As the darkness of winter descends on our community, musical sounds of our tradition will illumine our souls over the next few months. If it's Tevet (the Hebrew month that almost exactly coincides with January this year), then Shevat (the following Jewish month) is just around the corner. That means that Shabbat Shira is almost here, which means the Shabbat morning service that is the musical highlight of the liturgical year is fast approaching.

On Feb. 11, the sanctuary will be filled with the sounds of "Mi Chamocha!" Mi Chamocha is the prayer we recite at every service that recounts the joy of our ancestors as they crossed the sea from slavery to freedom. The text is found in the middle of "The Song of the Sea (Shirat Hayam)," read each year on Shabbat Beshallach (this year on Feb. 11).

The text reads: "Who is like You among all the other gods, Adonai? Who is like You, glorious in holiness awesome in praise, doing wonders?"

At Temple Micah, it is our custom to gather ALL of the musical forces within our community to bring these words to life via some dozen different musical settings. Each setting evokes a different meaning of the same text, so that each composition enhances in its own way the sacred drama that is our worship service.

Our Adult Choir, Youth Choir, and the famous Temple Micah Pickup Orchestra join Meryl Weiner to produce a musical service that is not to be missed. As always, any interested instrumentalist is welcome to join our group. We have a truly intergenerational band, with string, woodwind, brass and percussion sections. If you would like to join us for this special occasion, please contact me. We are a self-selecting group--no audition required!

For five consecutive Tuesday evenings, from 7-8:30 p.m., starting Jan. 10, I will be teaching a mini-course on Haftarah cantillation. The class is designed to extend last year's B'nai Torah class, but any Hebrew-reading student of any age is welcome to join us. If you have ever had the desire to chant our sacred texts, I urge you to attend this class.

The Haftarah is a text selected from The Prophets that is read in the synagogue after the reading of the Torah on each Shabbat and on festivals. The Haftarah usually has a thematic link to the Torah reading that precedes it.

The Temple Micah Youth Choir sings at the first Friday evening service each month. We are on hiatus for January, but will return to the sanctuary on Feb. 3. The Youth Choir, which features second through fourth graders, is busy preparing for the annual Washington Area Jewish Youth Choir Festival on Sunday, Feb. 26.

The Temple Micah mini pickup band, a subset of the larger orchestra, will provide music for the service on Friday, Jan. 20.