For this hybrid Nigun Circle, we will be an intimate group singing together in the room, and there’s no limit to how many can join us via zoom! We will learn a handful of nigunim together and explore how they might weave into Jewish practice. There will be a couple of opportunities to unmute and share during the session but no pressure.
Nigunim are wordless, repetitive melodies intended to inspire emotional and spiritual transcendence. A large part of the Chasidic musical tradition, they can be vastly different musically and are often rooted in Jewish text, lifecycle events or significant times in the Jewish calendar. Music is a universal language, and I love how the nigun can be an inclusive access point to Judaism for those who might be unfamiliar with Hebrew or struggle to connect with a religion that is so text-based.
No previous musical experience is required. Everyone joining on zoom will be muted for the singing, so you can sing to your heart’s content (even if you can’t sing!) in the comfort of your own home. If you fancy playing along by ear on an instrument, please do! Or if you’d prefer to just listen and let yourself be carried along by the music, that’s great too.
About the Speaker:
Ayala Gottlieb Alter is a Cantorial student, Singer, Cellist and Jewish Educator from London. Following a year as Cantor for The Great Synagogue of Stockholm, she performed at The Riksdag in January 2025 and has continued teaching for Paideia. Ayala is currently working towards the European Academy for Jewish Liturgy’s Baal T’filla Diploma and lends her voice to Masorti Judaism UK’s Shema Koleinu Tefillah (prayer) skills online resource. She is spending this year studying at the Fuchsberg Jerusalem Centre Yeshiva before heading to JTS to continue her cantorial training in New York.
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