CANTORIAL COMMENTS

Shavuot Melodies

The Shavuot holiday, which is celebrated this month, is replete with songs
and melodies which enhance the holiday celebration and make it even more
joyous. I would like to examine the changes in our liturgy that occur during
this holiday, the reasons for the change; and explore how the melodies and
the songs that are employed during this holiday make the message of Shavuot
more central and meaningful for us.

At the Maariv service on the evening of Shavuot, the entire musical motif
of the service is changed to the nusach (musical motif) of the Sholosh
Regalim, the Yom Tov or Pilgrimage Festival motif. This special motif is
employed at the very inception of Maariv, and can be heard when the Cantor
chants the Borchu prayer, and is used each time every paragraph is concluded
by the Cantor.

Other changes occur. Of note is the fact that in many Syna-gogues special
prayers called Maaravot are added to the service which present many of the
themes of Shavuot that are unique to this holiday. Typical of these are
God's giving the Torah to the people of Israel, the Mount Sinai experience
and return of the people of Israel to God.

The evening service culminates in the Kiddush, which is the sanctification
of the Holiday over wine. Kiddush is sung to a special musical motif. At
B'nai Shalom we mark the arrival of Shavuot in the evenings by using the
special Shalosh Regalim nusach (Festival musical motif) and by making this
special kiddush with insertions for Shavuot.

Throughout both days of the holiday of Shavuot, Hallel is sung to tunes of
Yom Tov, and many of the prayers are put to melodies to emphasize special
themes of the holiday. Returning to Israel, and resurrection of the Temple
in Jerusalem are two of those themes.
During the Torah service the music and melody is altered from the Shabbat
motif to the Yom Tov motif. Of note are the thirteen attributes of G-d which
are sung three time and the prayer Vaani Tefilosi.

Preceding the Kohen aliyah, (Torah portion) a special liturgical poem
called Akdakmut is sung. Composed by Rabbi Meir Ben Yitzchak (11th century,
Worms, Germany) Akdamut is written in terse, difficult Aramaic. Akdamut
leads the reader through the great heights and depths of mystical
understanding. It goes from the descriptions of God's creation of the world
to a close look at the splendors of the World to Come; from the angels
praise of the Almighty to the greatness and the suffering of the Jewish
people. The first forty-four verses form a double acrostic of the Aleph-Bet,
while the first letters of the remaining verses spell the author's name and
a blessing.

On the second day of Shavuot, the scroll of Ruth is read to a special tune
all its own and recalls for us the beauty of ancient Israel at harvest time.
On both days of Shavuot, a special additional service called the Musaf
prayer is added. The Musaf has the following themes: 1) The recognition of
the Almighty's role sustaining the people of Israel throughout history and
2) the eternal wish for a second redemption or exodus from life in
contemporary diaspora and return to the Jewish Homeland. At this time
Marcia, I and the children would like to you all a joyous, festive, and most
happy Shavuot Holiday.