Cantor Lauren Phillips Fogelman
Engaging Prayer Leader • Dynamic Educator • Collaborative Colleague • Versatile Musician
Holiday Music for Kids
I am passionate about making Judaism accessible to children of all ages and showing them that engaging in Jewish customs and learning can be fun! I've adapted parodies and other catchy melodies for several Jewish holidays, including Hanukkah and Passover. I've even managed to get my youth choir in on the action. Read some of my parody material here. Enjoy the videos and scroll down for more parody material, including Purim spiels!
Virtual High Holy Day Videos for Young Families
During the 2020 High Holy Day season, I curated, scripted, and recorded a series of videos so that families with young children could learn important High Holy Day customs, concepts, and songs. I recruited our entire clergy team and a musical lay leader to contribute their talents to this series. I also engaged a college student who grew up in the congregation to edit and put all of the elements together. The series garnered a strong presence on social media and was widely shared in our own community and beyond. In the years that followed, we adapted the content into an in-person outdoor experience for the same demographic. The Rosh Hashanah videos are included below; click here for the whole collection.
Purim Spiels
Disney's Encanto soared to popularity in late 2021, making it prime material for Purim 2022. I wrote Purim-themed lyrics to the opening song "The Family Madrigal," which my youth choir performed for the congregation. The song, called "The Purim Festival," tells the Purim story while touching upon important themes and lessons from other Jewish holidays.
You can read the lyrics here.
"Haman Hears a Jew: The Megillah According to Dr. Seuss":
Purim 2020 marked our community's last in-person event before the pandemic took hold, and even a year later it was still not safe for us to gather together again for a traditional in-person Purim spiel. I wrote the following spiel in the style of Dr. Seuss, which we performed on Zoom.
You can read the script here.
Hanukkah Around the World
My article for ReformJudaism.org, "A Holiday Travelogue: 9 Hanukkah Traditions from Around the World" was adapted and animated by Temple Israel of the City of New York to teach Hanukkah customs to students in their religious school.