Being a Jewish songleader isn’t easy. Here’s a list of reasons why (in no particular order):
- Jews. We’re an irascible group. We don’t always like to be lead.
- Music. Music is both incredibly simple and incredibly complex. Many musicians and songleaders do a neat thing– they make complex music feel simple and they elevate simple music by honoring the core of that music.
- Setting. Jewish songleaders are called upon to do our thing in a variety of settings. Some are conducive to leading people in song, some aren’t. Jewish songleaders don’t always get to choose their setting.
- Communal singing. While some folks are completely at home (maybe even most at home) when participating in communal singing, many people find it uncomfortable, awkward, or challenging. The gap between the “at home” and the “uncomfortable” can pose a real challenge to the songleader.
Alongside these 4 major challenges that a songleader faces in virtually every settting, there are many others. Consider: repetoire (or lack there of), musical ability, acoustics, working with other songleaders… The list really goes on and on.
I share these observations having recently spent a few hours with a remarkable group of young songleaders from the NFTY-SAR community. I had a chance to watch them lead a great Shabbat morning service and then had an hour to spend time reflecting with them. Watching this group of dedicated, talented, thoughtful young songleaders I realized that the role of the Jewish songleader is a significant and complicated one. If I were to write a job description of the Jewish songleader based on what I observed at NFTY-SAR here are some of the key responsibilities:
- Leading prayer.
- Leading song.
- Teaching prayer.
- Teaching song.
- Developing and implementing diverse programs.
- Welcoming new members into the NFTY-SAR community/tradition.
- Working closely with teen and youth engagement professionals.
- Creating moments of meaning and spirituality.
- Modelling Jewish joy and Jewish engagement.
And more. That’s no small task. Especially when you think about the challenges I started with and the challenges that come with the job description and then consider that many Jewish songleaders are in high school and college.
Which brings me to the idea of mindful songleading. I’m sure I didn’t come up with it. And I’m sure that many people have given the topic plenty of thought and consideration even if they don’t call it by the same name. But what was abundantly clear to me during my time with the NFTY-SAR songleaders is that Jewish songleading requires a tremendous amount of mindfulness. By mindfulness I mean focus, intentionality, reflection, and dedication. Only if the songleader understands his/herself, his/her community, his/her connection to music, his/her leadership style, his/her way of being in the world, can a Jewish songleader reasonably expect to enjoy any success in navigating the inherent challenges that come with doing what they do.
What I found among the NFTY-SAR songleaders was a tremendous openness to the possibility of becoming mindful songleaders as well as an already dynamic skill set in this area. Through mindful songleading I am confident that Jews of all stripes will continue to lift up our beautiful musical tradition.