THE SOUND OF MUSIC

One striking difference between the service in the Temple and our prayer services today is the absence of instrumental music. In Temple times, the Levites accompanied the sacrificial service with a full orchestra: lyres, flutes, trumpets, harps, and cymbals. So essential was the music to the atmosphere of the service that the orchestra even performed on Shabbat. The spiritual energy of the Temple was so intense that there was no concern that a musician might forget it was Shabbat and violate it by repairing a broken instrument.

After the destruction of the Temple, our prayer services—whether on weekdays or Shabbat—continued without instrumental accompaniment. That said, music still finds its place in Jewish ritual. A chupa, for instance, is often enhanced by live music, though not without controversy. In the nineteenth century, the nascent Reform movement in Europe introduced organs into synagogue services, aiming to mirror the atmosphere of church worship. This sparked a strong reaction from the orthodox establishment, leading to a formal ban on playing the organ in Orthodox synagogues. Interestingly, this ban was never applied in England. I grew up attending United Synagogue weddings where the harmonium routinely accompanied the choir at the chupa.

Beyond the formal prayer service, there is far greater space for musical expression. Our magnificent shul has hosted some incredible concerts of Jewish music, complete with choir and orchestra. During Covid, several rabbis and chazanim led Friday afternoon Zoom Kabbalat Shabbat services, complete with guitar and keyboard accompaniment—a creative adaptation for unusual times.

In this week’s parasha, Moses is commanded to craft two silver trumpets, to be used on special occasions. Interestingly, the author of the Sefer HaChinuch, the 13th-century work that explains the mitzvot of the Torah, identifies the trumpet as the quintessential “Jewish instrument.” He writes:

“Given a person’s physical nature, one needs great awakening to get things done, and there is nothing that will awaken more than the sound of music—especially the sound of the trumpets, the greatest sound of any musical instrument. There is another advantage to the sound of the trumpet, in addition to the fact that it awakens a person to act. The sound of the music also brings a person to remove thoughts of other matters from his heart, so that he can focus only on the Temple service.”

This deep appreciation for the spiritual power of sound runs throughout Jewish tradition. Though the soundscape of our services has changed since the days of the Temple, the emotional and spiritual force of music remains. Even without lyres or trumpets in our synagogues, the echoes of that sacred orchestra live on—in the melodies of our prayers and the singing of our communities.

As the Sefer HaChinuch teaches, music awakens the soul and focuses the heart—and even without flutes or harps, that awakening still reverberates in every sincere note of Jewish prayer. It is, in its own way, the enduring sound of Jewish music.