LaMenatseaḥ ‫למנצח‬

Tefila Tips for the Leader at BEKI

Help improve the musical and technical quality of tefila at BEKI. Here are seven tips to

make our collaborative worship experience more effective and satisfying. Additional

resources are noted at the bottom.

1 Sing it Loud: Here are a video and a diagram with narrative that show how to

sing louder without hurting yourself. The story is told of a friendly gentile who daily

walks past a neighborhood synagogue and one day asks a shul member, “Why do you

Jews pray so loud?” “Simple,” says the minyan-maker, “you pray to a young man. But

our God is an old God, and He doesn’t hear very well.” When you are the leader, lead;

when a follower, follow.

2 Don’t Play it Again: Know what came before you. We might enjoy singing

together an elaborate “le-dor va-dor, le-dor va-dor” or “sim…sim…sim shalom” in the

Amida once, but not the same version twice in one day. Each adds 3-4 minutes to the

service. If you are leading musaf, attend shaharit so you know what already happened.

If you are leading shaḥarit, don’t feel compelled to sing every elaboration you know

each time. Singing a slow “Sim Shalom” twice means ending the service at 12:08p

instead of noon, and it will seem even longer if it is the same version both times.

3 Keep up the Pace: The median age of our members is mid-50s. People below

that age may generally prefer faster music and speech. People with a greater facility

with Hebrew may also tend to prefer a quicker pace. Just a 5% difference in tempo

means a service ending at 12:00m instead of 12:06p. Don’t lead faster than your facility

with Hebrew permits, and don’t seem rushed, but don’t drag it out. Just a little faster
would be better. Sorry, had it been released in 2018 as it was in 1968, “Hey, Jude”

might have quickly died a slow death.

4 Keep Centered: Stand with the reader’s table centered in front of you to

maximize the effectiveness of our sound system.

5 Manage the Stress: See “Point of Grammar” item 5 in the “Service Leaders’

Rotation Booklet” for rules of syllable stress in prayer and scripture. Follow the rules

and others will be able to keep the beat with you.

6 Follow the Leader: The person leading the service chooses the melody, key and

pace. Listen and watch so you can follow the leader. Don’t take over or over-take the

leader. Be supportive. You deserve the same when you are leading.

7 Know the Nusaḥ: Each service has a distinctive musical mode (nusaḥ). Shabbat

maariv, shaḥarit and minḥa each have their own nusaḥ different from the daily mode.

The festivals and Rosh Ḥodesh also have distinctive modes, with a variation depending

on whether they coincide with Shabbat or weekday.

Nusaḥ Memory aids: Weekday amida (shaharit and minḥa) begins with the melody of

“Animal Fair” while Shabbat minḥa amida begins like the early “Crispy Critters”

commercial (“The one and only cereal…”). If you need a few notes at a crucial moment,

ask a nearby cantor, rabbi or expert.

Additional Resources

Audio Files at beki.org

Point of Grammar at beki.org

Ask anyone around you to help