perform Saturday
Jewish prayer group
celebrates ‘joyfully’
Singer and composer Craig Taubman to
perform Saturday
BY VINCENT TODARO
Staff Writer
EAST BRUNSWICK — As part of its mission to celebrate the Sabbath in a joyful manner, a local Jewish group will feature renowned musician Craig Taubman at its Saturday morning service.
Chavurat Kol Haneshama, East Brunswick, will have Taubman appear at its 9:45 a.m. service this Saturday. Taubman, a nationally recognized singer and composer, will perform his own music, which is influenced by the cantor tradition as well as more modern popular music.
Taubman’s appearance is symbolic of what the group, also known as the Chavurah, represents. Its mission is to use Jewish music to uplift its religious services. And its brand of celebration has apparently caught on, as it now attracts as many as 200 people to its twice-a-month services, according to Marilyn Friedes, spokeswoman for the Chavurah.
The group was founded in 2002 by six local families, she said. At the time, it held only a Friday night service each month, but now, Saturday morning services are also standard.
The group’s vision was inspired by Jules Frankel, an East Brunswick resident who leads the services and is committed to connecting Jews to their religion through Jewish music, she said.
"The service focuses on and celebrates the musical and spiritual beauty of the liturgy by integrating instrumental music into the tefillot (prayer) in a manner that maintains the dignity befitting Shabbat," Friedes said.
The Chavurah actually integrates music into the prayers.
"We wanted to bring more spirituality and joy into the Friday night service," Friedes said. "We wanted to praise God with music and instruments."
The group takes its name from The Chavurah, the 150th Psalm, and it uses as its prayer book the egalitarian "Sim Shalom Sidduri."
That Taubman would appear makes sense, as the Chavurah has based its services on those he leads at Temple Sinai in Los Angeles. Taubman’s music incorporates traditional and modern Jewish themes and teachings. His music has "inspired the entire Jewish community for many years reinvigorating services across the nation," Friedes said. It appeals to all ages, and has been released on recordings such as "Friday Night Live" and "One Shabbat Morning."
"The appeal of his music lies in a musical style which emphasizes participation through singable and energetic melodies," Friedes said.
The Chavurah was the brainchild of Jules Frankel, an East Brunswick resident whose passion is to bring the Jewish faith to people through Jewish music, Friedes said. The Chavurah, she said, "has also given many women their first opportunity to read from the Torah, or to be called to the Torah for an aliyah (honor)."
The nonprofit group, which relies on donations from those who attend, recently was offered a $10,000 matching gift from an anonymous donor. Within three weeks, members matched that amount, and the grant was secured.
Services are open to "all those seeking an alternative service or a supplement to their own synagogue experience," Friedes said. The services mostly attract East Brunswick residents, but residents from North Brunswick, Highland Park, Edison, Marlboro and Manalapan also attend.
Services are generally held the first Friday of each month at 7:45 p.m., and generally on the third Saturday at 9:45 a.m.