Music

Hillel Broder reviews the latest release from Jeremiah Lockwood.

Why did the women bring musical instruments out of Egypt? In her first Lehrhaus article, musicologist Rebecca Cypess draws a fascinating historical analogy between biblical and African-American slavery to shed light on the Exodus in Jewish tradition.

The Talmud criticizes the heretic Elisha ben Avuyah, or Aher, for listening to Greek music. But what did he do wrong? Todd Berman uses a close reading of Rashi’s comments on the Talmudic passage to explain.

To mark Leonard Cohen’s fifth Yartzeit, James Diamond offers a creative take on how Cohen‘s complicated relationship with Judaism defined his music and poetry.

In this thoughtful essay, Cypess reflects on the melody that is carrying Israel in the wake of October 7th.

Natan Oliff analyzes the deep philosophical messages in the music of Israeli singer Hanan Ben Ari.

Shlomo Zuckier takes a closer look at the cultural and theological underpinnings of this hit new Orthodox music video.

Shira Hecht-Koller and Aaron Koller explore the worship of the Kohen Gadol through the voice of Ishay Ribo.

  Rebecca Cypess As the only musical instrument used in modern Jewish liturgy, the shofar possesses a humble form. Halakhah forbids the modification of the shofar’s...

Rebecca Cypess considers the life and work of the Italian Jewish Renaissance composer Salamone Rossi, his rabbinic supporter Leon Modena, and the controversies over 17th century polyphonic music in the synagogue.