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Dec. 12th, 2008 12:22 pmI had an email today. From a friend (for a wonder) not from a wildly amusing spammer.
Once this friend (David) visited me in Canberra. Our families have known each other for five generations and David and I have been good friends for twenty-something years. We did some stargazing on Red Hill (of the astronomical sort, not of the close personal sort) and I took him to meet my Israeli dance class*. He's a cantor (synagogue singer and teacher) and I asked him if he would sing the class Ani Ma'amin. We were dancing to a boppy version of it, which was strange, but cool. The version of Ani Ma'amin I knew was sadder and stronger and braver. It was one of the songs that some Shoah victims sang on the way to death. It was important to me that the class (mostly not Jewish) understand that the boppy version was bringing us happy dances, but that there was more to it than that. The class sobered when David explained what the words mean and told them the background of his version of the tune. Then he sang: David has an exquisite voice. We all wept.
I don't know if he's singing tomorrow, but he is being intervewed by ABC radio for Chanukah. I hope the interviewer makes him sing. This is what he says about the interview in his email:
"Today (Thursday) I pre-recorded a 13-minute segment that will be broadcast on ABC Radio 4QR on Phil Smith's breakfast show this Saturday morning December 13th, between 6am and 9am. While they did not give me a precise time for this segment, I understand they are planning to use it somewhere between 7.15 and 8am. Brisbane listeners can pick up this station at 612 on the AM dial.
We talk about the origins and meaning of Channukah, focusing on religious freedom and the importance of passing traditions on to our children."
*I ought to make it clear that I was just a member of the class - the class asked me to bring David when they heard about him - Canberra has no rabbis or cantors and the teacher wasn't Jewish - she's a fabulous dancer and I still miss learning from her.
Once this friend (David) visited me in Canberra. Our families have known each other for five generations and David and I have been good friends for twenty-something years. We did some stargazing on Red Hill (of the astronomical sort, not of the close personal sort) and I took him to meet my Israeli dance class*. He's a cantor (synagogue singer and teacher) and I asked him if he would sing the class Ani Ma'amin. We were dancing to a boppy version of it, which was strange, but cool. The version of Ani Ma'amin I knew was sadder and stronger and braver. It was one of the songs that some Shoah victims sang on the way to death. It was important to me that the class (mostly not Jewish) understand that the boppy version was bringing us happy dances, but that there was more to it than that. The class sobered when David explained what the words mean and told them the background of his version of the tune. Then he sang: David has an exquisite voice. We all wept.
I don't know if he's singing tomorrow, but he is being intervewed by ABC radio for Chanukah. I hope the interviewer makes him sing. This is what he says about the interview in his email:
"Today (Thursday) I pre-recorded a 13-minute segment that will be broadcast on ABC Radio 4QR on Phil Smith's breakfast show this Saturday morning December 13th, between 6am and 9am. While they did not give me a precise time for this segment, I understand they are planning to use it somewhere between 7.15 and 8am. Brisbane listeners can pick up this station at 612 on the AM dial.
We talk about the origins and meaning of Channukah, focusing on religious freedom and the importance of passing traditions on to our children."
*I ought to make it clear that I was just a member of the class - the class asked me to bring David when they heard about him - Canberra has no rabbis or cantors and the teacher wasn't Jewish - she's a fabulous dancer and I still miss learning from her.