json/Responsa/Acharonim/Kerakh shel Romi/English/Sefaria Community Translation.json

{
    "language": "en",
    "title": "Kerakh shel Romi",
    "versionSource": "https://www.sefaria.org",
    "versionTitle": "Sefaria Community Translation",
    "actualLanguage": "en",
    "languageFamilyName": "english",
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    "direction": "ltr",
    "heTitle": "כרך של רומי",
    "categories": [
        "Responsa",
        "Acharonim"
    ],
    "text": {
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                "And if this nation thinks of this thing as honor, beauty, and submission to its service, on basis of reason or imagination, also the Israeli man who is stuck in that essence or in that image. His desire to honor his God, whose name be blessed forever, may be elevated, thinking it is decreed to tell the Israeli to subdue his heart with music that reminds him of the laws of kings and their wars, or matters of desire and the like. Can a Cushite change his skin (i.e. can one change its own nature)? This is indeed one of the things naturally unavoidable, and if we force it upon the people against their will, saying it's forbidden (which it's not), the holy Israelis suffer and listen to the voice of their teachers.  <br>What will we answer on the day when we are spoken of with disgrace and ridicule by the nations who come to our house of prayer? Those who have neither seen nor heard the tunes of those drinking alcohol at the time of favor and in a sacred place. Doesn't the Scripture state that 'My house shall be called a house of prayer for all people'? Meaning that we must honor it with all kinds of honor, both real and imaginary, so that all nations will always say 'How good are your tents, O Jacob; your dwelling places, O Israel', and for this reason, it is called a house of prayer for all nations. And this is what we learned from RASHB\"S to honor the synagogue even with imaginary honor because of the mockery of the nations, and it is as clear as the sun. And similarly, I saw in the response of Maimonides (Rambam) translated from Arabic, brought in the RADBAZ, concerning the enactment Maimonides made in Egypt to recite a certain prayer loudly without repetition, against the enactment of the Talmud. And he gave several reasons for this enactment, and at the end of his words he wrote that in this way the matter is correct and straight and prevents the inconvenience of elongation and desecration of God's name that spread among the gentiles because they saw the Jews spitting and coughing and talking during their prayers since they witness this continuously and testify about it. This is more correct and appropriate in my opinion due to the reasons I mentioned. And similarly, Rabbi Avraham Hanagid, his son, testified about him, his response was brought there in the RADBAZ and at the beginning of the book Maaseh Rokeach at length, see his words.  <br>You see how great the ridicule of the gentiles is, that because of it Maimonides stood and annulled the enactment of the sages of the Talmud. How much more so we in our case should be very concerned about the mockery of the gentiles coming into our synagogues. In our enactments, besides that we don't oppose any enactment of the sages of the Talmud and not words of tradition and light and heavy words of the scribes, but on the contrary, we beautify and adorn our God's house with both real and imaginary honor, for which reason I am pushed away from our case from what RADBAZ there wrote in that response to push away that enactment he wrote. And about what the rabbi wrote that there's desecration of God's name, nowadays this reason is gone, for we are worse in the eyes of the gentiles in sins, for they consider our prayers heresy and our Torah they say we exchanged it and added and subtracted and many like this with them. And since we are as nothing in their eyes, let us do what we are obligated from the law since we haven't elevated anything, and certainly when the first reason (meaning the elongation of mercies and the laying down on which they were coughing and talking and coughing and spitting) is nullified, this will also be nullified (meaning by the shortening of mercies they won't come to talk in the synagogue and there won't be mockery of the gentiles) this is the opinion of the RADBAZ and everyone straight in his eyes will see how far the case of the RADBAZ from our case.  <br>The first, what we already wrote, that in our case that we are worried about the ridicule of the gentiles, not because of this we nullify anything from the enactment of the sages of the Talmud, but on the contrary, we beautify our synagogues with intelligent things as said. Not so in the case of the RADBAZ. <br>And already, he is saying emphatically that we're disregarded by them. We should do what's required by the law. It turns out that if we are required by the law, then we shouldn’t worry about the non-Jews' ridicule because we're not regarded by them anyway. But that's not the case, and the truth is that we should care. Furthermore, from the words of the Radbaz himself, you learn that if we are regarded in the eyes of the non-Jews under whose wings we seek shelter, it would be right to abolish certain practices because of their ridicule. And as he wrote, we should do what's required by law because they have no upper hand over us. Understand from this that if they did, we wouldn’t do what’s required. It’s clear from his words. <br>In the matter that the Radbaz discussed about the ridicule from Muslims – truly, in their eyes, our faith and teachings are considered worthless and are derided and seen as heresy. As the Rambam elaborated at the end of the \"Iggeret Teiman\", he describes how God, due to our sins, placed us among the nation of Ishmael (Muslims) who have a strong negative opinion about us and always try to harm and reject us, just as it was decreed by God. They're our definitive enemies. No other nation has harmed us as much as they have. Even King David, upon seeing in a holy spirit all the future troubles of Israel, began to cry out against the evil of the sons of Ishmael and lamented about his dwelling among them. <br>The Rambam was also aware of these sentiments (that they claim we removed Muhamad’s name from the torah, Cf. the Rambam there) and still, he wrote and instituted what he did. In any case, the Radbaz spoke only of the Muslims, who didn't understand the roots of religions and didn't recognize our values. In our times of dominion and greatness, they were mere desert dwellers compared to wild animals. This is not the case with Christians who, besides being great scholars constantly seeking the truth, have found no fault in us adhering to our