it was no heartbreak.
The others whisper of a night owl, shake their heads, is it true? They look to death and infertility, whisp’ring, who?
Who? Who? Who?
Now I'm asking, “Is it you you, you, you, you?”
Chorus
Lilith, spilleth all your secrets. You know I need this, I’m ready for the fall.
So spilleth all, and don’t let blinding rage or sunset
Stop the way you see it, with true clarity.
we are ready, Lilith and me,
Lilith and me.
Verse 2
I've heard Lilith’s got a shelf of bottled moan, Trophies of the men she's visited.
I've heard her kiss is soft before she liquifies their bones, Wearing nothing but a smile, she's uninhibited.
Ev’ry now and then she gets a postcard from Adam, you know he, he
says, “I think this power is getting dangerous.” She says, “That's cute, man. You see, that's been the plan.
But it's not about me.
Just you wait ‘til there's an army of us. This has always been about all of us. Chorus
Bridge
Do you, do you, do you like my dance? Watch the way my hips fly.
If you want to, you can take my hands,
And we'll set off, taking names and eating apple pie, ah.
Verse 3
Lilith slinks to my bedside. Lilith murmurs my name.
I say, “Lilith, isn't this a surprise, I thought you spend your evenings hunting guys. She says, “Listen close to me; I’ve got some rumors to explain.
It isn't teenage boys I want, their hormone-addled dreams to haunt. It's girls. I sing of strength, I sing of liberation” I say, “Be bold, move now, make haste. Join with me, let's take up space. You're the hero, you're the one that you've been dreaming of.
Haven't you heard it's very revolutionary to treat yourself with care and overwhelming love?
Final Chorus
Lilith, spillith all your secrets. I do now see this was never yours to win.
You've shown me to my leader; I'm ready to love and heed her. I'm ready to now see with true clarity.
I'm ready to be free.
Lilith is me. 3x
BATSHEVA (Nashville, TN) Batsheva Capek, known professionally as “Batsheva,” is a concert artist, song writer, comedy writer, and recording artist. She performs internationally in Yiddish, Ladino, Hebrew and English. In 2018 Batsheva sang in a ballet based on her translations of Leonard Cohen’s songs into Yiddish, Hebrew and Spanish/ Ladino at Kent State University. These are the only authorized translations of his works in Hebrew and Yiddish. Batsheva is currently signed to the Institute for Southern Jewish Life. www.ibatshevasinger.com [6]
BACKGROUND: Yiftach's Daughter by Batsheva. The story behind this song is told in Shoftim/Judges, Chapters 11-12. Basically, there’s a military guy. He is ostracized by the community But, then they need a military guy for a battle. So, they come to him and make a deal – if he will lead the battle, they’ll reinstate him and make him a leader. He says: ok. They leave. Then, he has a word with God. He makes an oath to God that if he will be successful in his military campaign, he will sacrifice to God, the first person who walks in his door. In walks his daughter. She doesn’t have a name. Unlike Isaac, there is no last-minute reprieve. This upset me so I wrote this song. At no time throughout my formal, religious Jewish education, did anyone ever mention the story of Yiftach’s Daughter. I heard plenty about Yitzchak and the Akedah. But, not this story. So, I wrote this song. “Yiftach’s Daughter” was refused entry to a Jewish songwriting competition.
Yiftach’s Daughter. Words and music by Batsheva
I am Yiftach’s Daughter
I am Yiftach’s Daughter
I’m being sacrificed for the good of man
It’s so still and quiet here
The sun is shining on my face
The waiting’s hard, but it’s my destiny
And I must accept my place
Because I am Yiftach’s Daughter
I am Yiftach’s Daughter
I’m being sacrificed for the good of man
I wonder how did Isaac manage to lie here with such grace
I feel the binding cut my skin, hold me in my place
Abraham, our father, sharpening the blade
What a holy heritage my father has obeyed
But where have all the people gone?
Why don’t you cut these bands?
Why are you leaning over me?
What’s that in your hands?
There’s no need to be frightened
No need in the world
Who would ever sanctify the slaughter of a girl?
