Sponsored by the Bierman Scholar in Residence Fund,
in partnership with:
Outreach partners: Kadima, Mercaz, Seattle Jewish Chorale,
Seattle Jewish Community School, Tales of the Alchemysts Theatre
Beth Shalom is excited to collaborate on a Seattle Jewish community-wide event to launch the year 5783 with song, connection and meaning. Musician, composer, and teacher Joey Weisenberg is the founder and director of Hadar’s Rising Song Institute, which cultivates grassroots musical-spiritual creativity in Jewish community. Rabbi Deborah Sacks Mintz serves the Hadar Institute as Director of Tefillah and Music, supporting communities and individuals who seek to deepen their practice of empowered song and connective prayer. Together they will visit Congregation Beth Shalom for Selichot weekend, September 16-17, 2022. The weekend will include davening, singing, learning, and a Saturday night concert full of soul-igniting melodies and ethereal harmonies with local musician Chava Mirel. In advance of the weekend, join us for a free series of summer song circles to learn and enjoy Joey and Deborah's melodies.
All events, including services, will take place at Congregation Beth Shalom and require advanced registration. All events are free of charge with the exception of the Friday dinner and Saturday concert. Limited space available. Congregation Beth Shalom COVID policies apply for all events.
Online registration is closed, but you can still join us! Tickets for Saturday night's concert and admission to other events will be available at the door. Friday night dinner is sold out.
Livestream here.
All services and programs will be livestreamed. We will plan to livestream Selichot services at 11:30pm Saturday night but may run into technical difficulties as we change over from the concert. Thanks for your understanding.
Musicians in Residence Weekend Schedule
Friday, Sept. 16
6:00pm Kabbalat Shabbat and Maariv with Joey Weisenberg and R. Deborah Sacks Mintz - Enter Shabbat with musically and spiritually uplifting Friday evening davening.
7:30pm Catered Shabbat Dinner - Pescatarian with vegan options by Mangia Bene Catering under kashrut supervision of Beth Shalom's rabbis.
8:45pm Rising Song Circle with Joey Weisenberg - Gather with Joey Weisenberg after Shabbat dinner to immerse in collective nigun (spiritual melody) and experience the power of sound and silence, and the Torah of music.
Saturday, Sept. 17 - Daytime
9:15am Shabbat Morning Services with R. Deborah Sacks Mintz - Experience the grandeur and devotional beauty of Shabbat morning with song-filled Shacharit and Musaf services led by Deborah Sacks Mintz. Babysitting available from 9:45am-12:15pm during services.
12:30pm Lunch / Kiddush
1:15pm Davening Artistry, Musical Joy: Joey Weisenberg & R. Deborah Sacks Mintz in Conversation - Equal parts text study, experiential song, and interactive conversation, Joey and Deborah will explore the intersection of artistic creativity and spiritual practice.
Saturday, Sept. 17 - Evening
8:30pm Doors open/Community Reception
9:00pm Havdalah and Rising Song Selichot Concert with Joey Weisenberg, featuring R. Deborah Sacks Mintz and Chava Mirel - Soul-igniting melodies, ethereal harmonies, acoustic meditations, and communal invocations. Gather for a sonic journey of harrowing emotion and spiritual uplift, as Joey Weisenberg, joined by R. Deborah Sacks Mintz and Chava Mirel, presents a concert infused with original music and ancient prayer, combining signature elements of musical virtuosity and grassroots folksong. Sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle.
11:00pm Dessert - Leah's catering
11:30pm-12:15am Selichot services
The Musicians
A virtuosic multi-instrumental musician, singer, and composer, Joey Weisenberg has devoted himself to opening up the sounds of people singing together in community. The founder and director of Hadar’s Rising Song Institute, which aims to cultivate the grassroots musical-spiritual creativity of the Jewish people, Joey works to educate and train communities around the world to unlock their musical-spiritual potential and make music a vibrant, joy-filled force in Jewish life.
Joey is the author of Building Singing Communities, a practical guide to bringing people together in song, as well as The Torah of Music, a treasury of Jewish teachings and insights about the spiritual nature of music, which received the National Jewish Book Award in 2017.
Rabbi Deborah Sacks Mintz serves the Hadar Institute as Director of Tefillah and Music, supporting communities and individuals who seek to deepen their practice of empowered song and connective prayer. As a performer and composer, Deborah has collaborated on over two dozen albums with a diverse array of voices in the Jewish soundscape, including releasing her album of original spiritual music, The Narrow and the Expanse, in 2020. Beloved ongoing projects include Joey Weisenberg’s Hadar Ensemble, New Moon Rising with Chava Mirel and Elana Arian, and R’ Josh Warshawsky’s Chaverai Nevarech. Deborah received rabbinic ordination from the Jewish Theological Seminary, where she also earned her MA in Women and Gender Studies; additionally, she holds degrees in music and religious anthropology from the University of Michigan. Learn more about Deborah's work at www.deborahsacksmintz.com.