Speaker's series: The History of Judaism and Music

Do you know what words of Psalm 150 we sing during Saturday morning Shabbat services (and during all weekday morning services, actually)?

Here are a few of the words:

“Hal-le-lu-hu b’tei-ka Sho-far/Ha-le-lu-hu b’ne-vel b’chee-nor/Ha-le-lu-hu b’tof u’ma-chol/Ha-le-lu-hu b’mee-neem v’u-gav”.

The words highlighted are names of musical instruments, and the Levitical priests were the Temple musicians of their day, using music to invoke the Divine Presence. Jewish music has been with us as long as there have been Jews.

Join Cantor Mitzi as we take a dive into the history of Jewish music, from its ancient Biblical (and pre-Biblical) origins through the “Jewish Middle Ages”; Hassidism; the beginnings of the Reform Movement with origins in Germany; Yiddish musical theater; and up to our present day. In addition to having a brief history lesson, we’ll also listen to recordings of Jewish music, and of course, do some singing ourselves. Come and learn about the history of the Jews through the lens of Jewish music!