Judaism Judaism () is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, Monotheism, monotheistic, ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jews, Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of o ...

, musical nusach refers the musical style or tradition of a community, particularly the chant used for recitative prayers such as the

Amidah The ''Amidah'' (, ''Tefilat HaAmidah'', 'The Standing Prayer'), also called the ''Shemoneh Esreh'' ( 'eighteen'), is the central prayer of Jewish liturgy. Observant Jews recite the ''Amidah'' during each of the three services prayed on week ...

. This is distinct from textual nusach, the exact text of the prayer service, which varies somewhat between Jewish communities.

Description

The whole musical style or tradition of a community is sometimes referred to as its ''nusach'', but this term is most often used in connection with the chants used for recitative passages, in particular the

. Many of the passages in the

prayer book A prayer book is a book containing prayers and perhaps devotional readings, for private or communal use, or in some cases, outlining the liturgy of religious services. Books containing mainly orders of religious services, or readings for them are ...

, such as the

and the Psalms, are chanted in a recitative rather than either read in normal speech or sung to a rhythmical tune. The recitatives follow a system of

musical modes In music theory, the term mode or ''modus'' is used in a number of distinct senses, depending on context. Its most common use may be described as a type of Scale (music), musical scale coupled with a set of characteristic melodic and harmonic ...

, somewhat like the

maqam Maqam, makam, maqaam or maqām (plural maqāmāt) may refer to: Musical structures * Arabic maqam, melodic modes in traditional Arabic music ** Iraqi maqam, a genre of Arabic maqam music found in Iraq * Persian maqam, a notion in Persian clas ...

at of Arabic music. For example, Ashkenazi cantorial practice distinguishes a number of '' steiger'' (scales) named after the prayers in which they are most frequently used, such as the ''Adonoi malach steiger'' and the ''Ahavoh rabboh steiger''.

Mizrahi ''Mizrachi'' or ''Mizrahi'' () has two meanings. In the literal Hebrew meaning ''eastern'', it may refer to: * Mizrahi Jews, Jews from the Middle East and North Africa * Mizrahi (surname), a Sephardic surname, given to Jews who got to the Iberia ...

communities such as the

Syrian Jews Syrian Jews ( ''Yehudey Surya'', ''al-Yahūd as-Sūriyyūn'', colloquially called SYs in the United States) are Jews who live in the region of the modern state of Syria, and their descendants born outside Syria. Syrian Jews derive their origin ...

use the full

system. The scales used may vary both with the particular prayer and with the season. For examples, there are often special modes for the

High Holy Days In Judaism, the High Holy Days, also known as High Holidays or Days of Awe (Yamim Noraim; , ''Yāmīm Nōrāʾīm'') consist of: #strictly, the holidays of Rosh Hashanah ("Jewish New Year") and Yom Kippur ("Day of Atonement"); #by extension, th ...

, and in Syrian practice the scale used depends on the Torah reading for the week (see The Weekly Maqam). In some cases the actual melodies are fixed, while in others the reader has freedom of improvisation.

Musical modes

Jewish liturgical music is characterized by a set of musical

modes Mode ( meaning "manner, tune, measure, due measure, rhythm, melody") may refer to: Arts and entertainment * MO''D''E (magazine), a defunct U.S. women's fashion magazine * ''Mode'' magazine, a fictional fashion magazine which is the setting fo ...

. The prayer modes form part of what is known as the musical ''nusach'' (tradition) of a community, and serve both to identify different types of prayer and to link those prayers to the time of year or even time of day in which they are set. Various Jewish traditions developed their own modal systems, such as the maqamat of the Middle Eastern Jewish communities. The modes discussed in this article are specific to the traditions of Eastern European (Ashkenazi) Jewish Communities. There are three main modes, as well as a number of combined or compound modes. The three main modes are called Ahavah Rabbah, Magein Avot and Adonai Malach. Traditionally, the cantor (''

hazzan A ''hazzan'' (; , lit. Hazan) or ''chazzan'' (, plural ; ; ) is a Jewish musician or precentor trained in the vocal arts who leads the congregation in songful prayer. In English, this prayer leader is often referred to as a cantor, a term al ...

'') improvised sung prayers within the designated mode, while following a general structure of how each prayer should sound. Over time many of these chants have been written down and standardized, yet the practice of improvisation still exists to this day. Early studies in the history of Jewish Prayer Modes concluded that the musical scales used were based upon ancient Biblical cantillation, but modern scholarship has questioned the validity of these findings.

