Cantorial classes are “moving along”. I performed the entire Friday night service for my instructor last week. While there are still some “adjustments” to be made and some performance enhancements to be added, we have moved on to the Saturday morning service. I am still amazed that (a) I am here in the first place and (b) there is SO much to learn.

By way of explanation, there are several factors that go into each piece. These include but are not limited to (I apologize for the formatting below, but have not figured out how to make indents work properly yet and it is 12:18 AM):

Whether the congregation will sing along or not
…The primary impact here is whether cantorial “embellishments” will be used and the speed at which the piece is sung
…Must also take into account any “congregational” melodies
…How long has it been since a new melody for this particular piece was used (you have to throw in some variation once in a while so the congregation doesn’t get too “bored”)

The day of the week and time that the piece will be sung
…Sunday morning through Friday afternoon are “mundane” days
…Friday night has special melodies to usher in the Sabbath
…Saturday morning and early afternoon have special melodies for the Sabbath Day (these are different melodies than those used on other days or on Friday night even when the piece is the same)

If it is a holiday or not and, if so, which one and is it also Shabbat and is it also Rosh Chodesh (the beginning of a new month)
…If it is a weekday and not a holiday then simple melodies will be used
…If it is Shabbat then more melodious tunes are used

If it is a holiday during the week then different tunes are used, depending on which holiday it is.
…If it is a holiday on Shabbat then there are different melodies for the Shabbat pieces and for the holiday pieces
…If it is Rosh Chodesh there are special prayers added

Is there a special event occurring that day (a wedding, baby naming, etcetera)
…While most prayers will use the melodies for whichever day is appropriate, there are some that may be switched out to different melodies that reflect the mood of the event
…An example of this is a more lively tune if there is an impending wedding and the groom is being called to the Torah to recite a blessing

The meaning of each word in the piece
…This will impact which words have an emphasis and the modality of the intonation
………For example, in one of the early prayers on Shabbat we sing the Hebrew for “He who dwells forever, exalted and holy is His Name.” The word meaning forever should NOT be sung quickly, but is instead elongated to go along with the meaning. The word meaning exalted should not be sung with a note that is lower than the previous word, but should go up to vocally represent exaltation. The word meaning His Name should be exaggerated to give it the importance it deserves.

There is more, but I think that begins to make clear to some degree why cantorial singing is referred to as an art. There is much more to it that I initially thought, and I have only scratched the surface and put down some of the more basic things.

All things considered I am totally enjoying this learning experience and look forward to the day when I will be able to perform some of what I have learned for my family and friends and for my congregation.

I did my first bit of traveling on Friday, going to Tel Aviv. It is about a 50-minute drive, depending on traffic. The terrain is hilly for the first half of the trip and then flattens out as you approach the coastal plain. I was not able to get any pictures of this (that were worth posting) due to the overcast sky. It actually rained for the first time since I have been here!

Things did clear up a little while in Tel Aviv, but not for long. I was able to snap a couple pictures on Menachem Begin before it started to pour in Tel Aviv as well, and have posted them below. The second shot, taken from the bridge that I was on, shows a building that just had one of those shapes that says “take a picture of me because I am so odd”. It looks like a cartoon spaceship to me.

I hope to take more pictures the next time I go there, whenever that is.