Enhancing the Legacy: The Creative Arts Program
Throughout his years at Valley Beth Shalom, Rabbi Schulweis has sought to realize
his vision of the synagogue as a locus of Jewish creativity and artistic expression.
He has demonstrated a deep commitment to the place of the arts in Jewish life, and
most particularly, in the life of the synagogue. VBS was the formative home for
Aminadav Aloni, a gifted composer with whose 30 year association VBS was blessed.
With Rabbi Schulweis' encouragement, a distinct liturgical voice was fashioned for
the congregation. Aloni's works, some in collaboration with Rabbi Schulweis, have
spread worldwide, increasing awareness, pride and consciousness of the beauty of
Jewish music and its power to enhance the religious experience.
In this quotation from a recent address, Rabbi Schulweis emphasized the intertwining
between the cultural and ritual fabrics of Judaism: “The word for song in Hebrew
is shirah, which means poetry and, according to the mystical tradition of
Gematria, shirah has a numerical equivalence of 415. Tefillah, which
means prayer in Hebrew, also has a numerical equivalent of 415. To sing is to pray,
and to pray is to sing. As the poet sang: 'God made the world with rhythm and rhyme,
the very soul of song is woven into the skein of life.' ”
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Rabbi Schulweis' leadership has encouraged the community to support many initiatives
that raise awareness of all forms of Judaic art and foster the creation and expansion
of new programs, compositions, and musical groups. A prominent example of this accomplishment
has been realized by The Jewish Music Commission of Los Angeles,
www.jmcla.org which originated at VBS. Rabbi Schulweis has been an active
Advisory Board member since its inception. Established in 1982 by a grant from the
Board of Directors of VBS, it is the only organization of its kind in the United
States and has drawn a wide spectrum of artists to compose new Jewish music and
has sponsored many performances in greater Los Angeles, some in conjunction with
churches and other institutions.
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Another example of Rabbi Schulweis' dedication to the infusion of Jewish music with
ritual and to music as a true form of expression of Judaic life is the widely acclaimed
Valley Beth Shalom Congregational Choir. It is one of the premier congregational
choirs in the western U.S. and provides an opportunity for the community to experience
contemporary synagogue music and to hear the great master works of the past.
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The vision for the Creative Arts Program is to deepen our religious experience by
enriching it with visual arts, performing arts, music, and literature. The Creative
Arts Program will encourage artists in all media to share their gifts with the synagogue
community, as a model of the value of the arts.
Composers, musicians, poets, dancers, dramatists, painters, sculptors and artisans
will be enlisted to deepen and share their vision with the synagogue and to participate
in the life of the synagogue.