[HANASHIR:9116] Re: halacha against instrumentation

[Jonathan Gordon <jbgordon...>]

The question of musical instrument on shabbat is not really about repairing
broken strings, or such. These can be gotten around- one could simply not
repair the broken instrument until after shabbat, if that were the accepted
practice.  There were musical instruments in the Temple and somehow they
were not used chillul shabbat, as desecrations of the sabbath.  The center
of the traditional objection to musical instruments is the issue of zecher
hachurban, in remembrance of the destruction of the temple.
The traditional ruling was that until the Temple is again rebuilt, we are
not to attempt to recreate its practices, including the playing of
instruments, especially since we as a people are in mourning over the exile.
Whether that still is a compelling argument is open to question, but by now
the aesthetic model of traditional practice has been established. For many
people the use of instruments is imitative of  christian practices,
irrespective of the reasons why.
As for the textual basis for these, I would have to go digging to cite them.
jonathan gordon