MARCH 16 • 2023 | 33

U

niversity of Michigan School of 
Social Work Jewish Communal 
Leadership Program presents 
Joyful Jewish Jams: A Communal Concert 
and Conversation on Monday, March 27, 
at The Ark (Doors at 6:30 p.m.; concert at 
7 p.m.).
The culminating event of the 20-month 
Jewish Communal Leadership Program 
is the annual Communal Conversation 
planned by the graduating class. This 
free-to-the-public event is a celebration of 
the multitude of community connections 
fostered through the program between the 
students, the school and Jewish organiza-
tions and groups. 
In past years, the Communal 
Conversations event leaned toward a more 
traditional lecture/panel model. This year 
is different. Lydia Greenberg, graduating 
student of the leadership program, shared 
that emerging from the strain and isolation 
of COVID, the students sought to lean into 
the lifegiving and joyful part of Judaism — 
coming together in song and celebration. 
Yes, there will still be a traditional 
learning component through conversa-
tion, but the heart of the event is, as the 
event title states, Joyful Jewish Jams. Two 
artists to look forward to at the event 
are Aly Halpert and Batya Levine. Both 
musicians are alums of the Hadar Rising 
Song Institute, which aims to cultivate the 

grassroots musical-spiritual creativity of 
the Jewish people. 
Aly Halpert is an Ann Arbor native. 
According to her website, “
Aly writes songs 
for building community, working for col-
lective liberation and visioning different 
worlds … Her songs support those mov-
ing through grief, praying for change and 
connecting with the Divine.” In April 2022, 
Aly released her first full-length album 
with a band titled “Loosen.” It is available 
anywhere you get your music.
“I’m really looking forward to Joyful 
Jewish Jams,” Halpert said. “It’s an honor 
to be part of a thriving and varied Jewish 
musical landscape, and to celebrate our 
tradition and its wisdom through song. On 
a personal note, it’s always special to play 
a show in my hometown, and especially 
to be at The Ark where I saw so many 
musicians I looked up to throughout my 

childhood.”
Batya Levine is the co-founder of and 
director of programs at Let My People 
Sing. According to her website, “Rooted in 
the traditional wisdom and ruach (spirit) 
of their Modern Orthodox upbringing, 
Batya is dedicated to building a vibrant 
Judaism that simultaneously reaches back-
ward and forward in time and is wide 
enough for our whole selves.” 
The Jewish Communal Leadership 
Program is grateful to event sponsors 
who made the concert free to the public. 
Sponsors include Jean & Samuel Frankel 
Center for Judaic Studies, Zingerman’s, 
University of Michigan Hillel, Beth Israel 
Congregation of Ann Arbor, the Jewish 
Federation of Greater Ann Arbor, The 
Well, the U-M School of Social Work 
Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, 
and CultureVerse.
“There is so much to grieve and cel-
ebrate in the world we are in right now, 
but we can’t do it alone,” Halpert said. 
“Being together in song reminds us of our 
inherent connection to each other and our 
inherent goodness. This music is about 
knowing who we are as a Jewish people, 
so that we can work in solidarity with 
all other peoples to end oppression and 
build the world we want to live in. Moving 
through both grief and joy are crucial 
ingredients towards that goal.” 

Applications are open for U-M’s School of Social 

Work. When applying, select an interest in 

“Special Program” and specify Jewish Communal 

Leadership Program as the program of interest. 

Katie Beasley-Sriro, Jewish Communal Leadership 

program manager, looks forward to connecting 

with prospective students to answer questions and 

provide support in applying. She can be reached 

at kbeas@umich.edu. (https://ssw.umich.edu/offices/

jewish-communal-leadership-program) 

Joyful Jewish Jams

Communal concert takes place March 27.

YEVGENIYA GAZMAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Aly 
Halpert
Lydia 
Greenberg
Batya 
Levine

