My First Service

I officially led my first service as a cantorial student! Yesterday morning, two Israeli rabbinical students and I led services in the Murstein Synagogue on HUC's campus. There was a special delegation on campus this week and they wanted some extra musical "umph" this week in particular. My friend Rachel (who just completed her first year in the cantorial program here) was up for the opportunity first but her flight out of the country was a day too early. So, between Rachel's recommendation and the school's recommendation, (apparently it pays to get here 6 weeks early!) it became my opportunity. It was a great experience working with the Israeli rabbinic students to build the service. Tati is from Argentina and Uri is from Brazil so the conversation often drifted between Spanish, English, and Hebrew, but we all managed somehow!
Unfortunately, I came down with a cold or something on Friday afternoon. It started very abruptly and probably as a result of not getting much rest the past .... month. Yea. Friday night was the worst of it and I was worried I wouldn't be well enough to help lead services in the morning. Ten hours of sleep seemed to help a little bit. I gathered my remaining strength and luckily HUC is only a 12 minute walk from my apartment. Fortunate for me it wasn't too hot out at 8:30 in the morning and I made it there in 20 minutes.
Once the service was under way, it was smooth sailing. The multicultural make up of the service organizers made for a beautiful service I thought - tunes from South America, the United States, Israel, something new and something familiar for everyone. I song-led from the piano since my guitar skills still need work and I was quite happy about how it all went.
For those of you who have never been to a synagogue service, normally the congregation sort of half-sings, content to be led through the service (perhaps not all the different from your average church service). But let me tell you! The sound in the Murstein Synagoge! Everyone sang full out and it was amazing! I tried to find a youtube video for you all of Jeff Klepper's "Mah Tovu," the first song the congregation really let rip on. If anyone had a bad voice in the whole congregation, you wouldn't have known it. The whole experience filled me with excitement for other services to come in the future.
Unfortunately, I think all the excitement totally wiped me out again. I walked back home and slept basically for the rest of the day. I feel a little better now, at least not so achy, but I'm still getting hot and cold flashes and my throat is killing me. So, just in case it's not just a silly little cold, I'll plan on taking my brand new student health insurance for a test drive in the morning. For now I've discovered that if I boil water and steep mint leaves from the shuk mixed with a little honey, it keeps my sore throat at bay for a short while. I'm off to bed, again, but I hope you all enjoy the rest of your Sunday!