About Shalshelet

The shalshelet cantillation symbol (Hebrew for "chain") is one of the rarest in the system of melodic motifs for chanting the books of the Torah aloud. Found only four times in the Five Books of Moses, each time it guides the chanting of a verb at a pivotal moment in the narrative.

Shalshelet, the Foundation for New Jewish Liturgical Music, continues an ancient chain of tradition that honors the role of music in interpreting sacred texts. Shalshelet seeks to foster the creation of original music and to expose wider audiences to innovations in Jewish religious music.

Shalshelet’s mission is to use music to build bridges both within and outside the Jewish community. Shalshelet’s participants are drawn from across all Jewish denominations - Reform, Conservative, modern Orthodox, Reconstructionist, Havurah, affiliated, and unaffiliated.  In addition, Shalshelet solicits, collects, publishes, and disseminates new compositions without regard to the professional or lay status of the composers.

Shalshelet’s International Festival of New Jewish Liturgical Music recognizes and awards excellence in new liturgical composition. It brings together composers, performers, workshop participants, and the public to celebrate and circulate new music set to traditional texts.  The public concert and related workshops are supplemented by songbooks and CDs which allow the composers to share their music with individuals and congregations across the nation and around the world.

Shalshelet is a 501(c) 3 non-profit organization that is supported by grants from the Rita Poretsky Foundation, the Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County and the Executive's Ball for the Arts and Humanites, and by individual donations.