Building Singing Communities: A Practical Guide to Unlocking the Power of Music in Jewish Prayer

by Joey Weisenberg, Joey Weisenberg

This how-to guide explains how to make music a lasting and joy-filled force in shul and Jewish life. Weisenberg presents a veritable treasure house of musical opportunities.

Genres: Music

104 pages, Paperback

First published March 10, 2011

Reviews

[Barbara Maxwell-Dubrinsky · Rating 2 out of 5]

Joey Weisenberg is a knowledgeable author, not only of Jewish music but also of Judaism in practice. In a word this book is boring. It's unclear who is the target audience for his theme. Is it the Jewish community? Is it a religious service? Is it a classroom? Joey Weisenberg uses so many Hebrew and Yiddish words one is constantly running for the dictionary to figure out what he means. Because he is learned in languages does not mean everyone is. As a music teacher, I question some of the things in this book as not correct or not useful. Maybe just read chapter 1 and decide whether the rest of the book is for you or not.

[Eric · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has been sitting on my shelf for a while. In some quiet moments before Shabbat I started reading it - and I found I did not want to put it down.

There are some important teachings in here - some of which I hope may become part of the conversation we are having at TS about worship, music and community.

Well done!

[Dirk Holzman · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read for any Jewish musical leaders or people interested in Jewish music. Joey Weisenberg is an incredible leader and musician, and his music is wonderful for many occasions.

[Joshua Glucksman · Rating 4 out of 5]

The basics! Great refresher, on to torah of music, scary witchy fun

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inspiring!! This book describes just the Jewish experience I'm looking for. Concise, clear and practical. I'm taking Joey's Building Singing Communities intensive workshop at the end of the month and I'm even more looking forward to learning from him now than I was before.

[Mark Allen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fast read with lots of ideas about what makes music and prayer work in services, and how to get congregants singing. Full of useful tips for both new and experiences song/prayer leaders.

[Harry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you Eric for recommending the book to me. I found the first section the most helpful. We already do much of what Weisenberg suggests but I have a better idea of how to do more.