There is a wave of passion spreading out through the Judeo-Christian world. It is a profound desire to personally have the ecstatic, transcendent, visceral experience of God. People want to pray to the Divine, joyfully, ecstatically, with their whole body and spirit; and to be transformed by that experience. They want to be able to say: “I feel the Spirit come down upon me!” They want to ascend to that rapturous place where God’s presence is felt and where miracles actually occur. —Newsweek Magazine, August 2005.

As noted anthropologist and trance scholar Erika Bourguignon (1973) concluded, the use of an altered state of consciousness in a sacred context is ubiquitous in indigenous cultures throughout the world. The use of trance-inducing music is the most common means used to achieve this state. African “danced religion” is particularly effective in engaging the whole body in the ecstatic religious experience. And the tradition of gospel choir, developed by the African American community, has adapted this technology into a sophisticated set of highly effective, yet easily conveyed, ecstasy-evoking musical techniques.

I created this website for three purposes:

1. To teach Jewish audiences that the Jewish worship service is actually designed to offer worshippers the opportunity to achieve ecstatic experience. (Ecstasy and the Energetic Structure of the Jewish Service )
2. To introduce to Jewish service leaders to the technology of gospel choir so that these techniques can be integrated into Jewish worship services. ( Jews Can Sing Gospel Too!: A manual (in digital form) for integrating ecstatic music into Jewish services ) (Offerings; that is Jospel Workshops )
3. To invite Jewish composers and song leaders to learn and use these easy and powerful gospel techniques to enhance the effectiveness of compositions in generating a more joyful, embodied, ecstatic worship experience. Contact Me