European Academy for Jewish Liturgy - EAJL

Thank you to Masorti Judaism in the UK for welcoming our Founder Jacky and three of our Directors, James, Jay and Liz, at Yom Masorti today. It was a pleasure to meet existing and prospective students and explore with them the possibilities of learning with EAJL!

Didn't get a chance to meet us? Consider signing up for our next online masterclass on Sunday, 07 June 2026! For more info please see http://eajl.org/sacred-time/

𝗡𝘂𝘀𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗛𝗮𝗧'𝗳𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗵 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗦𝗮𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲

https://www.eajl.org/sacred-time-booking/

Online session on Sunday, 7th June between 7:30–9pm BST | All times UK; please adjust to your time zone.

Music has the power to stimulate our emotions, trigger memories, and connect us to ideas or events. Nusach haT’fillah, the soundscape of traditional Jewish liturgy, can tell us what day or time of day it is, propel us through the liturgical cycle, enrich our holiday or lifecycle celebrations, link theological principles, or simply draw our attention to some aspect of our relationship with the Holy One. It gives structure to our worship, integrates other categories of our sacred musical tradition such as biblical trope or festival hymns, and gives the chazzan the ability to put a personal stamp on the music of prayer. This session will serve as an introduction to the rich and beautiful traditions that illuminate our sacred prayer texts.

Teacher is Cantor Dr Andrew Bernard

Cost: £18 | £10 Concessions

𝙈𝙚𝙚𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙚𝙖𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙧

𝘊𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘰𝘳 𝘋𝘳 𝘈𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘸 𝘉𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘊𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘰𝘳 𝘌𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘛𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘉𝘦𝘵𝘩 𝘌𝘭, 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘦, 𝘕𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘊𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘢. 𝘏𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘖𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘪𝘯 𝘊𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘦 & 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘥𝘰𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘜𝘯𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘞𝘢𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘰𝘯. 𝘏𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘤 𝘥𝘦𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘏𝘦𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘸 𝘜𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘊𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘦–𝘑𝘦𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘐𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘵𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘙𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘯 1998.

𝘈𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘸 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘳 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘵 𝘛𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘉𝘦𝘵𝘩 𝘌𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘊𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘯'𝘴 𝘏𝘰𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘪𝘯 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘦. 𝘏𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘚𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘛𝘪𝘮𝘦, 𝘢 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘤 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘑𝘦𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘥𝘦𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘶𝘵𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘋𝘪𝘷𝘳𝘦𝘪 𝘚𝘩𝘪𝘳, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘑𝘦𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘤 𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘶𝘮. 𝘏𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘚𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘪𝘯 2017.

𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗽𝗿𝗮𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗝𝗲𝘄𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝗟𝗶𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗴𝘆

Whether you are a seasoned shliach tsibbur, a regular shul-goer or you just love singing and want to understand more about Jewish liturgy, we invite you to join us - no previous knowledge is required.

𝙋𝙚𝙨𝙪𝙠𝙚𝙞 𝙙'𝙕𝙞𝙢𝙧𝙖
What is it, why do we say it, how did it develop? What does it sound like? Learn the nusach, and how this changes for weekday, shabbat, chag, and the Yamim Noraim.

𝙎𝙝𝙞𝙧𝙖𝙩 𝙃𝙖𝙮𝙖𝙢- 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙚𝙖
Experience the energy in singing together, and learn where it is from, what it means to us and how we can use call and response to recreate the energy of praise in our communities.

𝙃𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙡
Discover why these psalms are included, how Hallel developed and how it sounds. Learn and sing the nusach and melodies.

Discuss and explore together how we can bring our learning to our communities, introduce new melodies and encourage participation to heighten our communities' experiences of t'filla.

Our teachers include:

Chazan Jacky Chernett, Simon Gordon, Yoav Oved, Chazan Jalda Rebling and Rabbi Cantor Geoffrey Shisler

Lunch and refreshments are included.

Cost £25 / concessions £15 / subsidies are available

𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝘁𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆: https://www.eajl.org/hallelu-yeah/

Fifteen students from seven different countries met in Germany this week at EAJL’s first-ever T'filla Leaders Retreat in mainland Europe. Six students were returning students from a previous Retreat and nine people experienced an EAJL Retreat for the first time. If you’d like to attend a future retreat, please subscribe to our mailing list (https://www.eajl.org/newsletter/) to be informed of our future events. We will hold our next retreat in the UK in summer 2026.

