iPod Tefilah

iPod Tefilah is really pretty simple: you create a conversation between ancient prayers and modern music. The goal of that conversation is simply this: to build bridges of understanding, to bring out the timeless in the prayer and the sacred in the music. If you do it really well, then eventually participants start to understand that their music playing device is in fact an instrument of prayer, their streaming service a kind of divine emanation.

Today we had our first iPod Tefilah at The Davis Academy Middle School in approximately 15 months. What can I say? We've been busy. We brought back iPod Tefilah just in time for Rosh Hashanah and the High Holy Day season. Today we asked our students to think about the rich themes of the High Holy Days through the lens of their music playing devices.

The beauty of iPod Tefilah is that it weds concepts like Teshuvah, Tefilah, and Tzedakah with songs from Dear Evan Hanson, Coldplay, Tim McGraw, Andra Day, Avicii, and the musical, Annie. By doing so, it forces kids to confront the false dichotomy between sacred and secular, between ancient and modern, between Jewish and human. For these reasons, and the fact that the kids seem to really enjoy it and find it meaningful, iPod Tefilah will be reasserting its influence on our Davis Academy Middle School Tefilah program once again this year.

Thank you to Sara Beth Berman who led the first iPod Tefilah at The Davis Academy several years ago when she served as The Davis Academy's Nadiv Educator!