Shabbat Shalom, BAI!
With difficult news emerging from Tel Aviv after a drone attack, not to mention a week filled with violence (gun, storms) right here in Pennsylvania, we continue to pray for peace and calm. It often feels like our prayers in this realm are not being heard, but maybe these prayers are first and foremost for ourselves, that we can find a peaceful place within ourselves to stay grounded, connected and hopeful. It’s not easy, but it’s also not impossible.
One way I try to do this is -surprise! – by singing, and one of my singing heroes died this week and I wanted to take a moment to honor her memory.
This past week a small news item appeared, and while sad to see it, I am so grateful that I didn’t complete miss it. Bernice Johnson Reagon founder of “Sweet Honey In the Rock” died at the age of 81.
You may or may not know her name or her music.
She was never, ‘popular’, her band never had a top-ten hit, or a breakout video, or a headlining tour.
She was a civil rights pioneer in the 60’s infusing protest and resistance in her music and becoming a voice of that generation. You can read about her remarkable life HERE.
My dear friend, Susan Moser, (Z’l) introduced me to the band in 1994 and I was instantly intrigued by this all-black, all-female, a Capella band. I had never heard music like this before and I was captivated. It was, as someone remarked in the comments on one their videos, “ancestral”. I couldn’t agree more.
BJR had a deep, gritty, sometimes raspy voice. But on a dime it could turn soft, clear and direct. She brought her entire being into each moment, held by the voices of her sisters in Sweet Honey in the Rock.Those harmonies, the incisive lyrics, the verve, the fierceness, compassion and love that shine through every note was and is a gift.
In 2001 working as a music teacher in Austin, Texas I learned they had a new album out celebrating their 20th anniversary. I had just started my first children’s choir and thought that we could try one of their songs, ‘There are no mirrors in my Nana’s house’, a beautiful song about the power of self-love, empowerment and family bonds. The kids loved the catchy melody and I believe took the message of the song to heart.
Of all her songs, the one I’ve come back again and again to is, “Spiritual”.
CLICK HERE TO LISTEN.
It is for me, the quintessential morning prayer:
Can’t no one know at sunrise, how this day is going to end
Can’t no one know at sunset, if the next day will begin.
Which is then tied in with a timeless cry of now, a sentiment that every human can understand:
In this world of trouble and woe,
a person had better be ready to go.
We look for things to stay the same,
but in the twinkling of an eye, everything can be changed
Throughout the last twenty three years, “Spiritual” offers me a timeless mantra for living in the present, being present, letting go of yesterday and not worrying about tomorrow (at least I try to!)
Shabbat Shalom!
Hazzan Harold
