Re: Jewish vs. Xtian music

[erik l. f. contzius <eriklfc...>]

>     How can Jewish music "sound like" Xtian rock?
>
>     We are not singing about the Xtian savior.  We are not trying to
>     convert people of other faiths.
>
>     Oh, you meant that it might have the same beat? the same popular
>     appeal that Xtian music has?  My teenage daughter, about whom I have
>     spoken before, mentioned the other day that some of her friends
>     listened to Xtian music, as well as to the usual Hansen, Alanis
>     Morisette, etc.  So she understood the concept of listening to Jewish
>     music as well...if she heard any she really liked.  These same
>     friends are wearing WWJD bracelets.  They are really into their
>     religion.  Pop culture is important to teens.  We should provide
>     something Jewish for them to relate to and feel good about.

"[musical] forms communicate values... a particular musical style, for
example, is not necessarily appropriate for worship or for "selling" the
church's message simply because it is popular. (Sue Ellen Page, "Hearts and
Hands and Voices: Growing in Faith through Choral Music)"

"...we simply note that one of [popular culture's] many appealing hallmarks
is to give us what we want, and to tell us what we already know. In popular
culture, few, if any, demands are placed on us to think in terms of the
transcendent, or to encourage our understanding of things beyond what we
are. (ibid)"

"Popular culture... emphasizes the self and the present. Its perspective is
that of here and now, and you and your experiences are the arbiter of all
things... At root, popular culture's dynamics tend to encourage a
self-centeredness that Christians ought to avoid. (Kenneth A. Myers, "All
God's Children and Blue Suede Shoes: Christians and Popular Culture, 1989)"

One of the points I like that Sue Ellen Page raises in her book is that
"Musical forms communicate values." We tend to want to forget that because
we really like certain musical forms. We tend to make excuses for using
them: they speak to us; they draw in the young... but should we be so
embracing of such popularistic musical forms without regard to the
unarticulated message that their very form connotes certain values? A gross
example is using so called "Gangsta Rap" for prayer. Sure, the content
(i.e. the words) may have changed but the form is associated in society
with violence. Another example: at B'nai Jeshurun in NYC, they use a melody
for ps. 150 which is borrowed directly from a sufi chant, "Allah Hu."
Because I'm familiar with the original chant and the content therein
(nusrat fateh ali kahn performs this one on several cd's), I cannot help
but think of Allah when this song is sung--clearly an aveira.  The
emotional content of said forms have inherent value that should not be
readilly dismissed because the textual content has changed.

I'm also not suggesting that the popular be disregarded outright (whether
they be musical forms or trends)... Our dilema as 20th century Jews in the
united states is that we have been so embraced by popular culture--both
being a positive and a negative thing: positive in that we are finally a
free people in a free society; negative in that we have so much aculturated
that sometimes when we examine our constituency, we note that there is so
little difference culturally, spiritually, or ethically from those around
us. What, then, makes Judaism holy?

just some food for thought...
(hope i don't get flamed for this posting...)

Hazzan Erik L. F. Contzius
Omaha, Nebraska

mailto:erik(dot)contzius (at) usa(dot)net
mailto:eriklfc (at) radiks(dot)net

http://www.radiks.net/eriklfc/