Tuesday, May 4, 2010

What Torah Means... to Cantor Anna Zhar

Counting the Omer Day 36

It is hard to describe in words what Torah means to me. In a certain way, Torah is like music. It has tremendous spiritual power that works in a transcendent way. To me it is much more than a life guide, history, code of moral and ethical laws that our very life is derived from. It is even more than story about creation that leads us to Adonai, the only first source of the universe and our own being. It is more than all our lifetime situations and all the basic knowledge of every science which humankind progress achieved so far. The Torah is our Holy text that has many layers to it. To me, the chanting of Torah has always been a crucial way to understand the sacred text and to come a little closer to the transcendent.

It is a way to interpret the ancient text that connects us to Second Temple time through Middle Ages and continues to grow and change by our modern interpretation. In some sections of the Torah, special melodies are used to interpret the text in a unique way. “The song of the Sea” portion has many different traditions of artistry of Cantillation: the tradition that I learned is when a special melody is used for each phrase in the song that has God’s name in it. This melody does not follow the rules of chanting as my path of life changed when I studied this Torah portion which led me to my final decision to become a Cantor. It has been a very long way from Russia via Israel to America. It is hard to fit my life story in a paragraph, however, when I was a mom of two children, had my successful career of choral conductor, my decision of becoming a Cantor was not an easy one. Before I came to HUC to chant my first Torah portion, I had a dream – the sea was splitting, it was a night, and then it was a day when Torah changed my life forever. It all became together – my God, my passion of music, my love for Israel, my Judaism, and my family freedom – suddenly all at once…

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