Cantor's Blog

This is a link to the video of the D'var Torah that Cantor Fogelman offered on October 14, 2022. The text is included below.

https://youtu.be/qDRVRE3MzdM

On Sukkot, it is traditional to read from Kohelet, the Book of Ecclesiastes, one of the scrolls of the Bible. A major theme of Kohelet is the futility of mundane pursuits and pleasures, and the search for deeper meaning to life. Sukkot is also known as the Festival of Ingathering. It’s the time of year when the harvest has ended, and the crops are gathered and stored for the coming year. It’s a moment of great satisfaction, as one can see the fruits of his labor before him.

Kohelet reminds us that mundane accomplishments are fleeting and empty. Even at the close of the harvest, we must seek real achievement and fulfillment.

Sukkot itself demonstrates this theme by the commandment to live in temporary dwellings. We move outside our home, which provides a sense of permanence and comfort, and instead dwell in a flimsy hut. This recalls the transience of physicality, as does the book of Kohelet.

Tonight, I’m going to chant the most famous passage from Kohelet using the traditional cantillation motif – you know these lyrics better as interpreted by the Byrds in “Turn Turn Turn.” I’m then going to share some additional pieces inspired by this sacred text, including one by our own Dina Pruzhansky.

Chant Kohelet 3:1-4

Turn Turn Turn

Here’s how Pete Seeger and later The Byrds interpreted the text, taken almost verbatim from the Book of Ecclesiastes in the King James Version of the Bible. Fun fact: In 1999, Seeger arranged for 45% of the songwriting royalties for "Turn! Turn! Turn!" to be donated to the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions, a group opposed to Israeli settlements which describes itself as "an Israeli peace and human rights organization dedicated to ending the occupation of the Palestinian territories and achieving a just peace between Israelis and Palestinians." It’s interesting to think of this organization’s mission in conjunction with the actions depicted in the verses as well as the themes of Sukkot. On Sukkot we both “build up” and “break down” our temporary structures. The settlement issue – while contentious – comes with the ultimate goal of building love and peace as opposed to hate and war.

But Seeger made sure to protect his own interests as well: He kept 50% of the royalties for his own music and took a further 5% for the lyrics because, in Seeger's own words, "[in addition to the music] I did write six words and one more word repeated three times." Try to guess his additional original words. I’ll give you a hint: They come towards the end of the song. The repeated word, of course, is no other than “turn turn turn” itself. You’ll find these words on page 360 of your prayer book – yes, the song has become so synonymous with Sukkot that it is canonized in our liturgy

LaKol Zman by Ben Steinberg

            In his beautiful piece, “LaKol Z’man, Ben Steinberg draws inspiration from the same verses of Kohelet. However, his setting is dramatically different from that of Pete Seeger’s. Steinberg is a Canadian Jewish Composer and teacher who is considered to be the most widely commissioned Jewish composer world-wide. At TINW, we know him best for his lyrical “Shalom Rav” that we often sing during the High Holy Days. His treatment of Ecclesiastes focuses on the wistful beauty of the text, transforming it into a soaring and introspective art song. He wrote the piece in 1979 and utilizes the Hebrew in tandem with the English translation

Corner of the Sky

            Believe it or not, there is a musical theater interpretation of Kolelet! The protagonist and title character of Stephen Schwartz’s beloved musical Pippin is arguably based on Ecclesiastes. Pippin is a young prince who feels unfulfilled and goes off on a hero’s journey to find his purpose and passion in life. Towards the beginning of the musical, he outlines his hopes in the song “Corner of the Sky.” The lyrics, “everything has its season, everything has its time” are arguably Schwartz’s own interpretation of “for everything there is a season and a time for every purpose under heaven.” Both Pippin and Kohelet draw on the importance of finding meaning beyond one’s own self – whether it be through God, faith, or love.

Reflections on Ecclesiastes: Pruzhansky

            Our own Dina Pruzhansky’s interpretation of Ecclesiastes was written to match a Yom Kippur sermon that Rabbi Jaech offered way back in 2013. This piece draws from Chapter 5 Verse 14 of Kohelet, which I will chant so that you get a sense of the original melodic source:

Chant Kohelet 5:14

Dina imbues the cantillation motif with contemporary harmonies and what she describes as a “soft rock medium ballad” tempo. The text discusses the simplicity of how we are born into this world and the similar way in which we die – the naked bareness of these vulnerable moments. Dina adds original poetry in the intermediary phrases that mirror life’s journey. In doing so, she creates a clever musical structure that grapples with the futility and mysticism of life, a chromatic struggle, and what we consider significant. The conclusion comes with great hesitation, leaving a deliberate open question as the piece draws to a close.

Shabbat Shalom!