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A New Take on
Yom Kippur
Hip Hop x Yom Kippur
Welcome to RAP-ENTANCE, a high and holy alternative Yom Kippur experience. This musical journey will tap into ancient liturgical themes and refract them through the lens of hip hop to realign your soul. Think of it as Repentance: The Remix.
1. This experience is PG-13 & best experienced on a tablet or computer.
2. Grab your favorite pen or pencil and something to write in.
3. Remove any distractions and prepare yourself for 45-60 minutes of music and reflection.
4. Scroll through RAP-ENTANCE in order. If it’s helpful, scroll past the video & read the journal question before you hit play.
Kol Nidre
“When I was growing up in San Francisco, as a teenager, I would visit temple with some of my jewish friends and i loved to listen to the cantors.”
-Johnny Mathis
“When we play the [johnny mathis] record, it speaks to a challenge—to reconstruct the complex, yet sensational sounding secret history of black-jewish relations and, as per the mission of the idelsohn society, hold it out in the light of the day to trigger a conversation about identity, community, meaning, and history, through sound.”
“What about this emotional melody feels universally resonant? What impact does it have as the beginning melody of the Yom Kippur experience?”
Judaism teaches that Yom Kippur is one of the happiest days in the Jewish calendar, being a day of divine forgiveness and a fresh slate (Bava Batra 121a). Yet to many Yom Kippur is a heavy day, only joyous when we take that first bite of food at break-fast. Today, however, I want you to rock back and forth from somber to joyous. I want the emotional rocking from tears to laughter to unmoor us from our groove of apathy and chart a new course for 5781.
“What about this emotional melody feels universally resonant? What about today “feels” joyous? ”
