In the Bible, music played a pivotal role in Jewish worship. After the destruction of the Temple in 70 A.D., instrumental music was banned from all religious services.

 In the 19th century, Reform Judaism began to return music to its religious services. While it was slow in catching on, today music has returned to our services. This blog will address all aspects of Jewish music, as well as the role of the Cantor in today's world.

Formal Jewish music actually began around the 9th Century when it was decreed that all public reading of the Torah (the Five Books of Moses) be chanted, rather than merely read.

Music, both vocal and instrumental, were staples in the ancient Temple in Jerusalem. We know this from various souces. A reading of the 150th Psalm gives us a glimpse of the instrumentation in the time of King David.

We read about the trumpet, harp, lyre, drums, flute, strings and cymbals. We also know King David was renowned for his lyre-playing, and many of the Psalms attributed to him were probably composed as music.

Jewish music continued through the 15th Century as solo chanting, performed by cantors, many of whom traveled from community to community. This trend was to change when the Reform movement began in Germany in the 19th Century.

The next entry will trace the reintroduction of music to Jewish services.