It is about Music and Spirituality - awesome right?  Specifically, it discusses:

• The power of the intuitive experience in music
• The obvious but never discussed link between music, drugs, and spirituality
• The even more obvious but never discussed link between music, sex, and spirituality
• The power of vocal music and its ability to create relationships - both real and imagined
• Music as a tool in meditation and self-abandon
• Music and prayer
• Music, joy, and the power of growth
• Music as a universal language

I am now raising funds to cover the publishing costs (like editing, typesetting, layout, cover, printing, PR, and other fun stuff).  Visit the site I set up for the book to learn more and get involved: Vechulai.org.

And because Vechulai is a registered 501(c)3 organization, your contributions are tax deductible.  Nice.

Get involved today and thanks.

The best source I found is from Rabbi Shmuel Stern, in Shir Bina – his excellent book about Torah and music.  He makes the following disclaimer before his chapter about musical scales and Kabbalah:

“This entire book was written after much thought and analysis, nevertheless this section [about scales, other concepts in music theory, and Kabbalah] is only conjecture. That is because there is no source from the Sages to rely upon.  Due to our sins, our wisdom and understanding has been lost.  It has been exiled from us [and given] to the nations of the world.”

In other words, you can learn many cool ideas and parallels between the seven-note scale and Kabbalah, but they are only that – cool ideas.  They are not rooted in the older classical sources.

Rabbi Stern clarifies further: “The musical scale has seven notes [per octave] and we consider it to have seven levels. But this does not apply to Mizrachi music.  Mizrachi music is based on much smaller divisions [of the octave].”

I.e. the seven-note scale is a Western idea.  It is not a universal musical truth.

There is a lot of amazing Torah – particularly from Hasidic Rabbis – based on the idea of a seven-note scale.  The Hasidic movement started during the Baroque period.  By that time the seven-note scale and the modern concept of key were firmly established in Western music.   Similar to Rabbi Stern in Shir Bina, it is best to say that the Hasidic Rabbis were discussing interesting ideas based on the music of their day.

A few people mentioned that the GRA stated there would be an eighth note in the Messianic era.  (The Art Scroll Siddur makes a similar point in its commentary on Kabbalos Shabbos.)  See my last post about the Talmud in Arachin 13B where I discuss this in more depth.
There are many parallels between Western music and Jewish thought.  These ideas aren’t universal, but they are still very interesting.

The Talmud in Arachin page 13B presents what you might think is evidence that the Sages had a seven-note scale.

The Mishna states that a Levi, if he is still a child, may sing in the Temple but may not play the kinor or nevel.  (The kinor and nevel are musical instruments.  The kinor is a type of stringed instrument.  The nevel is probably a wind instrument.)

The Talmud presents an argument that Rebbe Yehuda – one of the principle Rabbis from the Mishniac period – considers the kinor and nevel the same instrument.  If that is true, then the Mishna is inconsistent with Rebbe Yehuda’s opinion (and that is a big problem based on the way the Talmud understands its sources).

The possible inconsistency is based on a Baraisa (a contemporary source from the same time period as the Mishna).  The Baraisa states that the kinor had 7 strings in the Temple.  It will have 8 strings in the Messianic era.  And it will have 10 strings in the World to Come.  The Baraisa brings verses to support each level.  The verse supporting the idea of 10 strings calls the instrument a nevel (and hence the reason to consider the kinor and nevel the same instrument).

Before I tell you the Talmud’s answer, there are two ways to learn the Baraisa.

#1 – The 7 strings on the kinor could be the Talmud way of stating that the musical system the Sages favored was based on a seven-note scale.  In the Messianic era our perception of harmony will change and the new scale will be based on 8 notes (the same being true for the 10-note scale in the World to Come).

#2 – Or the Baraisa could be referring to timbre (the acoustical properties of the particular instruments).  The additional strings added to the kinor would reflect a change in the timbre of the instrument.  It would not reflect any change in the harmonic system.

Unfortunately, if you are looking for a reference for a seven-note scale in traditional Jewish sources, you won’t find it here.

The Talmud answers that indeed the Mishna can also work according to the opinion Rebbe Yehuda.  The kinor will have 10 strings in the World to Come.  And because of the rich tone of the 10-string kinor, the verse calls the kinor a nevel.  But it is not a nevel.  It is a kinor (and therefore even Rebbe Yehuda considers them different instruments).

Point #1 – the Baraisa is clearly talking about timbre.  The kinor is called a nevel because of its enhanced acoustical properties.  The name change and additional strings have nothing to do with scales or harmony.

Point #2 – notice that only the kinor is changed (additional strings are added) – the nevel is not.  It is still the same nevel.  The kinor is called a nevel because it has a bigger sound.  But the kinor is compared to the same nevel from nowadays.  Obviously, the sound of the kinor has changed.  But our perception of harmony and sound has not.

And based on this, we still have no idea how many notes were in the scale used in traditional Judaism.

You will see a lot of discussions about the number seven.  Seven days in the week.  Seven colors in the rainbow.  And seven notes in the musical scale.

The problem is that the seven-note musical scale is highly subjective.  It is not a universal.  To my knowledge, it does not exist in most cultures.

The seven-note scale is a Western invention.  It is found primarily in European classical music.  Although the concept of a diatonic scale has been around since the time of the Greeks, the modern concept of key is only a few hundred years old.  And even within Western music, Western folk music – particularly the blues, jazz, and rock – contain notes not found in the classical seven-note scale.  (The famous blue note – you probably sing it all the time – isn’t on your piano.)