I am Yiftach’s Daughter 2x
It’s so still and quiet here,
such a holy light is all that I can see
“With perfect faith, though he may tarry, I will wait”
til lsaac’s angel sets me free.
She was Yiftach’s Daughter
And I am Yiftach’s Daughter
And you are Yiftach’s Daughters
Sacrificed for the good of man
MARSHA DUBROW (Boca Raton, FL) is an eclectic combination of scholar, rabbi, performer, educator, and administrator. While Resident Scholar and Research Associate in Jewish Musicology at the CUNY Graduate Center’s Center for Jewish Studies, she developed the center for Jewish Music Research and Performance. Also an Adjunct Professor at New York University teaching courses in Jewish Music History, Marsha specializes in the history and performance of Jewish world music, including Klezmer, Yiddish Song, Yiddish Theatre, Sacred Ashkenazic Chant and Sephardic traditions, as well 18th and 19th century Western art music, and American popular and theatre music. She has served as Spiritual Leader and Cantor of Congregation B’nai (Jersey City, NJ)
BACKGROUND: Vatikach Miryam Han'viya Miriam's Song by Marsha Dubrow. In setting the text of Exodus 15:20-21, in original Hebrew only, I wanted to honor a more female perspective of being both victorious, but tempered by a sensitivity to the women - the wives, mothers, sisters and daughters - of 'the enemy,' who have just lost their loved ones. Rather than expressing in music total joy and happiness, by way of an up-tempo song that makes the listener want to dance, as other women composers have done, I wanted to capture in music a sense of calm and quiet reverence to the Divine, but also imbued with compassion for the women who had lost their beloved men. This is Miriam's song, only two lines of Hebrew in the Torah, following immediately Moses' Song of the Sea, as it is known, which includes the 'Mi chamocha' text, and, compared with Miriam's two verses, is quite lengthy and has numerous stanzas. Clearly the narrative of the story from a woman's perspective was never preserved.
Vatikach Miryam Ha-n'vi-a | Miriam's Song by Marsha Dubrow
Then Miriam the prophetess, Aaron’s sister,
took a timbrel in her hand, and all the women went out after her in dance with timbrels.
And Miriam chanted for them:
Sing to Adonai, for God has triumphed gloriously; horse and driver God has hurled into the sea.
Vatikach Miryam Ha-n’vi-a,
Achot Aharon et hatof b'yadah,
Vateitzena chol ha-nashim
Achareha b'tupim u'vimcholot Vata-an lahem Miryam:
Shiru ladonai ki ga-o ga-a
Sus v'rochvo rama va-yam (2x)
Shiru ladonai/Miryam v’ha-nashim Shiru ladonai!
MARY FEINSINGER (New York, NY) runs the Broadway and American Standards sing-in at the 92nd Street Y in Manhattan where she also music directs a cabaret class and the Broadway at 92Y Chorus. A graduate of The Juilliard School in voice, she was a Teaching Artist at OperaAmerica. As vocalist and keyboardist of the West End Klezmorim, she performed at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and the White House. She is a composer/lyricist in the BMI Lehman Engel Advanced Musical Theatre Workshop, serves as cantor for the Rossmoor Jewish Congregation near Princeton, and is on the Board of Directors of the American Society for Jewish Music. www.maryfeinsinger.com
Ani V'er Enu Lah by Mary Feinsinger
Chorus:
Ali v’er, enu lah.
Zot kos Miryam. Chorus
Zot kos mayim chayim. Chorus
Zot zeicher litzi-at Mitzrayim. Chorus
Stacey Zisook Robinson (Skokie, IL) was a well-published author, poet, essayist, and a third-year rabbinic student living in Chicago with her son and a cat. She passed away the day after this concert. She was working on the first part of a collection of poetry drawing upon the Tanach. http://staceyzrobinson.blogspot.com
SUE HOROWITZ (Sioux City, IA) is a singer-songwriter with a story to tell. Her music is included in congregational worship, and settings for tzedakah, hope, and healing. Sue is the founder and creator of the Jewish Songwriting Cooperative retreat, as she loves to lead songwriting workshops. Her style is authentic and intimate, with a clear voice and her own guitar accompaniment. Sue's warm engaging presence and spiritual music attract listeners of all ages. www.suehorowitz.com
Sarah’s Song by Stacey Zisook Robinson and Sue Horowitz
Verse 1
Through deserts and through mountains and across the years
I followed you, you did not follow me.
