Haporeis Sukkat Shalom
Erev Sukkot Service - October 2019
Music: Rabbi Noam Katz
English Text: Rabbi Richard Levy
Hebrew Text: Liturgy
Recorded by Rabbi Noam Katz and Cantor Alexandra Fox at Peninsula Temple Sholom during Sukkot 5780/2019.
ABOUT THE PIECE - Noam writes:
"Two years ago, URJ Camp Newman in Santa Rosa, CA was devastated by the Tubbs fire that engulfed thousands of acres in northern California. Days later, I was at Temple Emanuel in San Francisco and gathered with the Newman community -- to cry, to sing, to reminisce, to draw strength from one another. Just 9 months later, in summer 2018, I spent a remarkable Shabbat with this resilient community at Newman-by-the-Bay. It was profound to see how, despite being displaced into temporary and unfamiliar terrain, the community once again transcended physical space to create a sense of "home". And once again, I was moved to tears at Shabbat services when the staff lifted tallitot above the heads of their campers and prayed for sukkat shalom -- a shelter of peace -- to provide sanctuary and comfort for every member of this extended family. Just hours before leaving the site, I found a grand piano and banged out a few bars of this new setting for "Haporeis Sukkat Shalom", dedicated to and inspired by this incredible camp community (with English lyrics written by my dear mentor and friend, Rabbi Richard Levy z"l). This past Sukkot, which I joyfully spent with Peninsula Temple Shalom in Burlingame, CA, reminded me how the sukkah represents the fragility of our lives, the impermanence of the physical spaces in which we gather and reside, but emboldens us to build up our spiritual and communal architecture so we can withstand life's storms and face the future with strength, with love, with peace."
