13/09/2022
Rosh Hashanah Seder among North African Jews
The Rosh Hashanah Night Seder consists of the consumption of symbolic foods - known as simanim (signs) - and the recitation of prayers. This tradition dates back at least 2,000 years and was first celebrated in the communities of the Mediterranean Area …
21/06/2022
Jewish Music in Spain
Article about the historical situation of Jewish Music in Spain, by Jorge Rozemblum, director of Radio Sefarad and Spanish correspondent of the European network of Jewish music …
20/10/2021
The organ in the Jewish tradition
On May 21, 1856, the conference of the French chief rabbis, presided by the chief rabbi of France Salomon Ulmann (1806 - 1865), endorsed the use of the organ in the Consistorial temples. This decision was subject of a lively debate between the holders of Orthodox Judaism and the reformers …
18/02/2021
Esther, a Purim oratorio by the composer Lidarti (1730- ap. 1793)
Rediscovered in 1997, the score of the oratorio Ester (1774) by the composer Cristiano Giuseppe Lidarti is to this day the longest and richest work of all Hebrew art music …
17/02/2021
The Judeo-Portuguese rites in France : Bordeaux, Bayonne, Paris
Engaged in a PhD research work, Hervé Roten studied during seven years the music of the Judeo-Portuguese communities from all sides. He collected precious information, and his thesis that was defended in 1997 gives us the core of it. This work was rewarded by the Zadoc-Kahn Association Award in 1998. …
13/01/2021
Shabbat songs
The Shabbat, the day of rest, is a very important event of Jewish life. And the songs that rhythm this particular day hold a major place, at the synagogue as …
08/10/2020
Thoughts about the sung Torah
Jean-Philippe Amar studies in the University of Paris IV Sorbonne and prepares a PhD on the cantilation of the Thora the Jewish communities of Paris. The reading of the Torah, …
08/09/2020
The Selichot – סליחות
The Selichot are penitential prayers in which the worshipper implores forgiveness to God for the sins committed. This tradition is based on the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy which have been, …
30/07/2020
The attitude of rabbis toward music
There are many testimonies concerning the attitude of rabbis toward music, scattered in the talmudic, midrashic and rabbinic literature.A careful attitude, and sometimes a radical opposition to any musical event, …
30/07/2020
Jewish music in France
This article which is written after Hervé Roten's research presents the Jewish musical practices in France …
