I share a deep and enduring connection with the Zespół Szkół Lauder-Morasha (The Lauder-Morasha School) in Warsaw, Poland, a relationship that began at the very start of its life. In 1995, just a year after the school opened, I traveled there with Pizmon, the Jewish a cappella group from JTS/Columbia. We were part of an extraordinary moment in Jewish history, as Jewish life in Poland was beginning to rebuild itself with courage and love. Singing with those children in those early days left a permanent mark on me. Their voices, their presence, their very existence in that space of renewal shaped my own spiritual path. They helped inspire the way I sing, the way I reach for the Divine, and ultimately the rabbi and composer I have become.And then, this morning, that circle of connection came alive again in a way I could never have imagined. My beloved friends Mark Medin and Kim Hartman were visiting the school as part of a UJA-Federation of New York delegation, and heard the students at that same school were singing my song, Olam Chesed Yibaneh, including a Polish translation!, led by the Head of School Karolina Szykier-Koszucka, moved me profoundly. [CLICK HERE FOR THE VIDEO]
Those children, in a historic place that helped form my own voice decades ago, are now giving voice to my music once again. It is a powerful, full circle moment, a living expression of continuity, creativity, and love.
Am Yisrael Chai!