Beth Hamon

Volunteer music leader
Havurah Shalom
Portland, Oregon
Age:52
Nominated by: Herself
Song: “Sparks,” Beth Hamon

Jewish music is, put simply, any music that reflects some aspect of a Jew’s life — sometimes soulful, sometimes just plain fun. Music expresses ideas and feelings in ways that words alone cannot. It reaches into your insides and draws out hope, plain, loss and love. By shining a light on those things with music, we gain new wisdom from them. I think the music I share with my community allows people to sing things they would never feel comfortable saying, but things that they, and all of us, are yearning to express. I don’t take lightly the fact that I’ve been given the gift and responsibility of helping to facilitate this for my Jewish community, but it is something I treasure and want to do right by with all my heart. — Beth Hamon

INFLUENCES: Gordon Lightfoot, Indigo Girls, Carole King, James Taylor, Wilco, Billy Bragg, old time string bands/American roots music.

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