MARCH 17 • 2022 | 21

 We’re trying to live lives 
of meaning and purpose 
and trying to figure out how 
we can be a better version 
of ourselves today than we 
were yesterday. When I real-
ized that’s so embedded in 
all that Judaism is, I wanted 
to share that with as many 
people as possible. 

Rabbi Dahlen: I’m wonder-
ing if you have any thoughts 
on why prayer with inten-
tionality can be so hard for 
us. How can we get into a 
place where prayer speaks to 
us as opposed to feeling like 
it’s a structured obligation?

Rabbi Josh: When I talk 
to kids about prayer and 
about Judaism, I say it’s all 
about awareness. It’s about 
noticing the things happen-
ing in the world around us. 
You have to give yourself a 
chance to look at what the 
words are saying — how 
amazing, how awesome, 
how different are all of God’s 
creations.
Each one of us has our 
own purpose. Each one of 
us has our own reason for 
being here. And that means 
that we also each come 
with our own expectations 
when we enter a sanctuary 
for prayer. Maybe there’s 
a moment that isn’t as 
empowering or as exciting 
or as crying or as uplifting 
for you, but maybe that 
moment is for the next 
person. The idea of coming 
together in community is to 
hold each other up so that 
somebody else can have 
their moment of prayer. 
And then I can have my 
moment in prayer, and 
altogether we’re creating 
something where it’s mean-
ingful for someone at every 

moment and maybe not 
for you the whole time, but 
that’s what it means to be a 
part of a community — to 
lift each other up. 

Rabbi Dahlen: Like you said, 
these things can speak to us 
on completely different levels 
— powerful, beautiful levels. 
I think you do a remarkable 
job of bringing our 
attention to some 
of those pieces of 
liturgy. And in that 
way, your music 
isn’t so performative 
as it is an open invi-
tation to come and 
join in liturgy. How 
do you shape your 
music that way?

Rabbi Josh: I think there’s 
something powerful that 
happens when music is 
shared in community, right? 
There’s something that goes 
beyond just the music itself. 
There’s an energy that’s cre-
ated when you get to sing 
with people in one space. 
In some ways, we haven’t 
gotten to do as much of that 
in recent times as we had 
in the past, but I’m hoping 
that we can get back even 
more to what it means to 
be in the same room with 
people and lift each other 
up with song.
We record our music live 
and post it on YouTube. You 
can see we’re crafting the 
music together in one space. 
We want people to experi-
ence what it’s like when the 
music was originally created. 
We do that in communities. 
We can go into these spaces 
and sing it in that same way 
and lift it up and build that 
same kind of energy with a 
different group of people, 
and it sounds and feels dif-

ferent. It has a whole new 
creative aspect to it when 
you get to sing in different 
communities, but still with 
that same energetic vibe.

Rabbi Dahlen: The theme 
of our Shabbaton this year is 
“Someday ... Is Here.
” These 
last few years of the pan-
demic have been a drain on 
all of us. We’re 
hoping that this 
will be a good 
opportunity for 
us to put all that 
aside. What is 
your “someday” 
moment? What 
is something 
that’s inspiring 
you right now 
and something that you’re 
working on?

Rabbi Josh: My someday is 
exactly what we’re doing for 
the Shabbaton. It’s getting 
to come back together with 
people in community. I real-
ly, really miss that. I’m gear-
ing up for a whole spring 
of renewal, of renewing our 
sacred spaces, renewing 
our sanctuaries and coming 
back to what it means to 
sing together and gather 
together.
And, for me, it’s also 
about noticing the things 
that are happening in our 
lives and giving those 
moments importance. I 
think prayer gives us the 
perfect opportunity to do 
that. So, I’m trying to devel-
op a more consistent and 
better prayer practice for 
myself. 

See the unabridged interview 

at https://www.youtube.com/

watch?v=aLfoO2ZDnRc and 

watch a sample of Rabbi Josh’s 

music at www.youtube.com/c/

JoshWarshawsky.

DETAILS

FRIDAY, MARCH 25
FAMILY SHABBAT 
DINNER, 6 PM
Bring the kids and together 
we’ll say the meal prayers, 
sing Shabbat songs and get 
to know one another over 
a dairy meal. Cost: $10 per 
adult, $5 per child ages 2-12
Then, refresh your soul with 
Kabbalat Shabbat and Ma’ariv 
services led by the CSZ cler-
gy and featuring guest Rabbi 
Josh Warshawsky at 7 p.m.
Following services, CSZ 
Village invites young profes-
sionals (ages 21-45) to stick 
around for drinks, desserts 
and learning with Rabbi Yoni 
Dahlen at Kiddush and Kibbitz 
– Young Professionals Oneg 
at 8:30 p.m.

SATURDAY, MARCH 26
TIMELY TORAH, 9 AM 
SHABBAT MORNING 
SERVICES, 10 AM
Grab some coffee and nosh 
as Rabbi Dahlen guides 
conversation on the weekly 
Torah portion, followed by a 
Shabbat morning service and 
lunch. CSZ clergy and Rabbi 
Josh Warshawsky will guide 
us through a new way of look-
ing at ritual and song. Shabbat 
lunch follows services, and 
age-appropriate activities for 
children will be available.

FREE CONCERT, 8:30 PM
Join us as we conclude 
Shabbat and welcome in the 
new week with the renew-
ing magic of Havdalah and a 
concert featuring Rabbi Josh 
Warshawsky, which is also 
open to the public.
For details, registrations and 
more, visit shaareyzedek.org/
shabbaton.

Rabbi Yoni Dahlen

