Jewish Music Article

[Klezcorner <Klezcorner...>]

One of our friends writes a music column for the Jewish newspaper in 
Gainsville Florida. This is his review of 2 Cds we submitte.  You can believe 
everything EXCEPT the last line!

Simon
Hatikvah


MUSIC LOVER?S DILEMMA: COUNTING THE OMER

by

Howard B. Rothman


 Beginning with the second night of Pesach, Jews count the Omer for

seven weeks.  The omer is a measure of barley and it was a mitzvah to

bring an omer of barley to the Holy Temple in Yerushalayim on the second

day of Pesach.  We count each day of the omer until Shavuot when the

first wheat harvest was offered in the Temple.  There are many reasons

for counting the omer.  One of them is that there is no definite date

given in the Torah for observing Shavuot.  Shavuot means ?weeks? and it

falls on the day following the end of the 49 days of counting, that is,

on the 50th day after seven full weeks have passed.   The Kabbalah, says

that we count the omer because each day of the counting is an ascension

from one of the 49 levels of the impurity we lived as slaves in Egypt.

Only after ascending the 49 levels were we worthy of receiving the

Torah.


 The period between Pesach and Shavuot is actually a period of

mourning.  Tradition has it that during the Bar Kochba rebellion against

the Romans, a plague killed 24,000 of Rabbi Akiva?s pupils during the

seven week period between Pesach and Shavuot. Over the centuries, other

tragedies, massacres and pogroms also occurred during this time period

so it became customary to keep these days as a period of mourning.

Weddings are not held, hair is not cut and faces are not shaved.  I

remember, as a yeshiva bocher, that we didn?t watch movies, TV or listen

to music while counting the omer..  The one day of reprieve during this

period was the 33rd day (lag or lamed-gimmel b?omer) when Rabbi Akiva?s

student stopped dying.  Barbershops were overwhelmed and catering

establishments were full of wedding parties, and yeshivas took their

students out of the classroom for a picnic at a local park.


 Jewish musicians took a vacation during this time because no one needed

their services.  However, some Jewish musicians who play for

hospitalized or nursing home patients are given permission by Rabbis to

make music for these unfortunates.  As for me, music is not an

entertainment, it is a life necessity.  I need music like a fish needs

water.  Music is a basic part of me and it comes out of me unconsciously

all day long, every day as I sing, hum or whistle my way through the

halls of academia, as I drive my car or ride my bike or just walk on the

street.  I am not a professional musician and I do not make a profit

from music.  I just need it.  Should I ask a rabbi if my rationalization

is a valid one?  I better not!


 Now that I?ve absolved myself I have to tell you about 2 CD?s that I?ve

been listening to and that aren?t all that inappropriate for the period

of the counting of the omer.  One of them is Shlomo Carlebach?s, Live in

Concert: I Hear the Wall Singing, volume 2, a companion CD to the one I

reviewed a few months ago which was volume 1. I?ve had the LP?s for

years and it is gratifying to have them re-issued on CD.  For me, the

highlight of this disc is Umocho Hashem Dim-ah and G-d Wiped the Tears

Away.  Reb Shlomo sings poignantly as he recalls standing at the Wall

seeing the tears of his father, the tears of his grandfather, the tears

of the 6 million holy and pure souls and the tears of all those who gave

their lives for the Sanctification of G-d?s Name.  Shlomo sings this

song in both Hebrew and English so everyone can understand and weep with

him.  This is one of the most powerful of all Reb Shlomo?s many

beautiful and powerful songs.


