CBM Dance Ministry (Mecholah)
Welcome to CBM's Dance Ministry, known as Mecholah (or also spelled as Mekolah).
"Let Israel rejoice in their Maker; Let the children of Zion be joyful in their King. Let them praise His name with the DANCE . . . For the LORD takes pleasure in His people." Psalm 149:2-4
Our Name
Mekolah ("Me" as in met; ko as in bold; and "lah" as in father) literally means dance/dances (n.) or dancing (n.)
It also means company (as in Songs 6:18).
When used to mean dance/dances/dancing, this use takes on a completely unique meaning.
The word Mekolah comes from the root Machasebah, meaning thought, device, intention, purpose, or plan. For example, Mekolah is used in:
- Exodus 15:20 (Miriam and the women going out to with the intent to praise the Lord and express their joy after they crossed the Red Sea)
- Exodus 32:19 (when the Israelites were dancing before the golden calf with the intent to worship it
- 1 Samuel 18:6(when David returns from slaughtering the Philistines. Dancers came out with to meet him with the intent to honor him.)
We want to distinguish OUR use of Mekolah. The dances that our "company of dancers" do has a specific use, purpose, and intent.
Some examples are:
- Spiritual Warfare
- Intercession
- Rejoicing and Celebration
- Worship, praise, adoration
- Declaration/Proclamation
Our Purpose
The purpose of Beth Messiah's dance ministry is to worship the LORD our G-d, the "LORD of the Dance." As Jewish and Gentile believers, we seek to express our communal joy in the Biblical tradition of dance, inspiring the congregation to reach a higher level of corporate and individual worship. As we worship with dance, we receive the rich nourishment of our heritage and the honor of being abandoned before our King. It is our great desire to become the embodiment of the prophetic word spoken over Beth Messiah by Asher Intrater in 2002: "It's not the dance that gives you life, but the LIFE that makes you dance."
Dance for an audience of One.
