Shabbat Shalom!
I am Hazzan Jenna Greenberg, and I am a 2004 graduate of the H. L. Miller Cantorial School at the Jewish Theological Seminary. Born in Rochester, NY and raised in Philadelphia, PA, I spent my high school years in Pittsburgh. I attended Earlham College in Richmond, IN, where I earned a B.A. in Music with a minor in Jewish Studies. I spent a semester abroad in Vienna, Austria. This international experience was so phenomenal that it led me to return to Vienna again following my graduation from Earlham, this time in a leadership capacity as the professor’s assistant.
My global travels continued shortly thereafter, as I embarked on my path to become a Cantor. I began my studies in Israel, with a year of learning at Machon Schechter, the Conservative movement’s seminary in Jerusalem. The following summer, I returned to New York City to complete my cantorial studies at JTS. While there, I had many opportunities to share my love for music and Yiddishkeit, both at the Seminary and beyond. One of the highlights of my time in New York was the experience of singing with the renowned Zamir Chorale, which inspired me to further develop my love for Jewish choral music.
During my professional career, I have served in many Jewish communities, including Washington, DC, Chicago and Boston. I am currently the conductor of the Dayton Jewish Chorale, a community choir that I co-founded with a couple of my local colleagues. What I love about choral music, and singing in general, is that we have such great power to use our voices for good, to build community through incredible music and the diverse lyrics of our Jewish texts.
This week’s double parshiyot, Tazria-Metzora, while laden with great details about physical purity and impurity, also have a vocal connection, not musical per se, but directly linked to speech and how we use our words. We learn that the metzora is the person who is afflicted with tzara’at, often translated as leprosy. The rabbis note the similarity between the words ‘motzi shem ra’ (putting forth a bad name) and ‘metzora.’ They conclude that “If you wish to avoid being afflicted with tzara’at, do not speak lashon hara (the evil tongue).” Rumors, slander, & malicious speech have the power to poison us from within & infect society.
Instead we should use our voices for lashon hatov, for good! We learn from the morning blessing, Barukh She’amar, that God creates the world through speech. Similarly, we also create our own world through the power of our words. The word ‘davar’ in Hebrew means both ‘word’ & ‘thing.’ We recognize the tangible nature of our language. Once our words are launched, they take on a life of their own. From this, we learn to be cautious with our speech, and thoughtful to the effects of our words on others.
I look forward to raising our voices together for good on this very special weekend together.
Wishing you all a Shabbat Shalom!
Hazzan Jenna Greenberg
