Creating Joyful Connections Through T’fillah
a feature on Eliana Light
Eliana Light pays attention when people burst out and exclaim, “Oh My God!” Sometimes it is when they are stuck in traffic, or seeing a sunset, or when a friend does something kind, or when they hear bad news. These moments are all attempts to respond to how little control we have, Light believes. “It’s an exclamation,” she said, “but it is also a prayer.”
As she states on her website, Light, who received a prestigious Pomegranate Prize from the Covenant Foundation in November 2023, envisions a joyful, vibrant, “heart-centered” Judaism that speaks to the soul and moves the spirit. She has built a career inviting people to understand and deepen the ways prayer can infuse their lives. The “OMG” exclamation is just the beginning.
A talented musician and songwriter, Light received her MA in experiential education from The William Davidson Graduate School of Jewish Education in 2016. She has released four albums (with one more on the way) of “catchy, content-rich tunes for all ages.” Light provides meaningful music, inclusive ritual, and powerful programs for kids and families, both as artist-in-residence at Beth El Synagogue in Durham, NC, and as an “itinerant artist-in-residence” who visits synagogues, camps, and JCCs, where she teaches on tefillah, leads professional development for educators, and performs in joyful concerts.
“Head T’fillahsopher” is the title Light goes by at the Light Lab, an umbrella platform she founded for tefillah education. Light’s “t’fillahsophy” starts with the question, “What would it take for an educator to make tefillah accessible to all?” Eliana hosts the Light Lab’s popular podcast that features deep dives into liturgical texts and interviews with creative tefillah educators and practitioners. In 2022 the team at the Light Lab received an Ignition Grant from the Covenant Foundation to create a tefillah fellowship for educators in supplementary schools.
“One of our jobs as educators is to make the world better and to encourage people to feel a sense of connection with all people and with the planet,” said Light. “One of the purposes of tefillah is to help us feel.”
Light was first connected to the William Davidson School by way of an essay contest she entered as a college senior. Her winning submission about smiling in shul caught the eye of Dr. Ofra Backenroth, associate dean, who encouraged her to visit JTS. Originally from Memphis, Light graduated from Brandeis as a sociology major, and she had taught Bar and Bat Mitzvah students and was a song leader in various settings. In the summer of 2012 she attended New CAJE and first saw Jewish education as a true “field.”
When she attended the Hava Nashira songleaders training in May 2013, she “found what [she] wanted to do with the rest of my life: combine Jewish education with songleading.” Light entered the experiential education program at the William Davidson School and began fulfilling that mission as director of music education at Park Avenue Synagogue and then music educator at Congregation B’nai Jeshurun, both in New York.
Light’s cohort at the William Davidson School included “curious, thoughtful, fun, talented Jewish educators.” She said, “We had a lot of fun together and pushed each other to grow.”
Light was particularly influenced by an online class she took with Dr. Steve Brown on theology and teaching about God. In the class, Light was able to explore with a more critical eye how she had been taught about God and to appreciate the “beauty and challenge of teaching God to kids.” When she submitted a song she wrote in lieu of an essay, she planted the seeds for her 2020 album, s*ngs ab-ut g?d.
“In that theology course, the final assignment was to find our own metaphor for understanding God,” Light said. “For me, the metaphor was a radio—there are waves all around, but we only hear the music when we are tuned to a particular frequency.” Her mission has been to help people tune in. “God and God language has become a core part of what I teach and do.”
The response to Light’s contributions has spanned denominations and educational settings. She was named in the Jewish Week’s 36 under 36 in 2019 and is widely recognized for her catchy, content-rich tunes and her ability to use joyful music to reach and engage children and adults, creating accessible practices for prayer and liturgy.
As might be expected of an artist, Light often speaks in metaphors. She compared her work in tefillah to running a “spiritual gym.” “When you go to the gym, your end goal is not using a specific machine but strengthening your muscles for when you leave,” she said. “Each piece of liturgy invites us to exercise muscles and then use them. We stop too often with just learning how to use the equipment.”
Literacy—knowing the words of prayers and their origins—matters a great deal, and Light also believes that tefillah holds value for those with no prior knowledge. “Jewish prayer is full of easily accessible wisdom,” she said. “I want my students to experience the work of gratitude, love, and awe rather than only the words of the prayer itself. Most kids won’t grow up to be shlichei tzibur, but I hope all will grow up to lead lives of gratitude and kindness.”