Jewish Music — What’s “Mi-Sinai?”: Judaism Unbound Episode 505 - Mark Kligman
Frequently you might hear someone claim that a particular Jewish melody is "mi-Sinai" (literally: "from Mount Sinai," implying "dating back to when Moses received the 10 commandments at Mount Sinai")? Mark Kligman, an ethnomusicologist who directs The Lowell Milken Center for Music of American Jewish Experience, joins Dan and Lex to explore what this term illustrates. In doing so, they explore why "Jewish music" is such a challenging word to define -- along with what Jewish music does for people's lives. This episode is the third in an ongoing mini-series of Judaism Unbound episodes mobilizing Jewish music -- past, present, and future -- as a launching point into conversations about contemporary Jewish life and experience.
[1] Learn more about Mark Kligman via this link, and check out the work of the Milken Center for Music of American Jewish Experience at MilkenJewishMusicCenter.SchoolOfMusic.Ucla.edu.
[2] Kligman alludes to the influence of Clifford Geertz on the field of ethnomusicology. Explore his ideas via The Interpretation of Cultures: Selected Essays by Clifford Geertz.
[3] B’nai Jeshurun, a congregation in New York City, is a community that Kligman studied — and referenced in this episode. For more from Kligman on what he found when studying B’nai Jeshurun (in partnership with another scholar, Ayala Fader), click here.
[4] For more on the Freygish musical mode (also known as Ahava Raba mode), see this piece from Sarah Riskind, entitled “What Makes Music Sound Jewish?”
[5] Learn about A.Z. Idelsohn, often seen as a father of Jewish ethnomusicology, here.
[6] Kligman mentions a concert series organized by his organization entitled “Music and Justice,” featuring Dave Brubeck, and diving into issues of race and social justice in contemporary society. Explore this initiative further via this link.
[7] Kligman, and then Lex, each reference the music of Ofra Haza — learn more about her via this piece in Kveller, written by Lior Zaltzman.