Yom Kippur (Kol Nidre) Evening service at Temple Israel led by Rabbi Roland B. Gittelsohn with lay readers and sermon, “What if you had only 12 more months to live?”, October 4, 1957. Wyner Archives of Temple Israel of Boston.

Item Information

Title:
Yom Kippur (Kol Nidre) Evening service at Temple Israel led by Rabbi Roland B. Gittelsohn with lay readers and sermon, “What if you had only 12 more months to live?”, October 4, 1957. Wyner Archives of Temple Israel of Boston.
Description:
This is an evening Yom Kippur (Kol Nidre) service using the Union Prayer Book, Volume II, led by Rabbi Roland B. Gittelsohn with lay readers. Choral music performed by the Temple Israel Choir, Herbert Fromm, conductor. Part one: This recording includes Rabbi Gittelsohn’s personal prayer for forgiveness and the introductory, Barechu, Sh’ma, Amidah, Shalom Rav, Al Cheit, and V’al Kulam prayers. The Kol Nidre section occurs later in the service. Part two: This part of the service consists of the central Kol Nidre section, beginning with an instrumental performance of Max Bruch’s Kol Nidrei, Opus 47, with cello and organ, prayers for atonement, and a frame for the prayer, with the cello playing in the background. Rabbi Gittelsohn explains the history of the Kol Nidre prayer, stating that the music is many hundreds of years old, and that it represents mercy over the ages, with every promise man makes to himself and God sacred and real. He harkens back to the secret Jews of Spain, who yearly prayed to be forgiven for vows made in compulsion. The Torahs are then removed and held up before the congregation as the cantor and choir begin the chant. This part of the service ends with prayers of forgiveness. Part three: This recording contains Rabbi Gittelsohn’s sermon, "What if You Had Only 12 More Months to Live?" Announcing that the purpose of Yom Kippur is to provoke a personal ethical inventory, Gittelsohn sees his sermon as spiritual shock therapy to encourage his listeners to think about what is most important to them. He notes several ways one might react to such news. He states, for example, one could try to amass all the wealth one can to provide for the family, but Gittelsohn dismisses this because, as an ancient rabbi wrote: “Who is a rich man? He who is satisfied with his material portion.” One could look to distraction, but, Gittelsohn argues, this never works because one needs to face the facts and deal with them, as Jacob did when he confronted and wrestled with the angel. Some, he posits, might take refuge in self-pity, but, he notes, what one does with their portion on life is a better measure of a good life than its length. He states that a better choice is to live every hour as a consciously creative partner with God. He argues that the human race is the most refined product of evolution so far, and because he believes evolution exists spiritually as well as physically, people can consciously affect the future through God, the great force behind evolution. He concludes that this gives people a new motive for life--to contribute to and elevate the nature of life. And that people atone every day and become partners with God. Part four: This recording includes the final two minutes of Rabbi Gittelsohn’s sermon, and the choir performing the Emet prayer.
Speaker:
Gittelsohn, Roland Bertram, 1910-1995
Musical director:
Fromm, Herbert
Composer:
Fromm, Herbert
Creator:
Congregation Adath Israel (Boston, Mass.)
Date:
October 4, 1957
Format:
Audio recordings (nonmusical)
Location:
Temple Israel of Boston
Wyner Archives
Collection (local):
Past Voices, Audio Recordings, 1934-1979
Subjects:
Yom Kippur
Holidays--Religious aspects--Judaism
High Holidays
Synagogue music--High Holiday services
Reform Judaism--United States
Bruch, Max, 1838-1920. Kol nidrei
Places:
Massachusetts > Suffolk (county) > Boston
Extent:
1/4" audio tape (4 recordings)
Permalink:
https://ark.digitalcommonwealth.org/ark:/50959/mw22xt60z
Terms of Use:
No known copyright restrictions.
This work is licensed for use under a Creative Commons Attribution No Derivatives License (CC BY-ND).
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Language:
English
Hebrew
Preferred Citation:
Yom Kippur (Kol Nidre) Evening service at Temple Israel led by Rabbi Roland B. Gittelsohn with lay readers and sermon, “What if you had only 12 more months to live?”, October 4, 1957. Audiovisual Collection, Audiovisual Collection, Wyner Archives of Temple Israel of Boston.
Notes (object):
Part 1 (30 min., 34 sec.)
Part 2 (30 min., 34 sec.)
Part 3 (32 min., 09 sec.)
Part 4 (04 min., 52 sec.)
Notes (funding):
This project was supported by a Recordings at Risk grant from the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR). The grant program is made possible by funding from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
Notes (historical):
Rabbi Roland B. Gittelsohn (1910-1995), social justice activist, Zionist, and writer, was Senior Rabbi of Temple Israel from 1953-1977 and Rabbi Emeritus thereafter. He served as founding rabbi of Central Synagogue in Rockville Center, NY from 1936-1953. During WWII, he became the first Jewish Marine Corps chaplain, and, in 1945, he delivered a moving, oft-quoted eulogy on brotherhood at Iwo Jima. After his retirement he was a co-founder of ARZA (the Association of Reform Zionists).
Herbert Fromm (1905-1995), Temple Israel’s organist and Music Director (1941-1973), was a German-born conductor and composer forced to leave Germany in 1937. A prolific composer of religious music, much of which became part of the standard synagogue repertoire, and secular works, he also published many articles and essays and several books.
Identifier:
TI-AV-90049.001
TI-AV-90047.001
TI-AV-90050.001
TI-AV-90048.001