B"H

Different Strokes for Different Folks

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This past Yom Kippur, I had the privilege of davening (praying) in a Moroccan synagogue on my Moshav. While sitting outside on the patio during one of the breaks, I chatted with a friend, a Moroccan, who had married a Yemenite girl. He moved away from the Moshav when he got married, and now lives amongst Yemenites in a different Moshav. When I remarked how that I frequently see him visiting here, on the holidays, he retorted: "Yes! I cannot bear to spend the holidays in a Yemenite synagogue where I can hardly understand them!" Those sitting by us, at hearing this, nodded in agreement, and they began to smile profusely in good humour. It is a well-know fact that Yemenites and Moroccans share two different liturgical styles, yet, both have their own special beauty and charm.

A month prior to this incident, a Chassidische Rebbe of the Sanz movement (and whose sons follow the Karlin-Stolin movement) took me in his car from Betar-Ilit to Jerusalem. On the way, he remarked to me how he, on one Friday night (Kabbalat Shabbat), had passed by the only very large Yemenite shul (synagogue) in the city of Betar-Ilit, and stopped to listen to them while chanting "Shir Hashirim" (the book known as "the Song of Solomon") in complete harmony. He was taken aback by the soothing beauty of their melody, and said that he stood there for about fifteen minutes, just to listen. He said that listening to them recalled back old memories as a child when he would hear the older generation of Yemenite elders who would chant in the very same way, and remarked that he was impressed that this "new generation" were continuing in the footsteps of their ancestors. He said that in Chassidic circles he had only seen this kind of reading in unison with the little children of Chassidei Belz, while reading in the "cheder."

David

quote:

Originally posted by David Ben-Abraham:

"Shir Hashirim" (the book known as "the Song of Solomon")

It's more commonly referred to as "The Song of Songs"

Do you know of any sites where one can hear moroccon (or sephardic) tunes etc.?

B"H

Rebbe Sam,

Thanks for the correction. As for Sephardic tunes (Yemenite), you might want to try clicking into the following link: www.temani.net Afterwards, look at the directory on their main web-page. Go into the "Audio."

David