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Thursday, March 02, 2006

Carlebach Muqata Minyan on Friday Nights

I don't have the world's greatest voice.

I can carry a tune, daven as an OK shaliach tzibbur, and start songs to get other people singing. But never a solo...harmony...maybe.

My voice used to be better when I was a kid, and I was in a school choir (2 of them actually), and I used to be much better at it than today.

Anyone who's ever been lucky enough to spend a shabbat in Hevron, and daven at Me'arat HaMachpela on Friday nights has heard the amazing Hevron Carlebach minyan. Davening is one huge singing and dance experience that takes over 2 hours.

We enjoyed it so much, that like many places around the globe, we now have our own Carlebach minyan on Friday nights. We sing Kabbalat Shabbat, dance around a bit, and it's a very warm and friendly minyan.

Don't feel like singing out loud? No problem.

Don't want to dance? Fine with us!

The key to why a Carlebach minyan "works", comes from Shlomo Carlebach himself. He didn't have a great voice, but he understood that the collective voices of people davening in song together could sound great and make up for not everyone having a great voice.

At a Carlebach minyan, you don't need a great shaliach tzibbur, since everyone knows all the tunes...all you really need to do is start the first 2 or 3 words before the entire Beit Midrash joins in. Plus, we have kids as the Shaliach Tzibbur for Kabbalat Shabbat so they get over "stage fright" at an earlier age, with a supportive, friendly crowd.

That's the magic of a great Carlebach minyan...combined with the excitement of my youngest son knowing that he'll sit on my shoulders as we dance around and around.

It's been a long week - Shabbat is coming!



Wherever I am, my blog turns towards Eretz Yisrael

11 comments:

  1. Hey, in our Jersualem neighborhood we've had a Carlebach minyan since '97, [methinks]. What took you guys so long???

    :))

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  2. Hey Muqata,
    you probably did it a long time ago but I never realized you qualified me for your blogroll...until...I took a look at "Shma Yisrael." Good thinking and thank u so much!

    Shabbat shalom, Eitan.

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  3. We usually do a Carlebach minyan once or twice a year. Unfortunately, people around here aren't into 2 hour davenings on Friday nights...

    Another reason for me to move to Israel!

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  4. Elster - I hear you...but its SOOOOO good for the soul.

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  5. Thank God for Shabbos.
    aND SINGING 'THAT SONG OF sHABBOS'- sHLOMO-WE MISS YOU-BUT YOU ARE EVEN MORE 'ALIVE' NOW.

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  6. The epitome of the friday night davening in Maarat Hamachpela, is on Simchat Torah. I believe that "one has not seen the joy of the Torah as experienced in Chevron, has not seen true joy".

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  7. Muqata is right on. I've been leading/participating in a Shlomo minyan on friday nights for 6 years now, and it's literally the highlight of the week.

    And if you can gauge the makeup of the audience - how many people are into it, and how many are dying to get home - you can adjust the length and number of songs to fit.

    As for Elster - I appreciate your exhaustion and hunger, but as Shlomo said, "If you were out on a date with a beautiful girl, would you be checking your watch every five minutes? Is Shabbos any different?"

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  8. The key to why a Carlebach minyan "works" @ the maqutta, comes from Jammeel himself. He doesn't have a great voice, but he understood that being a heavily armed man makes up for not having a great voice.

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  9. The key to why a Carlebach minyan "works", comes from Shlomo Carlebach himself. He didn't have a great voice, but he understood that the collective voices of people davening in song together could sound great and make up for not everyone having a great voice.

    Very True. I often say that Friday night tefila is one of the few, if not only, that I enjoy and connect too. I can shut my eyes mid tefilla and memories will flood into my mind from Manchester, New York, Seattle, The Kotel, Crown Heights and even a field in which I have had the privilage experience shabbatot.

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  10. A lesson that everybody should definitely take to their respective minyanim around the globe is that they should not be afraid to switch around the tunes and even throw in non-Shlomo tunes - that is how he did it and that is one of the ways to ensure it does not become "stale."

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  11. Hey muqatak, i like too much your blogs because it has interesting topics, specially when you talk about Israel problems, i would like to give you my opinion and i am very grateful because your blogs help me a lot.

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