[HANASHIR:9132] Re: halacha against instrumentation

[Tamar D. Earnest MD <tde...>]

Dear Rachelle, Robin, and H"N list members,

Imagine that you have been praying at a beautiful Jewish house of 
worship, high on a hill overlooking the surrounding city, where you can 
look out over the hills and valleys beyond. You are listening to two 
mighty choirs whose voices blend magnificently, carrying you to 
spiritual heights every time you hear their voices ring out. Even if 
you are not present on the hill to hear them, the sound wafts over the 
walls and fills the city, so that people stop what they are doing 
whenever the choirs are rehearsing, just to listen to the music.

Imagine that the prayer leaders wear robes of bright colors, and the 
hangings in this place are of red, blue, and purple. The stones of the 
walls and the floor of the large courtyard are reddish, tan, light 
brown, or almost yellow, all earth tones,  with a golden cast that 
reflects the sunlight. The steps leading up to the building are broad 
and during a festival, thousands of people move up the steps together, 
accompanied by the choir's singing.

Imagine a large orchestra of stringed instruments, wind instruments, 
and a variety of percussion instruments. The musicians are all highly 
skilled, having been trained from childhood to play in this orchestra. 
When they combine with the two choirs, the music is overwhelmingly 
sweet, deeply moving, and an offering of the finest quality.

Close your eyes, and listen within your soul to that music. Breathe in 
the clear mountain air of that place. Now open your eyes, and look 
around you. You are standing in the courtyard of the Temple in 
Jerusalem. The year is 67CE. You have made the trip to Jerusalem for 
the first time, and the sounds and sights are overwhelming.

Now we fast forward to the year 70 CE, to the late fall. You stand with 
friends on a hill overlooking the former site of the Temple. Where that 
once glorious edifice stood, you now see a field of rubble. The 
orchestra and the choirs are silent. The priests and the Levites are 
dead, or fled from that place. You remember the music. You vow that 
until the Temple is rebuilt you will never sing, never play an 
instrument, never again listen to music. You turn away from that 
painful view, pick up your pack, and walk down the hill, away from 
Jerusalem.

=================

The rabbis, who helped Judaism transition from Temple centered worship 
with animal and grain sacrifices, to Judaism as we know it today, with 
prayer and study as the center, experienced the same wrenching of soul 
that you did in 70 CE. They forbad playing of instruments on Shabbat 
and Holidays as a sign of mourning for the Temple that had been 
destroyed. They explained that only in the sacred Temple could these 
instruments be played, just as it was only in the Temple that 
sacrifices could be brought. Anywhere else this was forbidden by the 
laws of Shabbat and Festivals. And so the mourning of one generation 
became a tradition down through the ages.

A second concern was that someone might try to repair an instrument 
that had broken on Shabbat or on a festival. This was forbidden under 
the laws relating to Shabbat. The rabbis derived these laws from the 
proximity of the directions about building the Tabernacle, in the 
Torah, to the law about observing Shabbat. Any work that might have 
been done to build, decorate, or serve in the tabernacle was forbidden 
on Shabbat. They came up with a basic list of 39 categories of work and 
found numerous derivative types of work within each of these 
categories.

This is observed in all Orthodox synagogues that I know about (please 
enlighten me if you know differently), and in some Conservative 
congregations. Choral singing is fine, as far as I know, but not 
playing instrumental music. Reform, Reconstructionist, some 
Conservative, most Jewish Renewal congregations, and most havurot 
(please let me know of any exceptions that you know about) allow some 
form of instrumental music on Shabbat and Holidays.

I hope this explains, in part, the double origin of this halacha - 
repair of a broken instrument (from the Torah) and mourning over the 
destruction of the Temple (rabbinic origin).

Thank you for taking this trip back in time with me. May your life be 
filled with music and light.

Tamar D. Earnest MD

-----Original Message-----
From:   Robin Shuler [SMTP:robinshuler (at) home(dot)com]
Sent:   Friday, May 18, 2001 7:52 AM
To:     hanashir (at) shamash(dot)org
Subject:        [HANASHIR:9120] Re: halacha against instrumentation

In reference to the prohibition of playing musical instruments on 
Shabbat, I thought the halacha was that we were not supposed to 
participate in any creative work.   This would refer to anything 
similar to the building of the Tabernacle in the desert, as well as 
G-d's creation of the world.  Any creation of music on an instrument 
would be considered creative work.  However, in Psalm 33, which is in 
the Orthodox Siddur as a Psalm for Shacharit for Shabbat, it says, 
"Give thanks to Hashem with the harp with the ten-stringed lyre make 
music to Him.  Sing Him a new song, play well with wounds of deepest 
feeling."   So, now I'm confused.  Any thoughts?

Robin

================

I'd like to pose a question regarding the origin of the halacha against 
instrumentation on Shabbat.  Having been raised in Reform Judaism, I 
may not be fully aware of the halachic implications of playing music on 
the day of rest.  I have always assumed it is because the playing of 
instruments is regarded as "work", while devotional singing is not, 
much as driving to shul is forbidden, but walking is accepted.  Have I 
missed something?  Is there a more specific law against the use of 
instrumental accompaniment?  If so, can someone direct me to the 
source?
Thanks,
Rachelle Shubert
H & R Shubert [notfranz (at) total(dot)net]

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