Below is an excerpt from an email sent to the entire JJC community:

A note from Hazzan Jesse Holzer…

Over the past few years, our MJGDS choir has expanded its presence within our congregation and the community at large.  It is with great excitement that I share with you the news that we’ll be performing alongside the one and only Barry Manilow this upcoming Wednesday at the Jacksonville Arena.  What a giant leap forward! As co-director of our choir, along with Jeanine Hoff, MJGDS music teacher, I am thrilled at this rare and unique opportunity.  I hope to share this experience with you all.

Our 4th and 5th graders have been fantastic in learning about Barry Manilow and his music.  The song we will be performing with Mr. Manilow is called One Voice.  What Mr. Manilow may not know is that he will be forever linked to this Hazzan and his love for connections to the week’s torah portion.  In this week’s parsha, the Israelites receive a myriad of laws from Moses- the topics range from the pilgrimage festivals to polytheism to loans and pledges.  When all the laws are read, Exodus 24:7 has the pivotal line of “naaseh v’nishma”- we will do and we will obey, but this only can happen because of what is stated in verse 3: And Moses, came and told the people all the words of the Lord, and all the ordinances, and all the people answered in One Voice and said, “All the words which the Lord hath spoken we will do.”  This is the first time the nation speaks as One Voice. How appropriate it is that we can sing this song with a legend tomorrow night, during the week we read this liminal verse in our nation’s history.