Thank you to Masorti Judaism in the UK for welcoming two of our Directors, Jay and Liz, at Yom Masorti today. It was a pleasure to meet existing and prospective students and explore with them the possibilities of learning with EAJL.

Didn't get a chance to meet us? Consider signing up for our Residential Retreat in Germany, 10-13 July 2025! For more info please see http://eajl.org/retreat/

A reminder that our new course, Bidding Farewell to Shabbat, starts on Monday 21st April.

For more information and to book, please go to https://www.eajl.org/shabbat/

Further information and booking links:

Shacharit in the Spanish & Portuguese tradition: https://www.eajl.org/sssp/

Bidding Farewell to Shabbat: www.eajl.org/shabbat

How and Why do Nusach Chant Modes Work: https://www.eajl.org/modes/

Residential retreat: https://www.eajl.org/retreat/

𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗯𝗯𝗮𝘁 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝗣𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗴𝘂𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗴𝗮𝗺𝗼𝘀 𝗔𝗺𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗱𝗮𝗺
✨ Led by Chazan Nachshon Rodrigues Pereira
📅 Thursdays from 20th March – 22nd May 2025 (with a two week break for Pesach on 10th & 17th April)
🕢 7:30pm – 8:45pm (London, UK) via Zoom

𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝗱𝗲:
🎶 Summary of Pesukei Dezimra (part 1, part 2), Shacharit during special shabbatot (Rosh Chodesh, Chanukah, Shabbat Zachor etc.),
🕍 Hebrew pronunciation in the Amsterdam tradition, what to do without a minyan and what happens after the kaddish.
📖 Don’t miss this opportunity to deepen your connection to Shabbat through its music, prayers, and meaning!
🔗 For booking and more details: https://www.eajl.org/sssp/

📣 Bidding Farewell to Shabbat – Join Our Final Course in the Shabbat Nusach Series!

Over the past three years, EAJL has explored the rich melodies, chants and traditions of Shabbat. Now, we conclude this journey with an eight-week course focusing on the final moments of Shabbat: Seudah Shlish*t, Ma’ariv, and Havdalah.

✨ Led by Chazan Sue Knight Deutsch
📅 Mondays from 21st April – 16th June 2025 (no class on 2nd June)
🕢 7:30pm – 8:45pm (London, UK) via Zoom

In this course, the participants will:
🎶 Learn Seudah Shlish*t zemirot, including Mizmor l’David, Y’did Nefesh, D’ror Yikrah, and more
🕍 Explore the transition to weekday Ma’ariv, its structure, and nusach
🔥 Delve into Havdalah, its themes of light and separation, and its connection to Moshiach

📖 Don’t miss this opportunity to deepen your connection to Shabbat through its music, prayers, and meaning!

🔗 For booking and more details: www.eajl.org/shabbat

With a heavy heart, we learned of the passing of our teacher, mentor and friend Hazzan Jack Kessler z’’l.

Hazzan Jack was a gadol in the world of Hazzanim, a blessed teacher and a passionate mentor. He enabled so many of his students to serve our people as sh'lichei tsibbur, messengers of the community. He taught us how to create a space for a deep relationship between our people and the source of life.

Hazzan Jack stood on the shoulders of Max Wohlberg and taught us the wisdom he had received from his teachers. This is di goldene keyt, the golden chain of our tradition. Hazzan Jack and Rabbi Marcia Prager were mentors at the first EAJL Residential Retreat. On top of that, Hazzan Jack served as a member of our Va’ad (advisory board) and up until a few weeks ago, he was a mentor to several EAJL students in the 1-to-1 mentoring programme. His students fondly remember him saying: “God is perfect, let us be competent“.

Hazzan Jack’s passion and love for our oral Torah of music, our people and our tradition will live through us and our students, l’dor va’dor, through every generation. The EAJL Team feels blessed by all the hours we shared and for all the teaching.

May our voices be your voice, our song your song, our blessing your blessing…. zol dayn neshome hobn a laykhte nessie!

Chazan Jalda Rebling and the Team at EAJL