Music meets Manhattan. I Succumb.

By Alyssa Blumenthal
Queens College

The conductor's hands still. The final chord resounds. I close my eyes and revel in silence.

The applause sounds and the bows are taken and I return to my New York City-paced life. I return to the late nights and to the long days and to the need for motion I can never seem to placate. What is it about music that allows me pause?

Since my junior congregation days, Jewish music has enthralled me. I love the Shabbos melodies and the way a cantor, as a shaliah tzibur (emissary of the congregation), can send his words to God. I love the history of our Jewish music and the way melody brings deeper meaning to text. I love the way sound tastes when there is a little bit of God in it, and I am constantly awed by music's power to unite across miles and generations.

When I visited Israel in February of 2006, I had the unbelievable privilege of singing on stage with members of an Israeli Defense Force band at the Ramon Air Force Base. As our voices joined together in Yerushalayim Shel Zahav (Jerusalem of Gold), it did not matter that I was from the United States or that we were performing before an international crowd. It did not matter that I barely spoke Hebrew or that I would be leaving Israel in a matter of hours.

All that mattered was that we were together, singing the language of our People, united inextricably through song.

Tears ran down our faces and for the first time, I understood. I stepped off the stage and into a world of new perspectives. Being Jewish became more than just a label and a tradition. It became a vehicle for community and faith. It became an opportunity for beautiful bonds and connections. And from that moment forward, Judaism has allowed me the chance to raise my voice for something that really matters.

Through Jewish music, I have been able to lead minyanim both in my home shul and on my Queens College campus. I have been able to offer prayers and words of comfort and lead davening in a house of mourners. I have been able to blend my voice with three hundred and fifty Jewish others, celebrating the Zamir Chorale in Carnegie Hall. I have been able to teach and to learn and to experience. I know the journey has only begun.

Alyssa Blumenthal is a freshman at Macaulay Honors College at Queens College, where she is studying euphonium music performance and business. She is an intern with HaZamir: The International Jewish High School Choir and is actively involved in campus Hillel and Jewish life and the Mahar Coalition.

[Posted 4/5/11]