points of view
Anna's Shema from page 33
tain their affiliation with Temple Israel, where Anna
grew up.
Anna put her lyrics to a melody she had written a
few years earlier. Her mother prompted her to adapt
it for her Shema.
What struck Rabbi Paul Yedwab about Anna's
Shema was how it focused "on God as a personal
God, not some theoretical abstraction. Martin Buber
would term it 'I Eternal Thou' — God as a friend, if
you will."
Yedwab drew a parallel between the music video
developed around Anna's Shema and a 2009 music
video produced by Temple Israel, with the help of
Fran Victor and Bill Harder's Evolution Media in
West Bloomfield, around then-student Sam Kay's
Raise Your Voice — his version of Psalm 150.
"Sam's song also focused on a
personal, intimate connection with
the Eternal," Yedwab said. "It almost
seems to me as if this new genera-
tion is telling us something: That for
them, God is not some distant con-
cept, but rather a reachable, touch-
able, knowable reality in their lives.
Fascinating, indeed."
Rabbi Yedwab
Yedwab has championed new
ways to engage teens at Temple
Israel and throughout the Reform movement. The
filmmaking class stemmed from "100 Ways In," a
synagogue program envisioned to include at least 100
opportunities to involve high school students. Temple
Israel embarked on enlisting congregants who are
charismatic, skilled professionals in the given areas
Dry Bones
THE MIDDLE
EAST, THE ENEMY
OF OUR ENEMIES...
DRYBONE S.COM
THE OVERTHROW OF
ARAB DICTATORS BY
ISLAMIST FORCES
of concentration to act as mentors.
To financially seed the class, Yedwab tapped the
youth activities fund that members were generously
donating to in honor of he and his wife, Wendy, who
are marking 25 years at Temple Israel. ("Sometimes,"
the rabbi told me, "timing in life is everything!")
The Spotlight's Glare
Anna knew she would sing with Teen Tefilah at her
2011 Confirmation service. But when she arrived
for rehearsal preceding the service, Cantor Smolash
informed her she would be singing her Shema as part
of the set. He handed her a guitar and told her to run
through the song a few times with the band before
congregants started to arrive.
"I was excited, but nervous," Anna said. "What
would a congregation with my grandparents
and friends think of my new, honest take on the
`Watchword of our Faith'? At the end of the service,
it was almost impossible to be nervous. I had gotten
so much praise; it took me 20 minutes to get out the
door."
Grandparents often get lost in the shuffle of a
grandchild's achievement. Anna, however, credits
both sets.
Her paternal grandparents, Jean and the late Ed
Bugg of St. Joseph, gave her one of their prized pos-
sessions, her great-grandfather's guitar and, though
not Jewish, they fully participated in lifecycle events.
Her maternal grandparents, Michelle and Steve
Passon of Bloomfield Hills, not only played music
for and sang with her since she was old enough to
talk, but also shlepped her to Debbie Friedman and
Dan Nichols concerts. On Shabbat and at
Jewish holidays, Anna always leads the
family in song.
Anna is comfortable in the limelight,
but selfless enough to share it.
"I receive a lot of credit for writing and
composing my Shema," she said, "but it
never even would have crossed my mind
to start writing Jewish music if it weren't
for the people in my
congregation who rec-
ognized and supported
me."
Her parents agree.
"We're beyond proud
to see our daughter
follow her passion and
Jamie Brooks
to have that passion
embraced by the com-
munity," her mother
said. 'At the same time, we are honored
that the Temple Israel family saw that
light in her and gave her the opportunity
to express it in a way that was meaning-
ful for her. We've learned that, more than
ever, Judaism is about community, and it
is the community that has taught us this
lesson."
Song To Film
The music video was shot at Marshbank
Park in West Bloomfield, in downtown
Ferndale, fireside in Orchard Lake and at
34
November 8 • 2012
Tempermill recording studio in Ferndale.
"Meeting all the professionals that made this song
that I wrote up in my room into a fully mastered
piece of music and music video was an amazing
experience," Anna said.
She gave special thanks to Larry August, a profes-
sional filmmaker who led the filmmaking class and
directed the video; Ben Friedman, a filmmaking
professional who mentors in the synagogue's high
school; Cantor Smolash, whose inventiveness and
passion came out as music producer; and Rabbi
Yedwab, who first suggested turning Anna's Shema
into a video.
"My job was to put all of this into Jewish context
for the kids, which I did by bringing biblical texts to
bear as archetypes of cinematic storytelling," Yedwab
said.
Yedwab also set the class curriculum, but called
August the hero of the filmmaking project. "He was
amazing with the kids and they loved him," Yedwab
said.
August is managing partner of Royal Oak-based
Avalon Films. He's a director and producer of com-
mercials, films and Web content. He worked on such
recent movies as Gran Torino, Kill the Irishman and
Little Murder.
The filmmaking class marked the first time August
worked with Temple Israel's high school. Avalon's
Mike McKay assisted August in teaching basic film-
making, shooting much of the footage and editing
the video.
Said August: "We brainstormed
ideas for images that could visualize
Anna's lyrics. We talked about how
kids their age perceived God and
how God matters to them. I basical-
ly took our conversation and boiled
it down to three shoots: the forest,
- the group campfire and the studio."
Larry August
Wendy Yedwab handled a lot of
unglamorous chores, such as driv-
ing the teens to shoots and keep-
ing them well fed. The rabbi's staff assistant, Kim
Heraud, kept all the project details organized.
In the music video, Anna sings lead vocals and
plays rhythm guitar, but has plenty of help from fel-
low local teens: Jenna McMillan sings backup vocals,
Eric Gustafson plays lead guitar, Todd Glass plays
drums, Bob Mervak plays piano and James Simonson
plays bass.
Beyond The Video
To hone her skills, Anna attends Cranbrook Summer
Art Institute in Bloomfield Hills. In addition to writ-
ing music, she enjoys mixed-media sculpture as well
as snowboarding and kickboxing.
Fittingly, her career goal is to be an art director
or a music producer. "Making people feel or think
something with art and music is the most motivating
thing in the world for me," she said.
Certainly, engaging teens by stimulating their
creative force field is pivotal to securing our Jewish
future. There's only an upside to showcasing success-
ful examples of such engagement.
Remember: Peer influence is a powerful draw
among teens.
❑