Preparing Our Souls for the New Year With Nefesh Mountain: Temple Israel and Temple Beth El Join Together for Special Selichot Service

The Charlotte Jewish News, September 2022

By Cantor Shira Lissek

Fall is almost here, and it’s time to start the Jewish New Year. We are quickly approaching Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, the Days of Awe, in Hebrew called the Yamim Noraim. The days leading up to Rosh Hashanah in the month of Elul are a time of soul-searching, cheshbon hanefesh, accounting of the soul, and reflection to prepare oneself for the magnitude of the Days of Awe. On the Saturday evening before Rosh Hashanah, we sing prayers and recite meditations, as we are encouraged to reflect on our past year and the changes we wish to make in the upcoming one. In the words of one of the poetic texts recited at this service, “At the conclusion of the day of rest, Shabbat, we come first to meet You. Incline Your ear from above, You who dwells amongst praise, To hear the song and the prayer.”

The Selichot service can be quite moving as we gather together late on Saturday night singing and praying together. We sense the extraordinary nature of the sacred prayers and melodies and turn introspectively within ourselves. We hope and pray that our voices are heard.

“O Lord, hear our voice in the morning; in the morning we set them before You with hopeful expectation. Hear our voice …”

This year the clergy of Temple Beth El and Temple Israel are excited to join forces and begin the High Holiday season together. On Selichot evening, Saturday September 17, all are welcome for a musically and spiritually uplifting Havdalah service, Selichot concert featuring Nefesh Mountain, and Selichot service. Cantor Mary Thomas and I have wanted to bring the soulful music of Nefesh Mountain to Shalom Park for a few years now, and we couldn’t be more excited to have them with us to set the tone for the new year.

Nefesh Mountain, a critically acclaimed progressive string band, “ingeniously blends bluegrass/roots music with influences from their own Jewish culture. Nefesh Mountain is the place where American bluegrass and old-time music meet with Jewish heritage and tradition. Band leaders, genre-pioneers, and husband and wife Doni Zasloff and Eric Lindberg are the heart of this eclectic offering, and share their love for American music, their Jewish heritage, and each other with audiences throughout the world. The result of this unexpected and beautiful mix is staggering, and while complete with the kind of adept string virtuosity and thoroughly composed arrangements one would hope for from a newgrass band with influences from bluegrass, old-time, Celtic, and jazz, they also play and sing songs of the heart creating music with a sense of diversity, oneness, and purpose for our world today.”

Join us at 8 p.m. at Temple Israel on September 17 as we begin our year together in community. We are looking forward to this extraordinary opportunity to prepare our soul, our nefesh, featuring the inspirational and uplifting sounds of Nefesh Mountain.