Shabbat Talmud Study: Spiritual Notifications

with Rav Hazzan Aliza Berger

To live in the modern world is to live in a world filled with audio notifications. Our days are punctuated by pinging phones, email notifications, buzzing texts, honking horns, and human sounds which alert us to information which is available to us and provide us with opportunities to connect. We are good at deciphering each of these aural cues, but we aren’t always so adept at deciphering the aural cues of our tradition.

Have you ever wondered why we chant Torah to specific melodies? Why prayers sound a certain way in certain seasons?

Our ancestors created a musical system of notifications that help us to arrive in the moment-to be alive to the spiritual potential of our texts and traditions. There are places in the Torah where the music creates jokes, places where the music highlights the plot or uncovers secret meanings.

Join me this week as we explore the sound notifications of our tradition. We’ll focus on two fabulous stories and I’ll show you how understanding the mechanics of the music transforms our understanding of the text.

See you at 8:30!