By:Michael Arges
EAST WINDSOR – Music is such a vital part of Jewish worship and devotional tradition that it can convey a powerful religious message even without words.
For example, Spanish Jews used the humming of the "Kol Nidre," the traditional Yom Kippur chant, to observe the holiday at a time of extreme repression, noted Rabbi Aaron Gruman of Congregation Toras Emes in Twin Rivers.
The tune of the "Kol Nidre" had a special meaning to Jews who secretly maintained their faith after Jews were expelled from Spain in 1492.
"According to one tradition, when they couldn’t practice Judaism openly, during the time of the Spanish Inquisition, the way that they let each other know that it was Yom Kipper was that they would hum that tune," Rabbi Gruman said.
"Song is the pen of the soul," said the Baal Shem Tov, who was the founder of the Hassidic movement, noted Rabbi Sholom Leverton of the Chabad of the Windsors.
"The real core of the Hassidic movement is the power of song with simple melodies without words – but with a very deep meaning that every disciple knows," Rabbi Leverton said. "The leaders would tell a story about a certain disciple, about a lesson and message that could be learned. And then he would teach an accompanying melody to go with that – but without words. This would mean that when we sang these melodies together – even without any words – everybody would know what message that melody relates to. This would necessarily be a very deep spiritual connection."
The spiritual bonds forged by those melodies are a powerful support in times of discouragement, Rabbi Leverton noted. In the Hassidic movement it is said, "when two souls come together, it is two pluses against one negative," he noted. "When two people would come together, it would be two goods against one negative. The negatives wouldn’t multiply, but the positives would."
Hassidic disciples know these spiritual melodies by heart, and this musical tradition is a common bond among Hassidim that transcends national and cultural boundaries, Rabbi Leverton said.
"Wherever they are in the world and they meet others, they instantly have this bond and this connection of these wordless melodies that are ancient, but present and very much part and parcel of the future."
Rabbi Leverton recalled music helped break through language and cultural barriers during his first visit to Russia, about eight years ago to help with a summer camp. On the first night of the visit, music forged an immediate bond even though the visitors from America knew no Russian and the Russian rabbinical students knew no English.
"I can tell you by the end of that evening all of us were – literally – dancing for joy on the tables in this Russian rabbinical building. And none of us had shared more than two words," he recalled. "The power of the melodies without words, without explanations, broke all barriers. That evening I realized that there are no real human barriers. It’s all just an outer shell. But if you have the spirit of the heart and the connection of the soul, nothing can stand in your way."
This Hassidic tradition of music emphasizes congregational participation rather than trained, professional musicians, Rabbi Leverton noted. He contrasted it with the more traditional branches of Judaism that originated Germany and moved to the United States.
In these traditions it was more typical to have a trained cantor, sometimes a professional, who would lead the singing at worship. These melodies are also traditional but reflect a more polished performance type of music, Rabbi Leverton said.
"Beth El, the conservative temple here, for the first time have taken on a full-time cantor. As I have spoken with Rabbi Kornsgold, he felt that it came to a time when people wanted something more traditional, and they wanted to bring back that power of song into prayer. This is obviously a very positive move."
New Beth El Cantor Larry Brandspiegel is working to blend the more formal, polished tradition of the great cantors with a more informal style that emphasizes group participation.
"There was the time in the early half of the 20th century of the ‘Golden Age of Cantors.’ People came to hear the cantor and the choirs sing beautiful long pieces and solo pieces and not congregational participation," Cantor Brandspiegel said. "Today congregational participation has become very important and an integral part into the prayer service itself, because it gives people the opportunity to actually learn the prayers even if they have difficulty reading the language. Music can enhance the opportunity to learn the language along with the music and makes things easier."
"On our special Friday evening worship services we try to create a style that is a blend of traditional music and lively music in order to entice people to come back to services on Friday night," Cantor Brandspiegel said. "But there are certain times of the year, for example the high holidays, when people come into the synagogue and they don’t expect all the congregational singing that we may do on a general Saturday or a Friday night. They have come to expect more of that traditional music at that time of the year. It’s a mellow sounding music; it’s more spiritually uplifting, and it should be during that time of the year."
Instrumental music is largely absent from more traditional Judaism, because of the traditional, scriptural prohibition against working on the Sabbath. Just as Orthodox and many Conservative congregations avoid using microphones and tape players at Sabbath worship, so also they avoid the use of musical instruments other than the human voice.
Some Conservative congregations will incorporate instruments into worship music, some will not," Cantor Brandspiegel noted. "We don’t use it here, but other places will use it."
Cantor Brandspiegel said he feels that voices without instruments are more appropriate to the Jewish tradition of using music as an immediate spiritual expression of joy or sorrow. "I feel that it is our own voices that can carry the music, and our own emotions and feelings that carry the music."
