A friend in the Netherlands told me about the festival, and I felt in my body that I needed to be here. I lead prayers and circles there myself, and I went to great lengths to make it happen. I’m taking away a huge amount of inspiration, meaningful encounters, and new perspectives on prayer.  

I came to learn how to make renewed Judaism more accessible to my community at Kibbutz Gesher HaZiv. What I especially want to take from the festival is the integration of prayer, Judaism, and song. I came to learn, and also to meet people who are engaged with these questions as well—to learn from them, learn about them, get to know them, and sing with them. What I’ll take with me most of all is inspiration for song circles and rituals, so that I can truly continue creating within our community.

I came to the festival because someone told me I needed to be here—and they were right. This is a relatively new space for me. I hadn’t really spent time in singing circles, or had such a special opportunity to be in a shared creative space with people who are so similar to me and yet so different. It’s wild. Before this week, I hesitated to call myself a “prayer facilitator,” but now there’s no room for doubt or denial. The festival took me to another level. That’s why I’m here.

I came to the festival in order to broaden my horizons in Jewish music, and to meet others who care about this field and want to connect people to Judaism through music. I’m leaving with a sense that there are many more ways to connect. Being here was wonderful—it took me out of my comfort zone and encouraged me to think more in terms of movement and creativity, which I’m excited to integrate into the prayer services I lead. I was happy to meet truly interesting and inspiring people, and I plan to stay in touch with them in the future.

I’m here because prayer is something that heals, especially in a time like this. I believe that in order to truly pray, we need to renew the very idea of what prayer is. What’s happening here at the festival is that we are refreshing and reimagining prayer, bringing new forms of it into being and allowing people to actually feel prayer—prayer that lets the heart open and expand, and allows healing to happen through that opening. I wish for myself to create, compose, write, and bring new prayers into the world.

I chose to come to the Zamru festival as a Rabbi working in the New York area. I feel a deep longing for, and devotion to, spaces of ecstatic prayer, nigunim (wordless melodies), and sacred song circles. Having lived outside of Israel for several years now, coming here—to drink from the well and to be with my colleagues and teachers—allows me to feel replenished and to bring all of these nourishing experiences back with me to my community in the U.S.