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