All 235 students of Shalhevet High School know singing is a crucial element in the life of Rabbi David Block, the youthful-looking head of school.
Especially during the Friday morning kumzitz. After the first class of the day, in anticipation of Shabbat, the classrooms empty into the hallway. Everyone sits on the floor while Rabbi Block plays his guitar, and every voice rings out. For about 40 minutes, the mood for Shabbat is established. “It is magnificent,” Rabbi Block said with obvious pride.
“What I try to do is guide the students. I try to feel the song as well myself.” The challenge of performing “is that you are doing it for someone else. What I try to do when I am with these students is guide with them. I try to feel the song as well myself … It is my responsibility to curate the ebb and flow of the spiritual experience.”
Born into a musical household in New York, the rabbi described his grandfather as “an extremely talented musician. “He performed with a variety of symphony orchestras. He played almost every instrument, and he entertained American troops in World War II. My father also is a musician, but he did not pursue it professionally.”
While acknowledging his musical background, the 35-year-old Block, in his eighth year at Shalhevet, did not aspire to be a performer. He said singing is one of the ways he connects spiritually, with God and with others. There’s also a community aspect to it.
Acknowledging that music can be used “for the most beautiful and transcendent experiences,” the rabbi also appreciates secular music. He grew up listening to classic rock because his mother was into the music from the ‘60s and ‘70s. “When I started playing guitar at a young age,” the rabbi recalled, his guitar teacher looked like a hippie.
But times and people change. “There is very little contemporary music I appreciate,” Rabbi Block said. “But not because the performers aren’t extremely talented. I just don’t have time to explore that world”
He admits to still loving classic rock. The father of three confesses to being a big Led Zeppelin fan. Simon and Garfunkel’s music resonates with him, too. Their songs “speak to my soul … Music itself can be absolutely transcendent,” but he adds that “what I try to connect with now is Jewish music.”
Do boys and girls experience music the same way? They “both react extremely viscerally – but differently,” Rabbi Block said. Women tap into singing much more quickly, he said. “Guys usually take a few more minutes. They also crave to let their neshama loose through singing. They often prefer faster music.” But boys and girls have much more in common than they are different. Music, in whatever form, is innately in the human soul to feel uplifted, said the rabbi.
“Giving channels for students to connect musically always will elicit a reaction of deep connectivity,” Rabbi Block said. He has found music to be an effective avenue for Jewish day schools in general.
How better to bring students together? “Giving channels for students to connect musically always will elicit a reaction of deep connectivity,” Rabbi Block said. He has found music to be an effective avenue for Jewish day schools in general.
Jewish education, he noted, made an earthquake-sized move, “to an extent.” Schools are aware that students don’t always feel a connection to God right away. When that happens, in his perspective, schools grow nervous. They want students to feel it, according to the rabbi, whereas in previous models educators cared much less about what students felt in that moment than do they know a certain piece of Torah? It has moved more toward ahava (love) of God and further from the traditional trajectory. “We have moved from awe or fear of God to love of God.” With this new attitude, the rabbi said, “now we are trying to balance a little.”
Rabbi Bloch believes his “primary job is to unlock and unleash the potential of our faculty and administration, and, really, our students.” Because Shalhevet has such a rich faculty, his job is “to help them create that experience for students.”
At his core, David Block identifies as a teacher. “My job is to help everyone else be the best they can be. I believe what we teach on the General Studies side is extremely important in the development of their religious experience.” It’s not just about equipping them to have a very deep religious relationship, he adds. The most appealing part of his job is spending time with “people who are deeply committed to the same goals I am.”
What does it mean “to help students have a relationship with God? Are we doing it? Are there things we can change? How do we empower them more?”
Given Rabbi Block’s passion for singing – coupled with the fact that singing is not necessarily associated with traditional rabbaim – how did he land where he is? “Many rabbaim have committed themselves to teaching Torah,” he said. “I do see that as my primary responsibility. It is all about the students.” He chose education to facilitate “an authentic, true, meaningful relationship between each individual student and God.”
Fast Takes with Rabbi Block
Jewish Journal: What is the best part of living in Southern California?
Rabbi Block: I really love that nature is so close by. I love hiking, sometimes with my wife, often with friends. I am enamored with picturesque scenes so close to home. I am a big coffee guy. There are so many small coffee shops here in Southern California. I love having so any options.
J.J.: What book has stayed with you?
RB: Certain books make me reconsider things in the world, and one is “East of Eden” by John Steinbeck. It has required me to be extremely thoughtful about Judaism, about Torah interpretation, choices we make.
J.J.: If you could have been born at a different time, when would you have chosen?
RB: As a religious Jew, I crave to know what it was like at Sinai.
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