Music & Prayer

Bet Shalom ~ First Covenant ~ Shir Tikvah  
Celebrate
Shabbat Shira* 2012

Final Performance: Sunday, February 19 @ 10: am
First Covenant Church
810 S 7th St  Minneapolis, MN 55415
612-332-8093

Join our congregations in sharing the texts of our faiths and the celebrations of our struggles.

Music will be sung in Hebrew and English.

*What is Shabbat Shira? 

The name “Sabbath of Song” refers to “The Song at the Sea” that Moses and the Israelites sang after crossing the Red Sea to freedom.   This long poem(song) is read in Parashat B’shallach, the fourth Torah portion in the book of Exodus. The Shabbat when this Torah portion is read gets the special title, “Shabbat Shira”. Many congregations throughout the world pay tribute to music on this special Shabbat through “sermons in song” or concerts during the weekend.

The Shir Tikvah choir has collaborated with Bet Shalom’s choir for the past 15 years, learning music of a specific composer or in a certain style. They present the music at Friday night services at each of our synagogues. One of these services will naturally not be on the official Shabbat Shira, but we retain the title because it is in honor of this Shabbat that we focus on this music at our congregations.

This year, we will expand our collaboration to include the choir of First Covenant Church, directed by artist-in-residence Robert Robinson, and sing our liturgy gospel style. We’ll base most of our music on Psalms, which both faiths revere, and raise the roof as we focus on praise and gratitude, Halleluya!