Ahavah Rabbah mode

The Ahavah Rabbah mode – sometimes referred to as Freygish ( Phrygian dominant) – is named after the blessing that immediately precedes the Sh'ma in the morning service. This blessing begins with the words Ahavah Rabbah (literally: great love), and describes how God's love for Israel is manifest through God's revelation of

Torah The Torah ( , "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. The Torah is also known as the Pentateuch () ...

. Musically, Ahavah Rabbah is considered to be the most Jewish-sounding of all the prayer modes, because of the interval of a flattened second, creating an

augmented second In Western classical music, an augmented second is an interval created by widening a major second by a chromatic semitone, spanning three semitones and enharmonically equivalent to a minor third in 12-tone equal temperament.Benward & Saker (2 ...

interval between the second and third scale degrees. This mode is used in the beginning of the weekday evening service through the Chatzi Kaddish, a large portion of the weekday morning service, parts of the Shabbat morning service, and occasionally on the

High Holidays In Judaism, the High Holy Days, also known as High Holidays or Days of Awe (Yamim Noraim; , ''Yāmīm Nōrāʾīm'') consist of: #strictly, the holidays of Rosh Hashanah ("Jewish New Year") and Yom Kippur ("Day of Atonement"); #by extension, th ...

. The Ahavah Rabbah mode is also used in many Jewish folk songs, such as "

Hava Nagila "Hava Nagila" (, ''Hāvā Nāgīlā'', "Let us rejoice") is a Jewish folk song. It is traditionally sung at celebrations, such as weddings, Bar and bat mitzvahs, and other Jewish holidays among the Jewish community. Written in 1918, it quickly ...

", and popular liturgical melodies, such as "Yismechu". It is similar to the

Arabic maqam In traditional Arabic music, maqam (, literally "ascent"; ') is the system of melodic modes, which is mainly melodic. The word ''maqam'' in Arabic means place, location or position. The Arabic ''maqam'' is a melody type. It is "a technique ...

Hijaz Hejaz is a historical region of the Arabian Peninsula that includes the majority of the western region of Saudi Arabia, covering the cities of Mecca, Medina, Jeddah, Tabuk, Yanbu, Taif and Al-Bahah. It is thus known as the "Western Province ...

, but whereas the dominant of Hijaz is on the fourth degree, Ahavah Rabbah strongly favors the third.

Ukrainian Dorian mode

The Ukrainian Dorian mode (also known as Mi sheberach mode) is a combined scale built upon the seventh degree of the Ahavah Rabbah scale. It is also closely related to the Magein Avot mode, in that a pre-concluding phrase in Ukrainian Dorian can cadence on its

supertonic In music, the supertonic is the second degree () of a diatonic scale, one whole step above the tonic. In the movable do solfège system, the supertonic note is sung as ''re''. The triad built on the supertonic note is called the supertonic ...

, which is the 5th degree of the relative Magein Avot scale. This happens quite often in the nusach for the Three Festivals. It is similar to the

Nikriz.

Magein Avot mode

The Magein Avot (literally: Shield of our Fathers) mode takes its name from a paragraph in the Me'ein Sheva prayer, which directly follows the

in the Friday evening service. Musically, it most closely resembles a

minor scale In Classical_music, Western classical music theory, the minor scale refers to three Scale (music), scale patterns – the natural minor scale (or Aeolian mode), the harmonic minor scale, and the melodic minor scale (ascending or descending). ...

from the Western classical music tradition or the

Nahawand. It is used in simple

davening Jewish prayer (, ; plural ; , plural ; Yinglish: davening from Yiddish 'pray') is the prayer recitation that forms part of the observance of Rabbinic Judaism. These prayers, often with instructions and commentary, are found in the '' ...

, or prayer chant, often by means of a single recitation tone, which the cantor uses to cover a large amount of liturgical text in a quickly-flowing style. The simplicity of both the mode and the chanting associated with it is meant to reflect the peaceful atmosphere of

Shabbat Shabbat (, , or ; , , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazi Hebrew, Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the seven-day week, week—i.e., Friday prayer, Friday–Saturday. On this day, religious Jews ...

. When chanting in the Magein Avot mode, it is common for the cantor to pivot into the

relative major In music, 'relative keys' are the major and minor scales that have the same key signatures (enharmonically equivalent), meaning that they share all of the same notes but are arranged in a different order of whole steps and half steps. A pair of m ...

at certain liturgical points, often to highlight a particular line of text. It is this use of the relative major, in concert with Magein Avot, that distinguishes the mode from a regular

. In addition to Shabbat evening, the Magein Avot mode is also prominent for the opening blessings of the weekday morning and afternoon services.