 Another highlight of this disc is B?nai Baischo, Rebuild Thy Temple as

of Yore.  These words are found in the Mussaf Amidah said on all three

pilgrimage festivals.  Reb Shlomo sang this at his first concert in

Yerushalyim in 1968 and, as I listen to this, I can see him standing at

the Wall dreaming of a restored Temple, as in days of yore.  Another

song is V?Yatzmach, which is part of a phrase found in the second line

of the Sephardic rendering of the Kaddish.  Traditionally, Ashkenazim

say ?May He establish His kingdom in your lifetime.?  The Sephardim add,

after ?His kingdom,? the phrase, ?hastening His salvation and the coming

of His Messiah.?  From Hallel, Reb Shlomo sings Mikimi ? He raises the

poor - found towards the end of the first paragraph.  Probably most

familiar to listeners will be Hanashamah Loch- The soul belongs to Thee,

the body is thy work, Am Yisroel Chai ? The people of Israel Live and

V?nomar L?fonov ? We will sing a new song before Thee - a song found in

those little ?benchers,? most of us have.


 Recorded almost 25 years ago, Reb Shlomo, no doubt influenced by

appearing, in concert for the first time in Yerushalayim, is at his

best, at his most poignant, at his most communicative.  Along with

volume 1, volume 2 of I Heard the Wall Singing belongs in everyone?s

library of Jewish music.  Get them!


 The second CD is entitled Ribon Haolamim ? Lord of the Universe and

features Cantor Samuel (Shmuel) Malavsky.  Malavsky was born in 1894 in

the Ukraine.  He received his early vocal training by singing in various

choirs.  When he came to America in 1914, he auditioned for Yossele

Rosenblatt who was so impressed with him that he asked Malavsky to

record duets with him.  They made quite a few recordings together, and 3

of them are included on this CD.  Rosenblatt encouraged Malavsky to go

off on his own as a chazzan, which he did very successfully.  In 1947,

Malavsky formed a choir featuring his two sons and four daughters.

Orthodox synagogues, of course, would not allow the daughters to

participate in a service but the choir, together with their father, made

many recordings, four of which are included here.  Why is this CD

appropriate for listening during the omer season?  Primarily for two

songs.  One of the songs is Ribon Haolamim ? Lord of the universe, which

is a lament for the loss of the Holy Temple and its attendant service

and goes on to affirm that we may substitute the prayer of our lips for

the sacrifices that took place in the Temple.  Rabbi Akiva was not only

one of the great Sages of Israel, but a leader in plotting the revolt

against Rome after the 2nd Temple was destroyed.  The plague that

decimated his students is one of the reasons we count the omer.  The

other song, one of Malavsky?s most famous, is Shomea Kol Bichyos ? Hear

the Voice of our Weeping, which is found almost at the end of the

Ne?ilah service on Yom Kippur.


 When I was a youngster growing up in the 40?s and 50?s, I remember

sitting in shul with my father during the High Holy Day services.

During Rosh HaShanah, but especially during Yom Kippur, I could hear the

weeping coming from behind the Mechitzah, the partition that blocked our

view of the women.  Some of the women?s prayer books had Yiddish

translations while others had no translation.  Whatever the level of

their understanding of the prayers, the women, perhaps more so than the

men, understood, on some elemental level, both the meaning and emotion

of the prayers, and they wept.  Malavsky?s singing evokes that kind of

heartfelt and sincere emotion.  During Shomea Kol Bichyos, he is weeping

for us.  Some may be uncomfortable with such blatant emotion.  I am

not.  Some may consider the manner in which his choir sings very

schmaltzy.  It is schmaltzy, but what?s wrong with a little schmaltz in

your life once in a while.  This type of schmaltz is cholesterol free!

This recording may not be everyone?s cup of tea, but you should give it

a try.  The duets with Yossele Rosenblatt are priceless as are the two

songs I?ve mentioned above.  You?ll recognize the words to most of them,

such as, Shma Yisrael, V?shamru B?nai Yisrael, Ahavat Olam, and others.

Listening to both of these CD?s is a guaranteed way of connecting to our

past, to our traditions and to our history.  Isn?t that what counting

the omer is all about?


 You won?t find these CD?s in any local record store.  So, give my

friend Simon a call or an E mail at 323-655-7083 or klezcorner (at) aol(dot)com 
 You 
can visit the Hatikvah web site at: www.hatikvahmusic.com

Tell him who sent you and he?ll treat you nice!


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