The octave is universal and found in most music around the world.  How you divide the octave into a scale varies from culture to culture.  There may be a scientific basis for the seven-note scale (based on the harmonic series), but it isn’t used in most cultures.  I doubt that music based on the seven-note major and minor scales was sung in the Temple.

I am not aware of any statements by Chazal in regards to a seven-note scale.  I don’t believe it is in the Zohar either.  The statements I have seen and heard about the seven-note scale have been exclusively from Ashkenazi rabbanim.  I have not seen similar statements from Sephardi rabbanim.  And that makes sense.  Sephardim come from a world that does not use a seven-note scale.

That said, discussions about a seven-note scale in Kabbalah are nice, but they probably aren’t emes.

If someone has heard or seen evidence contradicting what I said – I would love to see it.  I would be thrilled to learn that Chazal had a seven-note scale.  If the Jewish idea of music includes a seven-note scale, then although it is subjective, it is consistent and part of a system.  And that works.  But I need a source.

It is a cool building and it is black.  Black is cool.  But it isn’t that tall.  Yes, I know the stats.  I know that it is supposed to be the tallest building in America.

But it isn’t.

Stand next to the Empire State Building.  The Empire State feels taller.  And it dominates the skyline in a way that the Sears Tower doesn’t.  I used to get the same vibes from the Twin Towers – they felt tall, too.  And they also dominated the Manhattan skyline.

But not the Sears Tower.  The Sears Tower is just another big building.  Some people have a theory that it looks short because it is black.  If it were white it would look bigger.  Maybe.

But I don’t buy it.

I think it is a Chicago-style scam – similar to their dirty politics – to get recognition for their city.

Sorry Chicago – but cut it out.  Admit that the Empire State Building is taller.  And feel good about yourselves.  Chicago is a cool place.  It has a lot to offer.  You don’t have to lie about your buildings to get people to love you.

Click here to see the list of places who booked me.

Epiphany!  Someone commented on a More Torah blog post about Shwarma.  Here is an excerpt:

I always feel so sorry for the Jews who lost so much of their own culture and culinary traditions throughout their 2000 year exile that in modern times they had to resort to copying arabs and other middle eastern cultures in order to even begin to have anything like native cuisine in Israel.

You can read the whole thing, I can’t tell if it is anti-Semitic, political, whatever, or both.  But that isn’t the point.  The bottom line is that the opinion about Shwarma is somewhat correct.  Ultimately shwarma is a Jewish adaptation of non-Jewish Middle Eastern food.  It is the food equivalent of Yiddish or Klezmer.  And that is cool.  But there is an exclusively Jewish food.

Chulent.

Yikes.  Why promote a hybrid?  Promote a Jewish original.

This Shabbos I had three different Chulents.  I had one Friday night, one at Kiddush on Shabbos morning, and a third at Shabbos lunch.  I am a changed man.  True, I nearly OC-ed (over chulented).  True, I am a lot heavier today.  And true, my stomach is rumbling.  But that is all part of the beauty of chulent.

Chulent is a Jewish original.  It is pasty.  It is love.

Maybe it is the new Shwarma.

First encounter: I was starving by the time I got to my hotel.  I was told to visit Nagila.   Nagila is really two places.  The left side is dairy and the right side is meat.  I went to the right.  I ordered shwarma.  It was good.  It makes sense that the shwarma was good. LA is a major city.  It has a large Jewish population.  It attracts a large number of Israelis.  It obviously has a decent shwarma joint.  I was pleased because my shwarma experience was authentic – French fries were stuffed in the sandwich (not as a side dish), and no silly American gimmicks like lettuce.  It was good, not very messy – it was wrapped in a type of wax paper and held together with a piece of masking tape! (I have never seen that before) – and it didn’t sit in my stomach like a lump.  If you are in LA and need shwarma, I recommend Nagila.

Next: I ate three times at Jeff’s Gourmet Sausage.  What a treat.  Allan was the first person to take me there.  I decided to eat light because I had a second dinner planned for later that night.  I ordered the Smoked Chicken and Apple Sausage.  It was good although it was basically just a fancy hot dog – I was expecting more.  Someone had hyped it and I was expecting my mouth to do back flips.  But don’t get me wrong – it was tasty.  I also ate most of Allan’s BBQ wings.  The wings were served with a white Ranch Sauce.  It tasted like treif – wow – very good.

Later that night I went out with my Persian posse.  We started late and most of the restaurants were closed, so we went back to Jeff’s.  I ordered the spicy wings (different from the BBQ wings, which were more tangy).  Wow!  And you should know – I am not a wings guy.  I don’t usually order wings or go out my way to find them.  But these were good.  Hot.  Spicy.  Tasted like treif.  And they were messy!  I had to wash my hands and face before I could talk to anyone.

The next day I had a meeting in Beverly Hills.  We ordered lunch from Pat’s.  I had a salmon salad.  After all the wings, sausage, and shwarma I wanted light.  The salad came with mango, funky dressing, and an awesome chunk of grilled salmon.

I was busy the rest of the day (I didn’t only eat in LA). Late that night I went back to Jeff’s and got a Pastrami Burger.  Jeff’s was three-for-three.  The burger was great.  I didn’t waste my time eating French fries – and this is a good thing – I wasn’t so stuffed that I couldn’t move.

LA was a great trip and I want to express my sincerest thanks to the cows that gave their lives in order to make my experience worthwhile.