Yishtabach mode

The Yishtabach mode is a variant of the Magein Avot scale that flattens the second scale degree. This scale resembles the Western Phrygian scale or the Arabic maqam Kurd.

Adonai (HaShem) Malach mode

The Adonai malach (literally: God Reigns) mode consists of a major scale with a lowered (minor) seventh and tenth. This mode has a majestic feel to it and is used for a number of services that require a grand atmosphere. Traditionally, it is used for psalms 95–99 in Kabbalat Shabbat,

Lekhah Dodi Lekha Dodi () is a Hebrew-language Jewish liturgical song recited Friday at dusk, usually at sundown, in synagogue to welcome the Sabbath prior to the evening services. It is part of Kabbalat Shabbat. The refrain of ''Lekha Dodi'' means "Let ...

Kabbalat Shabbat Jewish prayer (, ; plural ; , plural ; Yinglish: davening from Yiddish 'pray') is the prayer recitation that forms part of the observance of Rabbinic Judaism. These prayers, often with instructions and commentary, are found in the '' ...

, and the Friday night

Kiddush Kiddush (; ), , is a blessing recited over wine or grape juice to sanctify the Shabbat and Jewish holidays. Additionally, the word refers to a small repast held on Shabbat or festival mornings after the prayer services and before the meal. S ...

. On Shabbat morning it is used for the Avot and G'vurot, during the Torah service, and on

Rosh Chodesh In Judaism, Rosh Chodesh or Rosh Hodesh (; trans. ''Beginning of the Month''; lit. ''Head of the Month'') is a minor holiday observed at the beginning of every month in the Hebrew calendar, marked by the birth of a new moon. Rosh Chodesh is obs ...

when blessing the new month. Adonai Malach mode is also used at various times during the

when a majestic quality is required, such as the

Shofar A shofar ( ; from , ) is an ancient musical horn, typically a ram's horn, used for Jewish ritual purposes. Like the modern bugle, the shofar lacks pitch-altering devices, with all pitch control done by varying the player's embouchure. The ...

service, and parts of the

. In High Holiday contexts, the seventh and tenth degrees are often raised, causing the mode to strongly resemble the classical

major scale The major scale (or Ionian mode) is one of the most commonly used musical scales, especially in Western music. It is one of the diatonic scales. Like many musical scales, it is made up of seven notes: the eighth duplicates the first at doubl ...

. "Adonai malakh" ("God is King"), a line from

Psalm 93 Psalm 93 is the 93rd psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "The LORD reigneth, he is clothed with majesty". The Latin wording is Dominus regnavit, decorem indutus est.

, is set using the Adonai malakh scale at the close of the introduction to the ''

Kabalat Shabat Jewish prayer (, ; plural ; , plural ; Yinglish: davening from Yiddish 'pray') is the prayer recitation that forms part of the observance of Rabbinic Judaism. These prayers, often with instructions and commentary, are found in the '' ...

'' (Friday evening synagogue service). It adds flats as it goes higher, and its pitch set is similar to the Persian

Dastgāh-e Māhur Dastgāh-e Māhūr or Dastgaah-e Maahur (; ) is one of the seven ''Dastgāh''s of Persian Music (Classically, Persian Music is organized into seven ''Dastgāhs'' and five '' Āvāz''es, however from a merely technical point of view, one can conside ...

and Russian Obikhod scale.

Maneuvers

Maneuvers are used within prayer chants in order to change the mood and mode during prayer. There are a few characteristic moves that cantors tend to use in order to modulate through various modes. Two of the most common maneuvers are the Yishtabach maneuver and the Sim Shalom maneuver.

Yishtabach maneuver

The Yishtabach maneuver moves from Magein Avot to Adonai Malach on the 4th degree of the scale. It then moves through Ukrainian Dorian and back to Magein Avot. This maneuver helps to highlight the grandeur of the proclamation of God's name that occurs in the final blessing of the Shabbat morning service.

Sim Shalom maneuver

The Sim Shalom maneuver, which is named after the

Sim Shalom Sim Shalom (; "Grant Peace") is a blessing that is recited at the end of the morning Amidah and the Mincha Amidah during fast days in the Ashkenazic tradition, and on mincha of the Sabbath in the Western Ashkenazic rite and most communities in Is ...

prayer, in which it often occurs, begins in Ahavah Rabbah, and modulates to the major key on the fourth degree of the scale. It also uses Ukrainian Dorian as a shift back to the original Ahavah Rabbah.Cohon, 91

References

Works cited

* Cohon, Baruch Joseph. "The Structure of Synagogue Prayer Chant." ''Journal of the American Musicological Society'' 3, no. 1, 17–32, 1950.