■
In adulthood,
Judy
Goldstein's
passions have
come together.
TH E DE TRO IT J E WI S H N E WS
LESLEY PEARL STAFF WRITER
40
udy Goldstein iden-
tifies as a self-taught
folkie. She used to sing
and strum to Peter,
Paul & Mary, and Pete
Seeger. Of late, Ms.
Goldstein has returned
to the mother tongue.
In the mid-1980s,
Ms. Goldstein taught
herself one Yiddish song
which she performed at
a folk gathering. She
was approached to
in Yiddish at-the-Jewirsh
Home for Aged's Prentis
Manor.
Intrigued, Ms. Goldstein
learned more Yiddish music by
listening to audio tapes and fol-
lowing the chords and melodies.
Within a few months, she had
increased her repertoire and
was performing each Friday at
Prentis.
She was amazed by the re-
action.
Stroke victims who hadn't
communicated in any form in
more than 10 years would cry.
"I know music relieves anxiety
and depression, but this was
something more. It was the ma-
maloschen (mother tongue),"
Ms. Goldstein said.
More requests came in for
performances — from local
agencies to celebrations across
the country — so Ms. Goldstein
stretched to include Hebrew
and Russian songs as well.
She followed the same format
for learning Russian as she did
Yiddish, and enrolled in adult
Hebrew classes.
"I realized I had this
unplanned-for career. It
happened organically
from. everything I love —
music, sitting on the floor
playing my guitar, my Ju-
daism. It all joined to-
gether," Ms. Goldstein
said.
As a child in Detroit,
Ms. Goldstein knew all
the words to Broadway
show tunes. She liked the
',-Way the words rolled off
her tongue. She feels the
same way about the Yid-
dish songs.
"Before my grand-
mother died, we spent
five or six years together
— she explained what I
was singing. Now I have
the older audiences to
help me along. They're
not shy about correcting
pronunciation," Ms. Gold-
stein said.
Ms. Goldstein speaks
and understands Yiddish.
Her Hebrew studies con-
tinue and she grows more
fluent. When doing occa-
sional substitute teach-
ing, Ms. Goldstein has
been known to throw in a
word or two of Russian,
surprising New American
students. .
Through new direc-
tions in her career, a new Above: Judy Goldstein: teacher, musician. Lower left: A recent concert at Borman Hall.
generation is getting a Lower right: Borman resident Ira Boykansky enjoys the show.
sampling of Ms. Gold-
these offers, I said, 'I'm not a
students, singing songs and
stein's art, too.
music teacher.' But then every-
learning guitar chords for mu-
This year, Ms. Goldstein is
thing I'd done for the last 30
sic that children enjoy. She also
teaching music at Congregation
years and loved was thrown at
has led seminars called "He-
Beth Shalom and tefilot
me," Ms. Goldstein said.
brew Songs You Want To Sing
(prayers) and Hebrew music at
To help other teachers make
But Don't Know The Words."
Temple Beth El.
the
learning
process
more
en-
"When I got
joyable, Ms. Goldstein has put
together instruction books
and conducts workshops
for the yearly Conference
on Alternatives in Jewish
Education (CAJE).
"I can work with just
about any audience, so
when I do workshops, I
It's about getting back to basics.
teach by just doing what I
"This is about helping make
do. Anyone can do it. You
teachers feel more a part of
just need a little chutzpa,"
what they are teaching. I give
them the words, the chords, the
Ms. Goldstein said.
piano music," Ms. Goldstein
In teaching by example,
said. 'The music brings people
Ms. Goldstein never lectures.
Instead, the teachers become
together." ❑
Judy Goldstein
evokes memory in
the elderly and
teaches the young.
Photos by Dan iel Lippitt
US1C
Organically
Grown