Okay - it's April 30th, the end of the month. At the beginning of this month, I claimed that "jazz is Jewish" and blogged about the Smithsonian's declaration of April as "Jazz Appreciation Month". I still love all these thoughts (as a matter of fact, I'm even more convinced now of the Jewish-jazz interrelation).
Yesterday, a friend posted a question: "what are you going to do to make the rest of this month count?" That's a question we should ask ourselves not just toward the end of the month - also each day, week, season and year. By prompting ourselves to make each moment count - this is how we might live meaningfully. Even asking the question continues to be a step in the right direction.
Back to jazz (as usual) - the uniquely American art form - structure and improvisation, a spectrum of styles, differing instrumentations - it's all good. And, what makes a piece grand is the contribution of all the players involved. Perhaps we're not all jazz musicians - yet we all have artistic, necessary contributions to make to the musical piece that is life. Each of us has such gifts; Cultivating and employing these talents allows us to fulfill the idea of being God's partner in the ongoing work of creation. So now I ask - what's YOUR artistic talent; what is it that YOU contribute to the symphony of our lives?
Let me know your thoughts - and let us inspire and encourage one another to improve our world and improve ourselves through the offerings we bring.
Hi - new to the Jewish blogosphere, cruising blogs, and found yours.
ReplyDeleteI certainly agree with your analogy that "jazz is Jewish". At first I was scratching my head, and then it hit me when I read your jazz description as: "structure and improvisation, a spectrum of styles, differing instrumentations".
That definitely captures a snapshot of mainstream Judaism right now. There's structure in the service, some wiggle-room for spontaneity in the services, and a wide variety of Jewish expressions.
We even have our street-corner musicians - those who don't find a fit in any of their local models and strike out on their own to form independent minyanim and the like.
A fabulous analogy.