The Rosh HaShana Spirit

Getting into the mood

There’s various ways to get into the spirit of Rosh HaShana. This year, I came up with an idea.

I davven at a shul where a disproportionate number of people are from the UK. This includes all of the baalei tefillah for the Yamim Nora’im. They’re singing classic British tunes like those of Yigal Calek’s legendary London School of Jewish Song. For Brits such as myself, this is wonderful, but for Americans such as my wife and a few others in the shul, some of these tunes are foreign.

But everything is on YouTube these days. So I came up with a YouTube playlist of the tunes that our shul uses. It’s not just to help people who are unfamiliar with the tunes - it’s also to help everyone get into the spirit of the Yamim Nora’im. My particular playlist is at this link, but I’d be happy if others make playlists for their own shuls!

The playlist also includes a stirring version of Mochel Avonot by Avshalom and Eitan Katz. There’s also Emes Ki Ata, from a spectacular concert that Avraham Fried performed with the Jerusalem Great Synagogue Choir and the Prague Symphony Orchestra. (You can find other tracks from that remarkable concert online.)

Meanwhile, I would like to wish everyone a good year - happy, healthy, blessed, and meaningful!