Intangible Power of Music

A holy melody has the power to bring one to the level of prophecy. Music is the foundation of true attachment to God. (Rebbe Nachman of Breslov)


Today, I had an epiphany of sorts. Well, not really, just more of a feeling, about the power music has over us. First of all, I must mention: I L-O-V-E music. It can be (almost) any genre. When I turn on the music, there's an almost immediate connection to my soul. I can't really explain it. Some songs go deeper than others, but all leave their mark. [With the exception of rap, hip hop and most pop which I will admit, with somewhat reddened cheeks, that I did like at one point during my journey of life].
So...ever experience that feeling when you turn on the radio/ipod/CD/etc and all of a sudden you're transported?! I happen to get this feeling a lot. [no, it is not drug induced] The other day, it just made such a profound impact on me. I happened to have been having one of those really yuck, bad days. Everything upset me. I pushed the play button and some instrumental guitar piece came on. There weren't even any words, the artist didn't even have to tell me how to feel with his lyrics. The music did all the talking. I closed my eyes and let my being experience the music and suddenly my face broke out in a smile and I felt like some weight was lifted off my shoulders. [Mind you, I was driving, so I had to make sure I was somewhat grounded, unfortunately for my experience, but fortunately for my fellow drivers] When I landed back on earth I started pondering: what is it about music that allows it to connect so deeply to our neshama, soul, and take us to such great places [it also can take us to not such great places which is why we need to be very careful with what we listen to] and move us is such deeply spiritual ways....

Judaism is no stranger to song. It is all over the Torah- Shiras haYam (there are 2), the song of Haazinu, Shiras Dvora. In shacharis davening we have a whole slew of songs we sing, which are conveniently termed: פסוקי דזמרה = passages of song. Those of us who have had experiences with chassidus know that music is a fairly central part of the movement. There is almost always a tisch with singing on Friday nights in addition to nights of certain holidays and other major events in the Jewish calendar. It is simple; like English or Hebrew or French or Portuguese is the language of the mind and body, music is the language of the soul. It is why when, in the Torah, there was a major event (splitting of the sea, overcoming a threatening enemy), כלל ישראל burst into song. It's why when we feel particularly good or bad about something, we express it in song. And it is why, when I was having a bad day and my neshama was so badly hurting, the only thing to pull me out of it was song.

I really prefer not to go on a rant about English vs. Jewish music. I will say that the thoughts and feelings of composers and songwriters are tightly woven into each song they write, and therefore, we as guardians of our neshamos, must be careful with what we listen to. What we let enter our ears, also then enters our souls...  I will also say that for me it makes a HUGE difference whether the song was composed by the person singing it or composed by someone else and the guy with the good voice was told to sing the song. There is a profound difference in the effect a song has when it is sung by the composer as a tefilla, prayer, versus when it is just sung by someone with little to no connection to the actual composition.


Sons and Daughters of the King, turn up the volume, and let your souls flyyyy



p.s.  I will not get into specifics of artists here. For artists I enjoy you can email me...  I do not necessarily have a problem with all Engish/secular music and I am frum and still (what?!) listen to select artists of the secular music industry.