Since its inception earlier this summer, Koleinu has done some amazing work. Strengthen connections between members of Anshe Emet Synagogue with predominantly black communities in Chicago.Create communal conversations on race and racial justice – for example, in November, Anshe Emet will participate in Kol Tzedek, USCJ’s conference on racial justice.Lift up the voices of Jews of color in our community.Through programs and a wide variety of resources, Koleinu seeks to: This is where I will put some of my focus. Hearkening back to what I said on Rosh Hashanah about closing down some of the many “tabs” we keep open so that we can focus on just a few priorities – this is a tab that I’m opening this year. In the face of systemic racism and violence, the only response is to stand together to raise our voices. We are a group of diverse people coming together – each with our own backgrounds and prayers – but with a unified voice for strengthening our community. We want to make sure that we truly hear each other’s voices – and especially the voices of Jews of Color, whose voices we have not always lifted up and listened to in the past. The name was inspired by this liturgy – that we pray that God will hear our voices.
Koleinu was formed earlier this year, in the wake of the murder of George Floyd and so many other tragedies. This is the very essence of Anshe Emet’s racial justice team, When one voice might otherwise may be unheard or neglected, many voices are meant to rise up together. What a human leader would not be able to handle, in quantity and diversity, is music to God’s ears. I love that my prayer is going to be different than your prayer.īut God gathers them together in a symphony of prayers. When God listens to everyone, God hears all of our prayers as one.Įven when our prayers are unique, and different, God collects all these prayers, and listens to the beautiful cacophony. God can listen to more than just a few people at one time.Ģ. God is unique from a human monarch in two ways:ġ. מךל†בש†ר†ודם†יכ†ול†לשמ†וע†מ†ן†ש†נים†ו†ש†לשה†ב†ני†אד†םĪ human King can hear from two or three people at a time.īut cannot possibly listen to all of the King’s subjects.Īnd God hears all of their prayers as one. One particularly moving tradition relates:
God listening to us, to all of our prayers simultaneously. The words Shema Koleinu derive from a verse in the Book of Psalms (65), where we read Shomea tefillah – that God is the one who listens to prayer.įrom the earliest commentaries, our tradition emphasized It’s a pivotal and powerful moment as our community, and our people, calls out to God together. Kabel berachamim uvratzon et tefillateinu – accept our prayer willingly and excitedly. It is one of the peak prayers of the season.
This phrase is highlighted in the liturgy for the High Holy Days. I love that, at a climactic moment in the service, everyone raises their voices at once.Īsking as a community, for God to really listen. The words Shema Koleinu mean, God, hear our voices! Since then, this has become one of my favorite customs at Anshe Emet. In this community, when the service reaches Shema Koleinu, the entire minyan sings the words together. Then I realized, I had just witnessed a tried and true Anshe Emet custom. I was nearing a paragraph toward the end which includes the words Shema Koleinu – God, hear our voices.Īnd then, all of a sudden, every voice in the room chimed in:Īt first I wondered, what did I do wrong? I remember Debby Lewis picking me up from my hotel at 630 in the morning.Īnd she told me that I was going to lead the service.Īnd then I reached the repetition of the Amidah.Īs the minyan-goers among you know, there’s a long portion where the service leader reads in Hebrew alone, without the congregation following along. I remember the first morning that I walked into Anshe Emet.Īs part of the interview, I attended morning minyan. Just over 9 years ago, I was interviewing for a position here at Anshe Emet.
#Azi schwartz shema koleinu download#
Yom Kippur | Rabbi David Russo | SeptemDownload:Ĭlick here to download the transcript (PDF).
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