Lasting Voice Congregational Message
by Rabbi Howard Voss-Altman, Temple Habonim, Barrington, Rhode Island
Although my grandparents - Irving and Rose, Sam and Martha - all lived near me growing up, all four were distant figures in our lives. We visited them (when my parents wanted to go away for the weekend) and they visited us (mostly for Thanksgiving, Rosh Hashanah and Pesach), but my memories of all of them remain unformed and hazy. Our worlds were separate; they were older adults and we were children, and if we wanted to "play" (as children do) that was on our time. Shared experiences - the ones we had together - were the experiences of adults we were permitted to observe.
Indeed, our separate worlds only seemed to merge when my grandfather Irving called on me to play the piano for the extended family. He played the piano (by ear) and enjoyed it when I played Broadway show tunes and sang along. It was one of the few times I remember him smiling.
As I sift through my memories (I'm now about the age of my grandparents when I was a boy), sadly, I have come to realize that I never really knew them. Whatever their passions, their loves, or their regrets might have been - the experiences and thoughts that defined their lives - died with them. Even the sounds of their voices, their vocal inflections, the occasional Yiddish phrase thrown in as a linguistic riff from their past, are gone forever.
However, this loss of Jewish (and family) history can now be dramatically altered. Using the ease and portability of modern technology, my friend and Temple Habonim member, Marc Braunstein, has created "Lasting Voice," a remarkable new project for preserving Jewish memory. With nothing more than a podcast microphone and a series of personal questions, a loved one's voice can be preserved forever. Or, to think about it another way, what if everyone had the opportunity to be a guest on NPR's "Fresh Air" and be interviewed by Terry Gross?
Our questions - at least so far - have been designed to elicit a reflective, philosophical perspective; instead of the surface details of an obituary, these questions were designed to capture the unique moments and feelings that truly shaped their lives. "Tell me about your parents…not what they were like as people, but as parents." "Did you find your life's work satisfying? Is there another activity/profession you would have enjoyed pursuing as well?" "As you know, the Jewish faith encourages us to 'ask why" and to freely question just about everything. Can you think of a question that you've long tried to answer?" We hope these sorts of questions will reveal a more intimate, personal side of our loved ones, and will be - to future generations who never knew them - a window into the singular character of their ancestors.
Once recorded, these interviews will be stored on the "Lasting Voice" website in perpetuity, and will be easily accessible to any family member who wishes to hear them. As I write this article, we have interviewed Allan Klepper and Rabbi Rosenberg, and several more have already been scheduled. Our goal is to interview 24 Temple Habonim members by the end of Spring, and with the support of the Jewish Alliance, to expand the project to the larger Rhode Island Jewish community. If you are a senior in our community and would like to be interviewed, or if you are interested in serving as an interviewer, please be in touch with me at your convenience.
With "Lasting Voice" our descendants - our great-grandchildren and great great-grandchildren who will never meet us - will hear more than second-hand stories and memories passed down by an imperfect oral tradition. Now and forever, they will be able to hear the voices of the past in real time, evoking their feelings, their dreams, and their lives. With "Lasting Voice," future generations will truly understand the phrase "may his/her memory always be for a blessing."