Temple Bnai Israel

Policy Recommendation on the Use of Music and Musical Instruments as Part of Shabbat

Tevet 5761

January, 2001

Ritual Committee:  Chair, Paul Shapiro; Members:  Janet Robertson, Jim Robertson, Ken Dardick, Judy Stein, David Stoloff, Eileen Geffin, Irene Glasser.  Ex Officio:  Rav Jeremy Schwartz, President, Deb Savage

Recommendation:  Instrumental Music, both live and recorded,  is consistent with Shabbat values and is appropriate for Temple Bnai Israel.

During the past year, Temple Bnai Israel has disaffiliated from the Conservative Movement and welcomed a new rabbi. Together these events have provided a challenging and welcomed opportunity for the Ritual Committee to begin to reinvent itself, to learn about Jewish practice, and to use Jewish values in managing change in our community.

We chose to begin with the issue of the use of  music and musical instruments in the synagogue on Shabbat because it raises many of the questions that we had about the role of the synagogue as the centerpiece of our community. For example, many of our families have expressed disappointment at having to move their Bar/Bat Mitsvah celebrations to other venues because they wanted to include music in their celebration.

Rabbi Schwartz provided study materials from Jewish sources for committee members to read and discuss.  The values raised in these documents were the cornerstones of our discussions. We studied the historical and religious roots of the role of music on Shabbat. We also looked at the practical issues that music raises for our community.  Some of us believe that music will enhance the beauty of our service, and lead to increased participation and membership. There was also a strong feeling among some committee members that this was not so much a change, but instead was a return to the policy that we had in the past under Rabbi Samuels.  His two successors, in their roles as mara d’atra, reversed that Minhag (tradition) without opportunity for congregational input in the decision.  We also understand that a significant number of our current members have no experience with that history.  We do not advocate that music be part of each and every service on Shabbat; however, nothing compels our congregation to reject Shabbat music under any and all circumstances, the policy of our last two rabbinic leaders.

In our exploration of our history and its sources, we studied the bases of the traditional prohibition against instrumental music in general (in some Jewish communities) and on  Shabbat in particular. In our study with Rav Jeremy, we concluded that many of the specifics of these teachings no longer made sense for our situation in this time and place, but that the teachings did  express important values that we wish to incorporate into the synagogue’s approach to music. Thus, we DID NOT believe that a music-related xenophobic statement by Shulkhan Arukh (major code of Jewish Law) could be morally justified in our contemporary situation in America. However, we also learned that the Shulkhan Arukh was using that statement to express values that continue to be important: the importance of morality and religious values in all areas of life, including music; pride in distinctive Jewish cultural forms; and a caution against thoughtlessly adopting the cultural norms of the non-Jewish world.

Some historical  Jewish communities have carried the prohibition of all music to an extreme as a way of mourning the destruction of the ancient Temple in Jerusalem.  However, there is a different tradition that this prohibition does not apply to music  that has a religious purpose and that adds joy to the fulfillment of mitsvot. Our policy follows this latter tradition. We also did not believe that extreme mourning was appropriate to the current Jewish situation.

Finally we considered the issues dealing specifically with music on Shabbat: prohibitions on carrying or repairing instruments and the use of electricity.  Some of us felt it to be hypocritical and/or senseless to apply these restrictions to music when  we don’t see a need to apply them to other areas of synagogue or personal practice. Others were moved by an appreciation of post-halakhic formulations of the values of Shabbat, for example requiring Shabbat activities to promote kedushah/holiness, menukah/rest and oneg/delight. These values certainly allow for instrumental music on Shabbat, although they may imply some restrictions on the sort of music or the way it is presented. The Committee is conscious of the need to maintain Shabbat, God’s gift to our people, as separate and distinct from the other days of the week.

On the side of positive traditional attitude toward music, we know that there is evidence of music at the time of the Temple in Jerusalem. The rabbis taught that instrumental music was necessary for prophecy, because of its ability to bring the inner calm necessary to hear God.  Mystics and Hasidim have emphasized the power of music to bring an awareness of God and to “raise holy sparks.”  And in various historical  Jewish communities, instrumental music has played a part in the synagogue just prior to the Friday night service,  at Hanukah, Simchat Torah and Purim and at weddings and brises.

 Taking  all of those factors in consideration, the Committee supports lifting the prohibition on Shabbat instrumental music.  Shabbat can be a celebration, a day of delight; and music can and should make our worship experience  more meaningful.  There is no reason why our synagogue, with its rich musical resources, should not enjoy that possibility. We recognize that the precise boundaries of the use of music should evolve as part of a process of experience and community discussion, rather than being presented as a formal set of boundaries and rules.  To begin this process, we suggest the following working guidelines:

1. Music should be for a spiritual purpose:  to bring us closer to God.  It may be used to accompany our singing, or as a prelude or interlude, but never as entertainment during a service.

2. At least initially, we should welcome instrumental music as part of our service on Friday night, because that was our Minhag. There is however, no reason why we could not, in an appropriate way, have music on Shabbat morning at some point in the future.[1]

3. Consistent with the values enunciated in (1), instrumental or recorded music is permissible at an Oneg Shabbat or at Kiddush. Those communal events are considered, respectively, to be extensions of Friday night or Shabbat morning services.

4. At celebratory events in the synagogue, typically the post-Kiddush luncheon for Bar and Bat Mitsvah guests, instrumental or recorded music is permitted, provided that Jewish, synagogue and Shabbat values are considered. 

5. As part of the learning process that each family of a Bar/Bat Mitsvah student undertakes, Rabbi Schwartz will work with the family to help them make a decision about  whether and how music will be incorporated in their celebration.