Silly Love Songs
There was a recent article in the Jewish Week about Sherwood Goffin, the cantor of the Lincoln Square Synagogue. Goffin was lamenting the current state of leading prayer services and what may be termed the over-Carlbachization of prayer services. He is upset that many people lead services and have no idea about what is the correct nusah, or musical tune, to use. In response Goffin has compiled “Be a Ba’al Tefillah”. There are a number of other options available for those who want to learn how to daven, some of them free on-line. A number of them can be found here. There was one comment by Goffin which was interesting and I thought warranted some discussion.
But there are rules: “A niggun it has to match the proper mode — minor, major or any of the seven modes; it has to match the mood” of the specific prayer; and “it has to be music from a kosher source. The Shulchan Aruch [law code] says you shouldn’t use [even the tune of risqué] love songs,” such as “Erev Shel Shoshanim,” a 1960s Israeli song often used by lay cantors on Shabbat morning.
I was all ready to write a post about the question of using tunes of non-Jewish origin when I saw that Avakesh had already written such a post, using many of the sources that I had in mind. Despite a comprehensive post, I did want to add something to what was written at Avakesh.
Boaz Cohen, in an article “Responsum of Maimonides Concerning Music” (Law and Tradition in Judaism, pp. 167-181), presents an overview of some of the literature on the question of Jews and music in general, and Jews and non-Jewish music in particular. From the title of the article, one can see that Cohen focuses on a responsum of Maimonides. This responsum was originally written in Arabic, like most of the Rambam’s responsa, and was published in a number of places, sometimes with a Hebrew or English translation. (see op. cit. p. 174, note 24) It can be found in the authoritative edition of Maimonides’ responsa by Yehoshua Blau on pp. 398-400, vol. II, no. 224, and the Tur OH par. 560. The Rambam begins his responsum by saying that “It is well known that all singing and music is prohibited” (e.g. see Mishnah Sotah 9:11 and Gittin 7a). Boaz Cohen describes Maimonides’ responsum as not only discussing “rabbinic pronouncements on the subject”, but also approaching “the question from an ethical and philosophical point of view.”
Maimonides realized that music exercised an ennobling influence upon certain individuals, but since the law was intended for the benefit of the many, music, except in connection with prayer, was banned because it was wanton and voluptuous, and carried with it a sensuous thrill and had the power of manipulating the mental atmosphere of most people for evil, especially when the songs were recited by women at a regale of wine. Consequently Maimonides would prohibit not only Arabic but also Hebrew songs, if their contents were such as to lead to excitement and debauchery…The purpose of the law was that Israel should become a “holy nation,” and therefore it forbade all acts that did not lead to moral excellence, and discouraged idle amusement and dalliance…It is thus quite clear that the strict view adopted by Maimonides in going so far as he could in proscribing music was not merely because he took a mere legal view of the matter, but because in the ancient Orient music was furnished largely by women, and the songs were often too prone to kindle the passions. Thus the Moslem jurists wrote many responsa prohibiting music, but their views did not influence the Arabs to any considerable extent. For not only did music play an important part in their life, but they also wrote numerous treatises on the theory of music…The responsum of Maimonides on Music seemed to have exercised little influence upon subsequent authorities, if one may infer from the fact that only R. Jacob b. Asher cites it. The attitude taken by some European rabbis subsequent to Maimonides was much more liberal, most likely due to the different conditions under which they lived.
One such example that Cohen brings is the Raviah (cited in Mordechai, Beitzah 696), an opinion which was later brought in the Shulhan Arukh (OH 338:2), who “permitted a Jew to order Gentiles on the Sabbath to play instrumental music at a wedding party, for there can be no festivity without music.” (op. cit., p. 177)