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Jewish Community News
News: March 2007
Rabbi’s Column:
The role of Jewish music
By Cantor Devorah Felder-Levy
As a child, I remember sitting in High Holy Days services mesmerized by the music that the Cantorial soloist was singing. At a young age, I know that I didn’t know what the Hebrew words meant, but the music flowed through my soul and helped me pray to G-d. This is one of the reasons I chose to become a Cantor. The joy of sharing the music with others and helping them reach that same feeling is important.
People attend worship services out of different needs. Some see it as
their obligation and therefore attend regularly. Others attend searching
for comfort, healing, learning, community, or because they enjoy it. Whatever
one’s reason is for attending services, our music is a way to connect
to the text.
In studying Jewish music, we can categorize it to have a better understanding
of the history of music. Cantillation is the term that refers to the system
of written symbols associated with the chanting of the Tanach. Nusach,
which literally means “version,” indicates a modality of music
that is specific to a particular place in the service, time of day, day
of the week, or holiday during the year. MiSinai are tunes that have been
sung for so long in worship, that they are regarded as having been handed
down from Sinai. Kol Nidrei is an example of a MiSinai tune. Not MiSinai
but Essential are older musical pieces influenced by non-Jewish musical
sources (not MiSinai) but have withstood the test of time. Two examples
are Maoz Tzur and Adir Hu. Lastly, we have Not Time-Tested but Essential
which is melodies that have developed from the influence of Western music.
Some examples of this type are Sulzer’s Sh’ma, Freudenthal’s
Ein Keloheinu, and Nurit Hirsch’s Oseh Shalom. (The terms above
come from “Divrei Shir, a Curriculum for the study of Synagogue
Music.” This was a joint publication from the American Conference
of Cantors and the Union of Reform Judaism.)
Understanding the above gives us a better clue when it comes to listening
to Jewish music. It is also important to note that the term traditional,
should be used carefully. What is “traditional” for one person
may not be for someone else. Case in point, I grew up with a melody for
the Shabbat candles that was composed by Max Janowski, a prolific composer
of Jewish music, especially in the Chicago area; however, many other people
grew up with the Shabbat candle blessing composed by Abraham Wolf Binder.
Of course, all of the above are the technical terms that we would use
in studying Jewish music, but it is not the terms we would use in describing
how the music makes us feel. Do we have an understanding of the text?
Does the music fit the text of the prayer? Is the music uplifting? Are
there moments of participation in regards to the music and prayers and
are there moments of silence as well?
Today, there is more Jewish music being written than probably ever before.
Some of it is usable within our congregations and some of it is for our
listening enjoyment on our own, but perhaps a way to still connect to
G-d and to prayer. It is important that we retain our musical influences
from the past. Composers such as Sulzer and Lewandowski wrote music and
liturgical pieces that many have found essential to their worship experiences.
Modern composers such as Max Janowski, Ben Steinberg, Bonia Shur, Michael
Isaacson, Stephen Richards, Nurit Hirsch and Shlomo Carlebach influence
newer sounds into our liturgical worship services. Lastly, within the
past 30 years or so, we have a newer group of composers, such as Debbie
Friedman, Jeff Klepper, Craig Taubman, just to name a few. All of these
composers are creating pieces of liturgical music to engage people to
sing and to pray through the tool of music.
Psalm 150 talks about praisingG-d with instruments and with our voices.
May our voices join in community and rise up together in song. May you
find the songs that move you to higher places and find shalom, wholeness,
in all that you undertake in your life. Kein y’hi ratzon –
May this be G-d’s will!
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