Member Resources

This section has resources that are particularly relevant to current members of the congregation. Please note that religious school information is in the Lifelong Education section and information about upcoming services is in the Services & Holidays section. See the navigation buttons to the left to see the information you can access from here.

Member Perspective

If you are interested in sharing your perspective on the community we have created, please contact the Rabbi.

I want to take this opportunity to tell the Beth Samuel community that learning to chant Torah and having the chance to participate in temple services doing so has been extremely valuable to me. I want to do what I can to urge as many of you as possible to share this experience with me.

It can be difficult to explain to those who do not chant Torah what benefits derives from this activity: Apt words for spiritual experiences are hard to find. If you learn to chant Torah, you will obtain a sense of connectedness to the text over and above the connection one makes simply reading the Hebrew silently or aloud without melody. If you chant Torah in our services, you will obtain a sense of connectedness with our congregation and Rabbi you cannot have any other way. And finally, if you chant Torah in services, you are connected to all the other Jews for centuries, for millennia, who have been honored to do so in their congregations all over the world, and to all of those who come after you.

Isn’t this what each of us in his own way seeks—a sense of indestructible linkage, of bonds unbreakable over time and space, to our Jewish heritage and future?

If you chant Torah, you will understand as never before that the Hebrew text is intended to be musical, that these haunting Semitic melodies force a layer of meaning on to the text impossible to sense without the music, and that the meaning of the text must and does obey the logic of this music. Is it too much to say, does it in any way diminish the Torah to say, that it is not just the words of God, but also one of God’s works of art? This is what learning to chant has made me feel. I want to share this sense with all of you.

To those who respond that they would like to learn but simply don’t have the time, I say: Neither do I. To those who say they would like to participate in services this way but would suffer stage fright and performance anxiety at the prospect of chanting, I say: Surely less than I do, I who tremble and stammer every time I am called to the bimah, even after close to a year of chanting most Saturday mornings, and even though my fellow congregants and our Rabbi have never offered me other than the warmest support and encouragement. To those who say they can’t learn because they can’t carry a tune, I say: Neither could I; Torah taught me and it will teach you. To those who feel their voices inadequate, I would say the only inadequate voice is the silent voice.

To be sure, learning to chant takes some time and commitment. But it takes nothing else. Trust me: If I can learn to chant Torah, anyone can. Excellent teaching aids are available. And our Rabbi has openly stated her willingness to allow congregants the opportunity to participate this way. Practice may not make perfect, but it makes a whole lot better. The more often you chant, the less formidable the prospect of learning and doing it.

In no sense am I qualified to teach or coach persons in our congregation interested in learning to chant Torah. But I’m happy to share what I’ve learned, and in particular to discuss the use of teaching aids that have helped me. If there are members of our community who were considering learning to chant but were hesitant, hesitate no more. Talk to me. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

- Dr. George Goodman