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From the Rabbi:
Have you ever watched a Bollywood film? India’s film industry actually produces more movies per year than Hollywood, and those films reach a larger audience as well. Epic multipart historical films portraying episodes of India’s rich history are common, and they easily rival Peter Jackson’s acclaimed Lord of the Rings films. Of course there are also comedies, dramas, horror films - the entire range of cinematic expression.
Across genres however, Indian cinema features something characteristically unique - elaborate musical interludes with choreographed dance routines often including hundreds of dancers - always performed and shot live. This is not only because song and dance are considered integral forms of performance art (you don’t deserve to be a movie star unless you can sing and dance!) but these musical interludes are also a critical piece of the story telling, conveying an emotional overtone or providing insight into the characters’ inner world. For example, the subtle differences in morale between two enemy camps or the playfulness of true lovers, while hard to convey in dialogue, become evident through their song and dance.
Music has a way of conveying a feeling that words and actions cannot. When we sing along, we feel the feelings conveyed in the music without having to go through the medium of our intellect. For this reason, music played a vital role in obtaining prophecy in the Biblical period. Take for example Saul, the first King of Israel. After being anointed by Samuel, it was not until he heard the music of the prophets that he too was bestowed with prophesy. (I Samuel, 10:5, 10) “as you enter the town, you will encounter a band of prophets coming down from the shrine, preceded by lyres, drums, flutes, and harps, and they will be prophesying… And when they came there, to Giv’a, he saw a band of prophets coming toward him. Thereupon the spirit of God gripped him, and he spoke prophecy among them.” Later on, when the spirit of Hashem was taken from him, only David’s playing of the harp could soothe him by filling that void. Music holds a special key to our hearts, mysterious as it is powerful.
Special music for special moments adorns our sacred occasions. The regal tune we use to coronate the King on Rosh Hashanah and the somber intonation of Kol-Nidre immediately summon us to the affective posture of the Yamim Noraim. It is said that these tunes are mere fragments of the great musical tradition of the Beit Hamikdash. This repository of music is a perfect example of the body of Torah Sh’baal peh - living oral traditions which were lost with the destruction of the Temple. Nevertheless, we at least still preserve the memory that we once had such music, and we repeat daily the words of that song which was once spontaneous, and accompanied with instruments and dance. In the Mussaf prayers this holiday, notice that we yearn for the music of the Temple just as much as for the sacrifices. Our celebration of Yontiff today is totally different than in the Temple period in which the entire festival experience was permeated with live music and dancing.
This Shabbat we'll read from Parshat Beshalach which narrates our dramatic exit from Egypt, Pharaoh’s pursuit of us, the awesome salvation God wrought on our behalf by splitting the sea and His final vengeance upon the Egyptians. And then, as if in a Bollywood film, a song spontaneously breaks out and everyone is in on it. This iconic song is recorded word for word in the Torah as sung by everyone in unison. As an encore, the musical number is followed by a women’s refrain, replete with drums and dance. Our sages tell us that it was a moment of mass prophecy, that “even the maidservant saw at the sea a greater revelation of Godliness than Ezekiel’s vision of the Divine Chariot” which we will read on Shavuot. The exuberant feelings of joy, relief, awe of God and reverence for God and Moshe could only be expressed in song. And every year we re-live that moment by reading the song. Among the Sefardim, they have maintained a traditional melody for the Song of the Sea, and sing it together during Pesukei D'zimra, especially on this holiday. Those who know that ancient tune can tell you, it immediately invokes oceanic energy and the feeling of rising and crashing waves.
Centuries later, when King Solomon had built and inaugurated the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, the Sacred Eros which permeated the Temple and Solomon's iconic character was preserved and encoded in the Song of Songs. Every year on Shabbat-Pesach we read that song as well as if to taste again the intimacy and ecstasy of the Temple experience. This Shabbat, the two greatest songs in our Scriptures converge as we'll read both on the same day. Add to that the haftarah in which we read King David's public song of triumph, and clearly, this Shabbat's overarching theme is bringing historical memory into our present life experience through music.
To not only remember the events by telling the story as we did at the Seders, but to re-experience the feelings of the Exodus, the Messianic triumph (King David) and the Holy Temple in our hearts and our bodies through song.
Shabbat Shalom and Chag Sameach,
Shlomo
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