Dancing in the Kitchen

The sun is setting on this cold Shabbat day and I wanted to give an update on things. I am thrilled that Sarah Zaslaw decided to go "rogue" and start soliciting orders for CBH's new CD on her own.... Go independent spirits! This morning I gave our hard-working, devoted out-going Board President, Lauren Rich, a little taste of what will be on the CD. She has expressed worries that she might look like Anthony Quinn if she doesn't stop dancing to the song she heard. I knew if I whetted her appetite she would feel the ruach stirring.

Yes, the cd has been postponed to an almost certain release date of Shabbat Shirah, but things are not still and quiet here. At the on-set of the winter season, we are about to put on our winter coats and go into our next recording session this coming Monday literally wrapped in warmth.... we need to turn the heater off cause it makes too much noise.
I can only imagine the calisthenics that will be going on in between takes.

Will is brewing and mixing our recorded sounds and mathematical computations in his studio. Still to record:
2 more chorus sessions, one more instrumental session, one chanting group session, and many more solo sessions to go and to the duplicators by early January.

Are you excited about this new cd? I would love to hear some anticipation building!

Photos from Recording at CCUCC: Chorus with Congregation (Nov. 13 '09)

photos by Tobi Ames

The Threshing Floor

The Threshing Floor was one of the heart-centers of the Biblical community. People would bring their grain crops to this circle of packed earth where they would thrash their stalks of grain separating the chaff from the wheat. This collective labor was done in high places overlooking the villages where the blowing winds brought relief and swept away the husks. It is easy to imagine people swapping stories, singing songs, sharing water, and aiding each other during the harvest seasons. The threshing floor was a safe space for wayfarers and villagers to lodge under the stars guarding their crops or hoping to be fed. It is no wonder that it serves a central role in biblical stories like the book of Ruth. An impoverished stranger, Ruth found hope, renewal and family because of a visit to Boaz at the threshing floor. This led to their marriage, the birth of their son Obed, the grandfather of King David. King David, in turn, purchases a threshing floor in Jerusalem to serve as a sacred altar; which became the very foundation for his son Solomon’s ancient Temple connecting the actual harvest with the spiritual one.

Thus the symbol of the threshing floor is one that speaks to Congregation Bet Haverim. We join together to discern what is meaningful from what no longer serves us. We find nourishment in our community through our collective labor and the celebration of our fruits—music being a nourishing aspects to us. Our music like the threshing floor serves as a witness to the travails and celebration of life. But it does not stop there, similar to the threshing floor it has the potential to gather people and aid them in the very transformation and like the floor that became an altar that became the foundation our Ancient Temple, our music evolves and now serves as a foundation to who we are at Bet Haverim.

I am so excited about this project-- Rabbi Josh

Hey Friends ( Haverim)
Can you believe it ? We are well underway in the production of a new cd. Tobi has posted some amazing shots of two of our many recording sessions.
You may be wondering why the name of our blog is Notes from the Threshing Floor.
That is because the title of CBH's new cd is The Threshing Floor.
It is an evocative title... it's going to get you pondering. Stay curious and Stay tuned because coming soon to this blog is an introduction to the title by Rabbi Josh!!
The shear volunteer power behind this cd is amazing. Through sore backs, many bottles of water, a lot of standing still and silent, do-overs, and hours of recording sessions, I am watching our instrumentalists and chorus members bring it! You will be delighted. This cd is going to be very different in some ways yet familiar to our first cd in other ways.
Follow our progress. Learn more about Torah and music through the upcoming posts.
I'll be posting soon. Hope you will follow this journey with us.
and remember : PRE-ORDER cd's through the office now. $15.
Our first distribution will be on December 11th at CBH chanukah event. Pick them up that night.
BUY LOTS!! incredible chanukah, christmas, kwanzaa, soltice presents and fund-raising for CBH all at the same time!

Photos from Recording at Will's Studio: Instrumentalists with Vocalists (Nov. 8 '09)

photos by Tobi Ames

Photos from this week's recording session with Chorus and Strings (Nov. 2 '09)

photos by Tobi Ames and Michael Levine