Gave me to strangers and to angels and to traveling men,
I followed you, you did not follow me.
Chorus
While you built your altars to your God,
I laughed and I lied.
I lived to please you and appease you,
And I followed you.
Verse 2
And I drank at your well and walked through oceans of sand. I followed you, you did not follow me.
Sent you hand-maidens and gave you nations,
I followed you, you did not follow me
Chorus
While you built your altars to your God,
I laughed and I lied.
I lived to please you and appease you, And still I followed you. I followed you.
Verse 3
On that very last ascent I watched you walk away.
Keep your altars and your God, I will not follow you,
With my son, whose heart had beat in tandem with my own,
Keep your altars and your God, I will not follow you.
As I watched my son climb mountains for you,
A blade in his hand.
He lived to please you and appease you.
I will not follow you. No, I will not follow you. No, I cannot follow you.
BACKGROUND: Sarah’s Song, Lyrics by Stacey Zisook Robinson. I have long been troubled by Sara, as a character in our family's history. ‘How could she?’ was my frequent response to her decisions and actions during Torah study. When I volunteered to give a d’var on the parasha Chayei Sara, the wrestling match continued in earnest. As I do with much that troubles me, I began to write. This poem is the result. Sue heard the music hidden in the words and we were able to tweak this song into existence. She's brilliant that way. There's still not a lot of love lost between me and my understanding of Sara. I still don't like her much. I still disagree with so much. But - I think I understand her so much better, understand her motivations and decisions. I think I respect her now, which may be better than liking. This is why I wrote the poem. People can find the original on my blog, Stumbling Towards Meaning, staceyzrobinson.blogspot.com.
LISA DOOB (Lexington, MA) Born and raised in Winnipeg, Canada, Lisa is a cantor and concert performing artist who is passionate about creating relationships with others through music – whether in services, B’nai Mitzvah lessons, choir, or religious school. Lisa is a member of the Boston cohort of Kesher Shir, a Jewish songwriting collaborative project. She is currently recording a compilation of her meditative music.
Daughters of Tzelofechad by Lisa Doob. Music can be a vehicle for teaching without tears. I wrote Daughters of Tselofechad at URJ Camp Eisner, twenty minutes prior to introducing the weekly Torah portion to a group of fifty or so tired 12-year-olds. Using a standard blues riff, not only did all of the kids and staff sing along, but I received an ovation at the end! As importantly, the kids could explain the story of those courageous Biblical sisters to the entire camp that Shabbat evening.
Daughters of Tzelofechad by Lisa Doob
Verse 1
Let me tell you ‘bout the daughters of Tzlofechad.
They had a problem and they brought it to God.
There were five women who stood up to fight
For what they felt should have been theirs by right.
Chorus
Their names were Machla, Noa, Chogla, Milka, Tirtza, daughters of Tzlofechad.
Verse 2
Their father died, he was a good man,
And they just wanted to inherit his land.
But that’s not the way they did it back then.
We read about it in Numbers 27.
Chorus
Their names were Machla, Noa, Chogla, Milka, Tirtza, daughters of Tzlofechad.
Verse 3
They stood before Moses, God and everyone,
And said, “A daughter’s just as good as a son.”
God said, “My daughters, your words are true.
I’m giving this land to you.” And
Chorus
Their names were Machla, Noa, Chogla, Milka, Tirtza, daughters of Tzlofechad.
They fought for their rights, and we will too. Daughters of Tzlofechad, good for you!
