Re: Debbie Friedman article

[Ari Davidow <ari...>]

Bob,

I guess my problem with your statement about nusah is that it is not, in my
experience, true.

>I am not trained by a cantor's institute, but I do know that it is
>through nusah that, with my eyes shut, not even hearing a word, I can
>tell where I am in Jewish time -- the Jewish day (e.g., holiday,
>shabbat, weekday) and the time of day (e.g., morning, evening).  Nusah
>is our leitmotif (yes, we had it before Wagner).  Nusah is a Krazy
>Glue that binds us together.

If you are in a Conservative, Reconstructionist, Reform, or other, non-
Ashkenazic or non-Orthodox congregation, the melodies will be different. 
More important, if you are in a Teimani or Sephardic congregation, there 
will similarly be differences, some bigger, some smaller, and by the time 
you get to the music of groups such as the Bukharians or Mountain Jews 
from the former Soviet Union, things are very different, at least in terms 
of the limited amounts that I have heard. (And, of course, their popular 
song diverges even further!)

It is, of course, entirely legitimate to enjoy a tradition, including a
tradition of melody, that is hundreds of years old, but nusah does not
come from Mt. Sinai (at least, not that I know of, or that anyone can
provide evidence of), so it may yet change further. That doesn't mean
that any given change is good, just that what we take as "the way things
are," isn't necessarily the way things are for all or most Jews, even today.

Just my two cents,
ari


Ari Davidow
ari (at) ivritype(dot)com
list owner, jewish-music (at) shamash(dot)org
the klezmer shack: http://www.well.com/user/ari/klez/

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