IKAR CD: WHEN WE LEFT FOR OUR JOURNEY...
Heschel taught that music is the only language that is compatible
with the wonder and mystery of being.
At IKAR, music serves to give
us a taste of the sublime, to create spiritual openings we couldn’t
otherwise access. We strive neither for performance nor for perfection,
but for real connection and authentic expression. On Shabbat
at IKAR we daven only with human voices and drums, searching for
the rhythm of possibility – the opportunity to recalibrate and
rededicate – that characterizes the day.
Some of our Shabbat melodies are new, written by our very talented Musical Director Hillel Tigay. Others come from teachers and places that set our souls on fire. Our Shabbat celebration was deeply inspired by the spirit of B'nai Jeshurun in New York City, where I served as a Marshall T. Meyer Rabbinic Fellow with my teachers, Rabbis Roly Matalon and Marcelo Bronstein, who taught me to open my heart and stretch my soul.
It is our hope that these melodies will energize and revitalize our Jewish lives, inspire within us a sense of the mystery and beauty of God’s creations, and impact the way we live and act in our world.
Song Samples
| Song/Prayer | Composer | Track Length | Sample Length |
| Henei Ma Tov | Hillel Tigay | 4:18 | :40 |
| Shiru L'adonai | Shlomo Carlebach | 4:39 | :49 |
| Yiram Hayam | Traditional | 2:53 | :47 |
| Rom'mu | Traditional | 4:31 | :56 |
| Mizmor L'David | Shlomo Carlebach | 3:09 | :53 |
| Ana b'khoach | Traditional | 1:56 | :52 |
| L'kha Dodi | Hillel Tigay | 4:38 | :55 |
| L'kha Dodi | Traditional | 3:07 | :54 |
| Ma Gadlu | Shefa Gold | 1:56 | :51 |
| Hatzi Kaddish | Traditional | 3:33 | :58 |
| Rivers of Babylon | Brent Dowe & Trevor McNaughton | 3:22 | :58 |
| Sfat Niggun (I am alive) | David Zeller | 5:43 | 1:04 |