LINDA BAER (Columbia, MD) is a singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, visual artist, and cantor who raises up our own life stories and ancient legends with the stirring melodies and visionary poetry of her songs. She composes liturgical settings and songs of Biblical and modern Jewish experience, steeped in traditional Americana, Yiddish folk song, and more. Linda’s music has been featured at Jewish worship, interfaith gatherings, and community concerts. She brings her songs to life with her expressive voice, thoughtful accompaniments, and warm presence. Linda loves teaching Hebrew and Jewish arts to students of all ages.
Song of Yael by Linda Baer. We encounter Yael in Judges 5:2–31,the "Song of Deborah." There and in Jewish tradition, Yael is revered for her heroism for the murder of Sisera, who slaughtered thousands of Israelites. But the story is a ghastly one: Yael emerges as a cunning and brutal femme fatale. I imagined what it was like to be her; to do what she did and be extolled for a murder; to feel what she felt as Sisera caressed her. What happened to her relationship to her husband in the wake of the murder? What happened to her understanding of herself? Yael sings her own song to us in stark counterpoint to the Song of Deborah. In my song I turn the midrash of Sisera's mother's tears on its side: I imagine Yael haunted by dreams of his mother weeping and the sound of a hundred shofars blowing. I have Yael turn to us, weary of judgment, to ask a sobering question.
Song of Yael by Linda Baer
Verse 1
I heard the weeping of your people ev’rywhere,
I looked around, and all I found was sorrow and despair.
And then, when Sisera touched my hair,
My blood ran cold and I knew right then and there:
The deed was as good as done.
Chorus
So I did what I had to do.
It was up to me, but what if it was up to you?
What would you do? I did what I had to do.
It was up to me, but what if it was up to you? What would you do?
Verse 2
My husband spoke to me no more, or looked me in the eye.
There was something else that made my hand take hammer and the spike.
Now I hear one hundred shofars in the night.
And in my dreams, I hear Sisera’s mother cry, cry, cry. I am undone.
Chorus
So I did what I had to do. It was up to me, but what if it was up to you?
What would you do? I did what I had to do.
It was up to me, but what if it was up to you? What would you do?
Verse 3
You all sit in judgment by your palm trees in the sand.
Whether demon, whore, or hero, his blood is on my hands.
His blood cries out from your holy promised land.
And nothing can ever wash it clean again.
Go on and sing this song, but it will never be undone.
Chorus
So I did what I had to do. It was up to me, but what if it was up to you?
What would you do? I did what I had to do.
It was up to me, but what if it was up to you?
What would you do? 2x
Beth Sass (Nashville, TN) is a Nashville based singer-songwriter, pianist, arranger, performer, and music educator, and religious school choral event coordinator. She is known for taking “the bricolage of the every day and crafting it into something so deep and penetrating that it becomes almost sacred.” https://bethsassmusic.wordpress.com [7]
Naomi by Beth Sass. This piece was written to commemorate and celebrate my journey through infertility and recurrent miscarriages. While struggling to conceive, at the suggestion of my late father, Sherman Sass, I studied the Book of Ruth. I was inspired by the phrase "Going out full and coming back empty." In the first two verses this phrase signifies my grief at the miscarriages. In the last verse, after the successful birth of my daughter, the phrase signifies my joy at releasing the bitterness.
Naomi by Beth Sass
My feet are angry
I don’t want to walk anymore
I hate the path, I hate the heading towards
My feet are angry, they’re sore My eyes are angry
I don’t want to see anymore
Shreds of hope washed ashore
My eyes are angry and sore
Chorus
Tell me Naomi
Tell me what for
Full, I went out
Full, I went out full
But I came back empty, Naomi
I made a garden, I found a knife and a sword
I cut the brambles, crawling on all fours
I was the planter, the motherboard
I was a story, a tourniquet to read
I wrapped myself around my diary
I was a casket I wore
Chorus
Tell me Naomi
Tell me what for
Full, I went out
Full, I went out full
But I came back empty, Naomi
It was a new year
I let the low tide escape
I saw my future in the moon’s face
I felt better in the bitter place
I am a window
A store that’ offering spring
I had a birthday, an opening
I am a legend ending
Full, I went out
Full, I went out full
But I came back empty, Naomi
HANNAH SPIRO (Washington, DC) is a rabbi, singer-songwriter, and mother. Her music offers a folk-pop vibe and pantheist millennial drash to ancient text and liturgy. She serves the Hill Havurah on Capitol Hill, where she emphasizes inclusivity, exploration, intergenerational learning and celebration, and interfaith friendship and collaboration. www.hannahspiro.com [8]
Rachel and Leah by Hannah Spiro, sung with Rebecca Spiro. As one of my first forays into musical midrash, I tried to get into the heads of each sister. What did the patriarchal structure in which they lived mean to them? How did it shape their lives, and how did they regard and support each other through it?
