[HANASHIR:12164] Th Great and Near-Great (apologies to Mel Brooks)

[Jeff Klepper <jeffklepper...>]

> I also think Adler's comment about chassidic melodies uncalled for.
> Chassidic ditties are not written or created as they are because people
> are mindless automatons. They are written as they are because the
> chasidim believe that one can achieve dvekut better in that way.

Adrian, thanks for a beautiful statement...

Dr. Adler, who I know and respect, comes from a distinguished German Jewish
tradition which celebrated art of "high culture" and looked down at the
culture and music of the Eastern European Chassidim.   His father was a
renowned cantor who came to America from Germany and was responsible for
adapting Lewandowski's music for the American synagogue.  That was a great
accomplishment. 

Though I am not from German lineage, for much of my life I saw Chassidic
tunes as ditties, as little more than nostalgia.  Then one day it happened:
I sang a nigun with a group of people and was transported into another
realm.  After that experience all the theories about 'd'veykut' made sense -
the nigun is, after all, a mystical tool -  and I have now come to see the
mystical and redemptive potential in (nearly) all music.

All of us are biased in some way towards different kinds of music due to our
upbringing, social identity,  and life experiences.  Some of us are able to
break through the barriers that divide musical genres and some of us aren't,
and since we're human, music that opens up the world for us today might not
have the same effect next month (and vice versa.)

For some it is very comforting to hold fast to a certain mode of musical
expression and not seriously explore others.  It's unfortunate that some
have closed themselves off from exploring the potential rewards of
discovering different kinds of music, and how they might possibly add
meaning to our Jewish spiritual lives.  But Adrian is right: we can help
each other appreciate the power of many varied forms of music without
resorting to any kind of personal bashing or flaming.  Especially during
this Holy Season.

Gamar chatima tova to all,
Jeff Klepper

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