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The Power Of Prayerful Chants

Robert A. Sklar

Editor

T

hey bring a fusion of ancient text, modern melody and an
exhilarating responsive beat to their sacred original music.
Danya Uriel, 31, and Eyal Rivlin, 34, call themselves Temple, a
husband-and-wife duo whose debut CD Coming
Home adorns mystical Hebrew liturgy with prayer-
ful sounds.
Temple grew out of the couple's commitment to
revitalizing Hebrew chanting as a form of transfor-
mational meditation and ecstatic prayer. Drawing
on the power of repeating ancient sacred phrases,
her soprano and his instrumentation use Hebrew
chants to create an experiential connection to God.
"Eyal and Danya have found the key to the temple
of the soul. From there, they mined melodies that
touch the heart, lift the spirit and refresh the body,'
says Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, a founder of
Jewish Renewal movement.
Danya and Eyal, married last August, were part of a chavurah of 20-
and 30-somethings experimenting with invigorating Jewish practice and
worship among their peers. First they sang with 10 people, which led to a
group of 40, which led to congregations across the country inviting them
to lead services, which led to a national recording contract.
Temple recently performed in Metro Detroit and Ann Arbor in hopes
of spreading interest in the art of instilling prayer with Hebrew chants to
nurture meditations that inspire.
The couple live in Boulder where he is musical director of Congregation
Nevei Kodesh, a Jewish Renewal congregation; she works both as a singer

Day Camp Scholarships Available
The Jewish Community Center of Metropolitan Detroit has received
more scholarship requests this year for its Center Day Camps than for
all of last year, but still has scholarships available.
Forest levy, JCC Day Camps director, is encouraging any family that
needs help from the Send A Kid To Camp Fund to apply immediately.
The decision process is "absolutely private she says.
"Our goal is to accommodate all the needs, so please, don't be afraid
to ask:' says Levy. The Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit's
Sakwa Emergency Fund Campaign is helping the JCC offer multiple
session scholarships to families in need.
For information, contact Center Day Camps, (248) 432-5458.

CD Celebrates Israel's 60th
Hillel Day School of Metropolitan Detroit students have participated
in a musical CD that is a tribute to Israel's 60th anniversary that is
part of a North American initiative that links the Solomon Schechter
Day Schools across the United States and Canada.
The project involves 33 of the 55 members of the Solomon
Schechter Day School Association and demonstrates the connection of
these schools to the land and people of Israel.
The grassroots project engaged the schools' music teachers and it
grew from there.
"This year has been a special year for both our choirs because of
many exciting performing opportunities centered on Israel's 60th
anniversary:' said Robin Beth Lash, music director at Hillel.
"In March, Chaverim, our middle school choir, participated in the
filming of a short documentary with Academy Award-winning direc-
tor Sue Marx for Israel's 60th. Additionally, Chaverim and seven mem-
bers of Ruach, our elementary choir, sang the national anthems at the
Noa concert in Detroit's Orchestra Hall on May 7:"

A10

June 5 • 2008

and a nutritional and alternative health consultant.
Eyal is a sabra (native Israeli) whose love of music, dance, science and
spiritual growth led him from the Tel Aviv music scene on a journey of
discovery through Europe and India to the U.S. and a master's degree in
transpersonal psychology. Danya grew up in a musical family and has
long been singing and composing devotional music. After graduating
from Wellesley College in Massachusetts, she studied
Hebrew in Jerusalem, lived in the jungles of Mexico
and worked with inner-city kids in California. The
Rocky Mountain high of Colorado proved too compel-
ling, however.
Today, the couple also teach music workshops, lead
chavurot and perform at lifecycle events.
They perform in Israel as well. On their last tour,
Eyal's grandparents were in the audience. In the middle
of the concert, his grandfather got up and announced
he had a story to share: When he was 14, he had to flee
his native Germany because of the Nazis. He made
aliyah with other teens, taking only a backpack and his
guitar. In Palestine, he traded his guitar for a rifle. At
that point in telling the story, he proclaimed, "Today, you Eyal have traded
your rifle for a guitar!"
"Everyone present had tears in their eyes;' Danya recalled.
In Israel, Temple performed with Mona Shaheen, a Palestinian singer
and the first female Palestinian veterinarian to graduate from Weizmann
Institute of Science in Rehovot. They sang in Hebrew, Arabic and English.
Says Danya: "We tried to inspire hope and peace through music."

Want the most current
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Celebrations!

❑

The Web site to order "Coming Home": cdbaby.com/cd/templemusic, $16.95
The e-mail address to book Temple: danya@hebrewchanting.com

Schechter Sings! for Israel@60 includes "Kumi Ofi," a signature song
for Israel@60 written especially for Schechter member schools.
"This CD links all the day schools affiliated with the Conservative
movement together;' said Steve Freedman, Hillel head of school.
"More importantly, it is a way for students at each school to person-
ally connect with Israel's rich history. We are eager to partner with day
schools across North America again in the future'

— Keri Guten Cohen, story development editor

Find weekly listings of births,
b'nai mitzvah, engagements,
weddings and anniversaries
as well as past simchahs all
online. They are all bundled
under each week's publication
date.
Just visit JNonline.us and
click on Lifecycles on the
left.

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national and world feeds.
Just visit JNonline.us and
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Online Poll

Looking For Local Soldiers

The JN is planning a story on local Jewish men and women
serving in the U.S. military. If know of any from Metro Detroit,
we would like to get in touch with them and family members
living here. Just contact Shelli Dorfman at (248) 351-5141 or
e-mail sdorfman@thejewishnews.com .

This week's poll question:
With gas prices now more
than $4 a gallon, do you plan
on taking a driving vacation
this summer?
Visit the JNonline.us
homepage, below the left
menu, to cast your vote.

NO POLL RESULTS THIS
WEEK

