“Lu Yehi”: Between Fragility and Hope
In this thoughtful essay, Cypess reflects on the melody that is carrying Israel in the wake of October 7th.
Secular Music and the Jewish Soul
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.
“Do Not Summarize Me on Wikipedia.” The Thought of Hanan Ben Ari
Natan Oliff analyzes the deep philosophical messages in the music of Israeli singer Hanan Ben Ari.
Miriam’s Song and the Persistence of Music in Dark Times
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.
Jeremiah Lockwood’s New Cantorial Blues Album, Kol Nidre, is a Yom Kippur Dream
Hillel Broder reviews the latest release from Jeremiah Lockwood.
Notes of Defiance: Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, Diana Blumenfeld, and the Question of Cultural Genocide
Alia Saphier examines the concept of cultural genocide, how it relates to the Holocaust, and how both Anita Lasker-Wallfisch and Diana Blumenfeld fought for the longevity of Jewish music.
The Shofar as a Mekonenet, a Singer of Laments
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...
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