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Music in Jewish Tradition
I love Jewish music! I don’t care if it is Hassidic nigunim or Klezmer, Debbie Friedman, traditional Sephardic music, or some of the newer genres that you might find being produced by J-Dub records– Jewish music is something that just speaks to my soul. Of all the holidays in the Jewish year, there is not a single holiday that I can think of that has more songs associated with it than Hanukkah. While you might attribute that to American Jews needing to have as many "Holiday songs" as their non-Jewish neighbors, in my mind it does not matter. Since Hanukkah lasts eight nights, we would get really bored singing the exact same songs for all eight nights (even though that is what most of us end up doing). Hanukkah songs are special because music can bring so much light in the darkest time of the year– Kislev is definitely a month to celebrate and think about Jewish music. Moshe Rabeinu led the Israelites out of Egypt and Miriam led the women in song and dance on the shores of the sea, Devorah the Prophetess had a song, King David sang and wrote many of the Psalms, the Levitical Choirs of the Holy Temple sang and played their instruments to accompany the daily and special holiday offerings– music has played a central role in the prayer and ritual life of the Jews through out the Bible. It was the music that set the tone of the events and even provided the structure of special celebrations such as the Simchat Bet HaShoeva celebrated at Sukkot as we read in the Talmud: He who has not seen the rejoicing at the place of the water-drawing has never in his life seen true rejoicing. ...With burning torches in their hands, men of piety and good deeds used to dance in front of the people, singing songs and praises. And Levites without number, with harps, lyres, cymbals, trumpets, and other musical instruments were there on the fifteen steps leading down from the Court of the Israelites to the Court of the Women. It was on these that the Levites stood with their musical instruments and played their music. Today music is as integral a part of our Jewish identity as any. While many people do not realize it until it is pointed out to them, it is the music of our tradition that truly provides a link to their connection to God and the Jewish tradition. If you question this, simply try changing some of the "traditional" melodies used at High Holiday services and see how people in the congregation react– not something I highly recommend if you want to return to that congregation in the future. Music has been an integral part of who we are, how we pray and how we relate to one another within our community since the beginning of our people. But today, in an era when fewer people are fluent in Hebrew and the classic liturgy, it is truly the music which allows us to pray and celebrate as united strong communities of Jews. It is the musical creativity of people like R. Shlomo Carlebach or congregations such as B’nai Jeshurun in NYC that provide the tunes that connect Jews to one another in times of prayer and celebration, allowing us to all come together and celebrate our rich heritage and the gifts that God has bestowed upon us all. So, this year at Hanukkah, whether it is the corny and overplayed Adam Sandler Hanukkah Song, or some great, new and truly creative Hanukkah album... I invite you to go out, surf the web and find some great new Jewish music that you can learn, share and sing with all of your communities and bring a little more light into the world on this holiday of lights. Happy Hanukkah!
Ed. Note: for some unexpected Hanukkah melodies, try the Barenaked Ladies CD Home for the Holidays or Woody Guthrie’s Happy Joyous Hanukkah, recorded by the Klezmatics. [Posted 11/09/07]
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By
Rabbi Shalom Kantor