Jewish Gospel

I got a ride to the Sulha after a chaotic start this morning - through someone I had met earlier in the week at a Jewish Renewal Gospel workshop at Maya's home overlooking the Sherover Promenade. Maybe I should retract. Whenever I look at documentaries about these ecstatic Christians, Pentecostal Christians, charismatic Christian services - I envy the way they worship. Their entire soul goes into the services. They just don't read from prayerbooks and listen to someone drone on. Or it's not like the speed praying that is done in most synagogues I've gone to. The quicker you end the service the better - with a bit of singing thrown in. None of these services do it for me. None of them have meaning. And with the more lively Chassidic services, the men seem more involved in the dancing and singing than the women. Yaqub from the new age bookstore in Jerusalem sent out a notice about Sharon Alexander who was in from Switzerland who would be doing a workshop on singing Jewish gospel. I'm in.

It took me a while to find Maya's home, as I didn't have the address on me, and the cab driver that took me there really wanted a date with me - especially after I commented how much I like the music he had been playing.

"You like Greek music?? I know all the clubs in Tel Aviv. I know everyone in Tel Aviv. I'm always in Tel Aviv. Would you like to come with me to Tel Aviv? I'll drive you home after your meeting. The fare's on me. Take my number."

I paid him quickly and ran out of the cab before he had a chance to recite his number to me. Why is it that I only get asked out by cab drivers?? No other male of any other profession will ask me out - just cab drivers. Is it the intimacy of the ride. The mysterious aura of the passenger in the back seat? Garbo-esque? Who the fuck knows.

Finally finding the place, Sharon is in the middle of a talk about praise and glory and about how she also was looking for a place for gospel singing which is compatible with Judaism. Then she broke us up into groups - altos, tenors, sopranos, bass and taught each of us our parts - we sang something like this - Now, let us sing until the power of the Lord comes down! - I forgot the words already, but she got us going as we kept on singing until we felt ecstatic - and you did feel closer to God as it kept building up. The harmonies were beautiful and she played the part of the black diva, the Aretha Franklin of our group, and did her solo in the middle of it, while we were singing our parts.

As to having prayer like this in synagogues? I don't know if it will happen so soon. She's on her way back to Switzerland today but I hope she planted some seeds for a more interesting way for Jews to converse with God.