Rachel and Leah by Hannah Spiro
He told me,
‘Seven years and you are mine, just wait.
The time will fly, because I’ll see your face.
Be faithful and patient and then one day
I’ll take you away’
He told me,
‘Oh, my eldest, do not shed a tear.
You’ll wear his ring in only seven years.
Be faithful and patient and then one day
He’ll take you away.’
Chorus
Oh, they don’t know how we live.
No, we’re giving all we can give.
Sister, forgive me, I have what you lack.
And still I am empty, empty, helpless and trapped.
He promised
Seven years and I’d be with my man,
But there’s more to marriage than love and this I understand.
Faithful and patient, still I will wait
For him to take me away.
I see it In his eyes, when he looks into mine.
There’s nothing there, and I do not know why.
But faithful and patient, I’ll hope and pray
One day I’ll blow him away.
Chorus
Oh, they don’t know how we live.
No, we’re giving all we can give.
Sister, forgive me, I have what you lack.
And still I am empty, empty, helpless and trapped.
Bridge
I lay with him, pray with him, love him like myself,
And yet I am barren, and go up on the shelf,
I’ll give you my maid, just don’t love her like me.
Oh it kills me, it kills me, it kills me, it kills me.
I lay with him, pray with him, love him as best I can
Give him three children, and he doesn’t give a damn.
So take my maid as well, do with her as you wish.
I just can’t take this, no, I just can’t take this.
Chorus
Oh, they don’t know how we live.
No, we’re giving all we can give.
Sister, forgive me, I have what you lack.
And still I am empty, empty, helpless and trapped.
MIRIAM--BY THE SHORES ©
Rabbi Geela Rayzel Robinson Raphael 1984
This recording features Rabbis Micah Klein and Shawn Zevit
on the Night of Questions CD [see 1st song, this is a different melody.]
COHOSTS' BIOS:
GEELA RAYZEL RAPHAEL (Philadelphia, PA) Rabbi and pioneer in the genre of Jewish feminist music, “Reb Rayzel” is a co-founder of the Adding Our Voices Gender-Inclusion Initiative. Her Jewish music was initially inspired by Torah study of women of the Bible and her first song, Miriam, “felt like a mystical experience of Divine Revelation.” Geela Rayzel has been writing and collecting Jewish feminist music since the 1980s. She is a concert performer, songwriter and musical liturgist, playwright, recording artist, and author of children’s books. Geela Rayzel helped to develop Shabbat Unplugged— featuring musical Shabbat and Havdalah services. She is also a founder and member of the Jewish feminist a Capella group MIRAJ. www.Shechinah.com
GOLDIE MARA MILGRAM (Sarasota, FL) is co-founder of the Adding Our Voices: The Torah of Jewish Women in Song Initiative and Executive Director and Editor-in-Chief of Reclaiming Judaism and Reclaiming Judaism Multimedia Press. She is also a rabbi, author, composer of liturgical music, artist, puppeteer, storyteller, and creative professional organizer where social and educational change are concerned. Goldie's first original work was a chant that arose inside while leading a Jewish meditation retreat in a cactus garden in Tuscon, Arizona (they'd said "a park"). She is a long-time innovator, educator, executive, and advocate in the fields of Jewish spiritual, experiential, and gender-sensitive education for all ages from day care through seminaries and universities. Goldie also founded the first Jewish women's studies initiative at any institution of higher learning back in the '90s. www.ReclaimingJudaism.org
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