Article by Cantor Gershon Silins,
LJ Outreach Team with responsibility for Music
Music is one of the central elements of Jewish observance and communal life, preserving traditions, enriching and deepening our connection to Jewish life and events, connecting us to our communities and to the wider community, and giving opportunities for successive generations to make their own mark on Liberal Jewish life.
The constituent communities of Liberal Judaism range from quite large congregations with plentiful musical resources to small communities with no instruments or musical professionals, and everything in between. The aim of the music section of the LJ Resource Bank is to provide inspiration and empowerment to all, while offering opportunities for growth and change. It also represents an opportunity for congregations to share repertoire and best practices, across the entire LJ community.
The Resource Bank provides tools for all these. We offer a variety of resources to our communities:
- Printed music materials from a variety of sources, available for reference in the Montagu Centre Library
- Downloadable recordings of the prayers and songs in Liberal Judaism’s prayer books made by our Rabbis, Cantors and lay-leaders
The books and CDs already available include The Ruach Collection, printed music of the most popular guitar based songs of the North American Reform movement, Shirei T’shuvah, a collection of music for the High Holidays, anthologies of Sephardic music and music for weddings, and The Essential Song Leader Collection, including CDs and printed lead sheets for a wide variety of community and synagogue music.