[HANASHIR:17004] Re: V'samachta B'chagecha

[rahel <rahel...>]

Hi - I beg to differ. The nature of each of our Jewish holidays is so very 
unique - each one with it's very special meaning - from pshat to sod - and 
each one with it's own unique story and lesson. That really is the beauty 
of having so many celebrations. They really are NOT al the same:  "they 
tried to kill us, we won, let's eat". I asked the question about V'samachta 
because, in truth, it didn't feel right to me for Purim - and it was one 
song I just wasn't 100% sure about. Maybe someone can help me out here - 
but when you really study and know what each celebration - or fast - has to 
offer - you simply will not just use any song for any holiday. I'm sorry 
that I am finding it difficult to express my feelings in words, but Jewish 
spirituality is soul deep and very holy. Music is the one thing that is 
known to be closest to G-d, and can help bring us all closer to G-d and 
thus, also to ourselves! I don't mean to offend when I say that I firmly 
believe that if something is quoted directly from the Torah then it is 
something we ought to regard with all seriousness. It is a direct message 
to us - something we would be the wiser to give its due respect. Nothing is 
ever as it seems. We need to be very careful as songleaders about what we 
put out there!


Rahel



At 10:55 AM 3/3/2004 -0500, you wrote:
>Actually, Sholom, your argument changed my mind from being against using 
>V'samachta for Purim to being in favor of it.  Just because it is a quote 
>from the Torah doesn't mean it can only applies to the Shalosh 
>Regalim.  Since the p'shat of the text doesn't have anything other than 
>'be happy, it's a holiday' why not use it for all 'happy' holidays.  It's 
>message would seem to be more useful at Purim than at, say, Shavuot (not 
>that we shouldn't be happy at Shavuot, but the holiday doesn't exactly 
>have that tradition, at least not in the US among non-Orthodox).
>
>Michael
>
>   ----- Original Message -----
>   From: sholom (at) aishdas(dot)org
>   To: hanashir (at) shamash(dot)org
>   Sent: Wednesday, March 03, 2004 5:18 AM
>   Subject: [HANASHIR:16995] Re: V'samachta B'chagecha
>
>
>
>
>
>   > FYI,
>   > As was mentioned by Meris, "V'samachta B'chagecha" is for the Shalosh
>   > Regalim  (Passover, Shavuot, and Sukkot).  This goes back to the
>   > rabbinic
>   > classification of holy days.  The word "chag" is a technical term in
>   > that context.  Purim  and Chanukah, post-Torah holidays,  are considered
>   > "minor holidays," so the  term "chag" is not applied to them.
>
>   Just to clarify -- and to anticipate the next question: "What about the
>   song 'Chag Purim' ?"
>
>   Basically, "chag" has two meanings.  It has a torah meaning (the shalosh
>   regalim, as just explained by CantorJ), and it also has a contemporary
>   meaning, which means "holiday in general".
>
>   Context is everything. <g>
>
>   So how do we decide which meaning "V'samachta" has?
>
>   In this case, the answer is simple -- because the context is clear.
>   "V'samachta, b'chagecha" is itself a posuk (verse) right from the Torah,
>   so, necessarily, it applies only to the shalosh regalim.
>
>   -- Sholom