cantors in concert
Most songs about home involve motion: you are either leaving or returning, rarely
actually staying there.Dorian Lynskey, music writer for The Guardian
Pondering the idea of home, I have to admit my mixed relationship with that concept. I wonder if it might be something I regularly have to leave behind in order to redefine it again in a later stage of my life.
Once, home was the pleasant sensation of my bare feet touching the cool stone tiles in the living room of my parents’ apartment in Netanya, Israel, as I was playing with the Dalmatian on a Friday afternoon. Spending my early years going back and forth between Israel and Germany, partially by myself, partially with my family, home could be found in physical places, in smells, in rituals and in friendships. Later, in my first relationship in Berlin, following one’s nesting instincts became a joint effort, often challenged by previous perceptions of what it meant to develop a domesticated little universe for two. Then I moved to Los Angeles, and finding a place to
belong started all over again. Here in LA I got re-acquainted with my inner judgmental self, had some dates with fear and anxiety, wrote some songs, built relationships with congregants and colleagues, successfully found new
friends, tasted new flavors, listened to new tunes and experienced some of the loveliest moments in my life.
Have I ever felt at home during all that time? I’m not sure. Maybe the feeling of being on the run and feeling slightly lonely is a default that just sticks with me due to my own personal history.
Nonetheless, it did take me by surprise when familiarity and comfort overcame me as I was landing in LAX, coming back from a Passover holiday in Israel. It was the first time something close to feeling like “coming home” stepped into my consciousness. It’s nice to look back at my first year since my official installation and to realize that somehow I’ve survived, personally and professionally. Nothing was ever really as scary and threatening as it seemed. It makes sense to me that all these impressions are valid for everyone experiencing change and obviously, I’m not the only one who has somehow found a new home in this past year. BCC, as most of you have noticed, is getting used to its new – may I say, quite magnificent – space as I write these lines and I am so happy that so many cantors have agreed to participate in a concert simply titled “HOME”, to celebrate BCC’s move. With fantastic musicians lined up, in an event that will hopefully trigger a tradition of annual musical encounters at BCC, I invite you to take part in this event that will musically remind us what it takes to turn a house into a home.
Click here for more info and
click here for the facebook-event page!