Rabbi Tsvi Bar David from Berkeley joins me in discussing his love of language and sharing the G!d Zone with communities through song, chants, and rhythm of all kinds. The G!d Zone is:
I am still me, and the Beloved is still the Beloved, and yet the wall between us dissolves!
Bio: Around 2014, Reb Tsvi came to the conclusion that teaching mystical Jewish texts cognitively was too high a barrier to entry into the G!dzone for many. This despite his deep love of reading Kabbalistic and Chasidic texts in the original Hebrew and Aramaic. So, honoring both his Chasidic rebbe grandfather as well as his growing involvement with Sufism, Reb Tsvi founded a sacred ensemble - Qirvah (intimacy with G!d) - and began playing sacred ecstatic concerts all over California. In fact, Reb Tsvi will be directing a sacred concert at the Bishop Methodist Church, 6:30 PM Saturday night, 16 December 2023, which will be followed by nibbles and a jam at the church.
Flyer linked here.
Stay tuned for Livestream link:
A Middle Eastern Drum Gathering will follow on Sunday December 17th at C5 Art Studio. Contact C5 for more information and to reserve your place. Experience not necessary.
Reb Tsvi was ordained as a rabbi at AJRCA in Los Angeles, and also proudly holds CPE Level 2 certification as an inter-faith chaplain with specialization in recovery (yes, 12 Step too) from chemical dependency. And to complete the picture, a PhD in applied Mathematics from UC Berkeley.
Reb Tsvi lives with his beloved Ilana in Berkeley, and Ilana teaches harpsichord in the Music Dept. at Stanford University. She is known in the Baroque music world as Elaine Thornburgh.
Rabbi Tsvi Bar-David. Email: tsvi.bardavid@gmail.com