Stop Singing in Synagogue

Singing stifles the “still small voice” (1 Kings 19: 11-13), and there’s no greater purpose in all Judaism than to hear and obey this voice of God. Moses went away from the camp to hear It without distraction (Exodus 33: 7-11). Jesus did the same (Luke 5:16; Mark 1:35), and Jesus taught prayer as a quiet, solitary, endeavor (Matt. 6:6). I learned to pray like this as a kid. My teachers called it “the examination of conscience.” I learned to identify my mistakes, repent for my sins, and resolve to be better. Over time I got better, and I learned to stop asking God for favors and informing God on how to run the world. I learned to listen better for God’s instructions on how I could do a better job of living. And, gradually, I found it ever more difficult to do this real praying in synagogue. I had to get away from the pomp and ceremony, out in the woods or on the roads for a long, solitary run. Now, I find synagogue service a total waste of time.

Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel wrote of this problem, which he called “praying by proxy,” where the rabbi or cantor prays on behalf of mindless congregants.  (https://opensiddur.org/miscellanea/pedagogy/the-spirit-of-jewish-prayer-by-abraham-joshua-heschel-1953/). He blamed the thunderous organ for driving all thoughts from congregants’ brains, but I find the choir to be more at fault.

Unlike eyes, ears can’t close, and, in synagogue, they’re regularly assaulted with lyrics that are outdated, idolatrous, or worse. Perhaps Rabbi Akiva could use “Avinu Malkeinu” to good effect. But now every honest Jew knows that true God is neither father nor king. How can you love the true God “with all your heart and all your soul and all your might” (Deut 6:5) while the choir is begging mercy from this false God? A thousand years ago, Jewish vows were coerced. Declaring all vows null and void might have made some sense then. Now it’s ridiculous, and the congregation knows this full well. Marriages and mortgages are not annulled by Kol Nidre. But that doesn’t stop the choir from singing that all vows are annulled (and all Jews untrustworthy as a consequence). The choir doesn’t care one hoot about making sense. Singers care about song not truth, and Kol Nidre is a catchy tune. This power of music to overthrow reason is why Plato banned catchy tunes from the Republic. When, or if, Jews ever decide to love truth, they’ll ban all music from synagogue.

“Heal Us Now” is the song that’s bad enough to make this happen. The lyrics beg, and, then, command God to heal us now of all ills. And the melody is catchier even than Kol Nidre. Once you hear it, you can’t get it out of your mind. It will wake you up at night and prevent you from getting back to sleep. It’s like heroin. Anyone who can hear the “still small voice” knows it’s not God’s job to heal our faults. It’s our job, and begging or commanding God to do our job is futile. And no one is ever healed by singing this song. But that doesn’t stop the choirs. Our job is to “love others as self” (Lev. 19:18 & 19:34) and there’s healing power in that kind of love. But Israelis are not loving now. There’s a viable Plan for Permanent Peace in Palestine on the table and in the Times of Israel blog. And there’s a “still small voice” that says “do it now.”

After destruction of the second temple, rabbis banned music at worship services as a sign of mourning. The cruel and unnecessary destruction of the innocent in Gaza is no less worthy of mourning. I call upon Jews everywhere to silence their synagogues in order to hear the still small voice of God, and, then, to love accordingly.