singing sacred music

[cellio]

In response to my last entry, I've received a few questions:

Do you think it constitutes observance to sing Christian music? If so, how do you feel about Christians singing/playing music of the Judaic tradition?

Also, at what point did you start feeling uncomfortable about singing Christian music? Did you ever discuss this with your rabbi?

These questions deserve an answer that isn't buried in comments. (And anyway, it may get too long for that. Err, who am I kidding -- it will get too long for that. :-) )

I think that singing sacred music can constitute observance for some people, and that it can also constitute the appearance of observance. These are serious issues. (Yes, even the appearance of wrong-doing is a problem in Judaism. It's called marit ayin.)

First, let me address why actually participating in Christian worship would be problematic for an observant Jew. (Feel free to skip this paragraph and the next if you know this or might be offended.) Judaism takes a dim view of avodah zarah, alien worship, which is usually understood to mean worship of other gods. But wait, you may say, don't we all worship the same god? Well no, not really. Christianity, in general, teaches a tri-part god, including a human part; Judaism teaches a single god (a cornerstone of our religion) and most definitely not a human being. In addition, the Catholic treatment of Mary and the saints has a lot in common with the idolatry that is forbidden. And then, of course, there is the issue of condoning in any way a religion that holds that it legitimately displaces ours. (Yeah, yeah, Nostra Aetate -- but that only covers Catholic doctrine, not other forms of Christianity or what Christian lay people believe.)

So what's the big deal about that? It's not like you actually believe; you're just showing respect by bowing for their worship and saying amein to their prayers, right? The problem is that idolatry is a very, very big deal in Judaism; it is one of only three sins which we are commanded to avoid even if it means death. If someone points a gun at me and says "eat this ham and cheese sandwich or I'll blow your head off", I eat the sandwich. If he instead says "commit idolatry", Judaism demands that I decline to do so. (I may, of course, try to run for it or fight him off, but I have to be prepared to lose. I have no idea if I could actually do this if put to the test; I hope to never find out.) This is why so many Jews throughout history died rather than converting to Christianity (or, less frequently, Islam) at the point of a sword. It matters.

(If you skipped ahead, you can come back now.)

So, is music worship? The real question there is: do words matter, or are they just pretty sounds? The answer here, in my opinion, is "maybe". Let's break it down.

Certainly it would be wrong to sing in a church choir; the context provides an implied meaning. At the other extreme, it would probably not be wrong to sit around in the living room with Jewish friends and sing Christmas carols over Chinese food on December 25, because the context there is relevant too. (It could be "greatest hits night"; after hearing nothing but that in public places for six weeks, it might be hard to avoid. :-) ) Somewhere in the middle there is a context that is sufficiently ambiguous that it has to be considered. For example, an SF con I attend has the tradition of the midnight singing of the Hallelujah Chorus around the swimming pool; this is all about music geeks appreciating the accoustics, and I participated as a gentile even though I wasn't a Christian, but I am uncomfortable participating now. I'll listen to my friends, though.

I believe that words have meaning. I might consider saying Christian words in a context where it was clearly not me talking, like in a theatrical production put on by the JCC (where there just happened to be a Christian character), but in general, I try to be mindful of the ambiguity between really-Monica and Monica-pretending-to-be-someone-else. In addition, I don't want a goof on my part to send the wrong message. You know the "common carrier" argument, that (say) your ISP is not implicated in fraud you commit by email because it doesn't filter or monitor the stream? It's something similar with non-Jewish religion for me; if I decline to participate in all of it, then no one can read anything into a particular case. As soon as I start filtering I'm responsible for all of it, including mistakes because I forgot that the second verse of that innocent-sounding song wasn't so innocent until it was too late. And no, standing there silently in the midst of the choir isn't much of an option because of marit ayin; if I'm there, I'm functionally participating.

I also believe that these restrictions apply more to me than to many other Jews, because I am a convert from (nominal) Christianity. There are issues of both habit and appearance here; it would be much easier for me to fall into accidental Christian worship than for someone who never participated, and I have to be concerned about the appearance of recanting. I do not have a lifetime of Jewish habit to reinforce my behavior. Life-long Jews will do things, or refrain from doing things, purely out of habit that I may have to think about.

I once got a lot of flack from a (Jewish, assimilated, unobservant) choir director over my refusal to sing Christmas songs. This person comes from the "it's just music" camp. If this were the only music out there worth singing, that might be different -- but there's plenty out there I can sing that isn't problematic, even though some of the problematic stuff is pretty, so why invite trouble? Sure, I miss certain music, but I miss bacon too -- that doesn't mean I'm going to loosen the dietary laws for old times' sake.

I've actually been uncomfortable singing Christian music for a while because of my non-belief, but it came to a head when "not believing that" turned into "believing not that". I remember an SCA competition 15 years ago where I wanted to sing music of a particular era and I had to hunt a bit before finding a song that "only" talked about a saint, because I just couldn't bring myself to sing a hymn to Jesus or Mary in a context where I didn't have to sing at all. So that aversion has been around for a while, though it's obviously grown stronger in recent years.

Y'know, I don't think I've discussed it with my rabbi in more than general terms, though I suspect that I wrote about it in the journal I was keeping for him during my studies. It might make for an interesting topic of conversation with him.

Ok, now what about Christians singing Jewish music? I hadn't given the question a lot of thought before you asked, because I'm much more concerned with my own behavior than that of others, but it's an interesting question. Thank you for raising it.

I think it depends on the song and, again, the context. I would certainly have a problem with a Christian subverting Jewish music for the purposes of Christian worship, the way the so-called "Jews for Jesus" sometimes do. Adding a layer of Christian interpretation, or singing in a context where the listener will naturally apply that interpretation, would be an issue.

But if a random performer wanted to sing Jewish music in a secular setting, in most cases I wouldn't see a problem with it if he doesn't. Heck, I've helped non-Jewish members of my own singing groups to do exactly that. (Two Solomon Rossi pieces, Psalm 146 and Hashkiveinu, and my own setting of the opening of Ashrei, which is from a psalm.) I would twitch if the non-Jew were singing text that is reserved for Jews, such as any blessing including the phrase "who has commanded us", but for most Jewish music that isn't an issue. (By the way, I felt the same way when I was on the other side; I'd been to a few Pesach seders but I twitched if reading about how "we" were taken out of slavery because they didn't mean me.)

As I said, I'm much more concerned with what comes out of my mouth than what comes out of others' mouths. If the other person is being respectful and not subversive, and not claiming a status not his, most of the time it's not going to be a problem.

Comments

[sir-graeme.livejournal.com]

Hey -- directed here from the JBC community. I just wanted to thank you for sharing these insightful words.

[cellio]

Thanks for the compliment!