Re: purpose

[Bronia Kornhauser <Bronia.Kornhauser...>]

Judith R Cohen wrote:
> 
> >  It appears to me
> > that at this juncture, the 2003 quarterly Kol Isha debate, while having some
> > value, has now ceased to have any purpose,
> 
> Why?
> 
> And who is any one person to suddenly decide this? After all, as Lorele
> points out in her message, this issue seems to generate more responses
> than any other or at least more than most others.
> 
> I would think that any discussion related to Jewish music has purpose,
> especially when half of Jews, the ones who give birth to Jews and bring
> them up, are told they can't sing in front of the other half.
> 
> And re another post in this digest suggesting making noise isn't helpful
> - well, nothing else has been, so perhaps it's time for lots of noise.
> Squeaky wheel, etc.
> 
> And re those who suggest discussing it elsewhere - why? We don;t need to
> change people's minds who already agree.
> 
> > the debate is degenerating and losing
> > all musical relevancies.
> 
> That's what men tend to say when they've run out of arguments about it.
> Since the entire discussion is ABOUT music and women's place in it, it
> isn't likely to lose äll musical relevancies", even if they get obscured
> from time to time.
> 
> > The only
> > point I tried to make is that it is clear from the
> > context that Miriam led the singing and dancing of the
> > woman who were with her, and that there were no men
> > within this group.
> 
> I don't think ANY of this is particularly clear. Maybe they sang and
> danced where men could hear them, maybe they didn't, maybe the men
> stayed around, maybe they didn't. Who knows?
> 
> > I'm also not happy that
> > "Kol Isha" is being debated on a Jewish music list.
> 
> I'm not happy it has to  even be debated! but if not by a Jewish music
> list, where else? It's about Jews and it's about music.
> 
> At least I THOUGHT Jewish women were Jewish and that our singing was
> music. Judith
> 

I have been reading this latest Kol Isha thread with great interest. I
recall that in a previous KI thread, someone wrote that Rabbis
encouraged Jewish women to sing loudly to drown out shouts from
Christians urging conversion during the Jewish departure from Spain in
1492. Could anyone on the list provide more information or suggest
reference materials about this phenomenon?
Many thanks,
Bronia

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