Shira Lissek
From Dr. James Goldman
Dr. James Goldman congratulates and honors Hazzan Shira Lissek on her solo CD, P’tach Libi.
“Open my heart to your wisdom, so my soul will pursue your ways.” You write about your solo CD, P’tach Libi: - “The music of our liturgy can lift our souls, enabling us to pray and enhancing and deepening our prayers. In choosing the musical settings for this recording, I reflected on the compositions that bring ancient texts to life in contemporary idiom, settings that have inspired our tefillah at Park Avenue Synagogue. Our hope is that these arrangements will also inspire you, and open your heart and soul.”
The inspiration and new life your beautiful music can bring to our liturgy, bridging generations and opening our hearts for prayer. At services, concerts and other musical programs it is a mechaye to hear your beautiful voice live. I lieu of, our hearts rejoice in listening to your splendid recordings. You open further my heart and the hearts of the world entire.
Your gorgeous and glorious singing, which deeply moves me, and always opens my heart and inspires me and the world entire. It provides connections to the non-Jewish world, as well as the Jewish world, which also admires and celebrates your neshama. Your selections enhance and enrich interfaith understanding of our prayers.
At the end of the Amidah, during our private meditations, we pray, P’tach libi b’toratekha u-v’mitzvotekha tirdof nafshi, Open my heart to your wisdom, so my soul will pursue your ways. The so poignant concluding verses are - May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable to You, Adonai, my Rock and my Redeemer. May all these fervent prayers and heartfelt thoughts and beautiful music inspire each and everyone of us and forever be the harbinger of peace and harmony to the world entire.
You can also honor someone important in your life by selecting a "We Celebrate Tribute" in the JWA store.
How to cite this page
Jewish Women's Archive. "Hazzan Shira Lissek." (Viewed on November 21, 2024) <https://jwa.org/wecelebrate/lissek-shira-0>.