Torah. Furthermore, they truly recognize the value of our holy Torah and the wisdom of our Talmudic scholars. We and they are like two sprouts from one bulb. The great Christian scholars would never mock our Torah and our prayer customs, God forbid. If there's any ridicule, it's due to our poor behaviour, particularly in our synagogues and similar places. <br>And how many great scholars wrote in praise of our service and our customs. Even to this day, many notable intellectuals in our generation strive to speak well of us and praise our deeds. However, some of them never spoke against our rituals and prayers per se. Their criticisms stem from what they see in our scriptures - aspects that set us apart from non-Jews and seemingly promote hatred against them. They thus mistakenly believe that due to our faith, we are inherently disruptive to the social aspects of the state (Social contract). <br>Among the ancient nations that idol-worshipped, they would engage in harmful practices and spill the blood of their sons and daughters. However, some non-Jews today seek peace, believe in a Creator, and in His providence. And why should I length on such known matters? <br>A notable distinction between Muslims and Christians is that the latter have never viewed our prayers as heresy. On the contrary, they admire our rituals and our monotheism. The Rabbi Radvaz points out the necessity of refining our practices, particularly in our synagogues, so they don't mock our esteemed teachings with \"ugly vessels”, given that they know the value of the Torah, the commandment, and the prayer, and they are translated into their languages in their countries, as known.  <br>We have returned to the words of Rabbi B\"H of blessed memory, and we say that had Rabbi B\"H been meticulous and differentiated between the subjects, between the music that has an inherent taste and is similar to a statue that is a decree without reason, he would not have written what he wrote. Especially if the response of the Rashba\"sh, who is considered one of the early authorities, had been revealed in his time, he would have retracted it without a doubt. And so wrote the genius Rama\"z, that had he seen the response of the Rashba\"sh, he would have retracted his words and agreed with him.  <br>And I testify before Heaven and Earth that when I was in the great city of scholars and scribes, Semirna (Izmir), may God protect it, I saw great and famous scholars. They were great poets in the style of music, led by the wondrous Rabbi Avraham Hacohen Ariash of blessed memory. And for the musical style of the High Holidays, which required great humility, they called it a \"Chizun (=Cantorship).\" They would go to Christian churches, behind the curtain, after the mass during their holidays to learn from them that humbling voice that breaks the heart. They would arrange from those tunes arrangements for Kaddish and Kedusha. Such a widespread practice is a great support for everything previously stated, and that is enough on this matter. <br>Furthermore, soon after, I found in the Gaonic Responsa, and it says: \"And you asked, singing in a tune - meaning there a type of song that is not in the Holy Tongue, whether from an instrument or from a mouth, where did we get that it's forbidden? And a cantor who sings in the language of Ishmael, as it is written: 'Do not rejoice, Israel, do not exult like the nations.' And even at a feast it is forbidden, according to the language of the responsa of the great sages. It is enough to clarify that they did not forbid the cantor except for a language that is not the Holy Tongue. But regarding the melody itself with holy words, they did not care. The explanation is undoubtedly that if you say that even the melodies of the nations are forbidden, then one can argue and say: 'From where do we, the Israelites, have the melodies and sounds of David's songs that are heard in our holy cities? Isn't there a full verse that says, \"How can we sing the Lord's song in a foreign land?\" And consequently, we have forgotten as is the truth (and some say that we only have left the tune of \"Blessed is the Lord, my rock\", specifically for two reasons: one that this melody increasing its tempo and sound like the war marches, and this is the second [point], and it's astonishing – that all of Israel, wherever they are – the Asians, the Africans, the Europeans – all are unified in the melody of this psalm. It's a wonder because they are not unified in the melody of any other prayers or services. For in Muslim lands, all the prayer melodies are like the melodies of the Muslims, and in Edomite lands, they are like the melodies of Edom. But in this psalm's melody, all are unified. And I, who have traveled to almost every part of the diaspora, and especially the major countries, have examined this and found it to be true. The testimonies prove that this melody remains our inheritance from our ancestors.) And in every place of exile, the Jews learned the melodies of those lands. In Israel and throughout Arabia, the melodies of prayers, Kaddishes, and Kedushahs are all in the Arab melody. In Turkey, they are in the Turkish melodies, and in Edom, they are in the melodies of Edom. Who can deny this obvious fact? Do we say that all of Israel erred in their observation? Certainly not! We are particular only about the language being in Hebrew, but regarding the melody, what can we do since we no longer have a memory of our sacred melodies? On this matter, the Gaon rightly pointed out that it's not in the Hebrew language and did not say it's not in the sacred melody because that's how it has come to us. Likewise, in another source, it is noted and said that even if a cantor sings in the language of the Muslims, even in a real feast, I will say that all my life I was distressed when I saw many pious individuals who would not lend their ear and wouldn't allow singing in Israel, even on outings, in the Muslim language. If not for the poet who would compose a song to the same scale in that new or Arab melody. And I, because of the desire of the great pious rabbi, the great Rabbi Gagin, endeavored to establish new liturgical poems to the scale of Arab songs, and the language almost trips over itself. Apparently, I was puzzled, and many times I argued with them about it. The Rambam explains in his commentary on Pirkei Avot that when speech is divided into seven parts, he wrote: \"Know that songs, regardless of the language they are composed in, require examination of their content to determine if they align with the speech we have divided. And indeed, I have clarified this even though it's clear because I saw elderly pious men from our Torah scholars when they were at a wine feast or at a wedding or otherwise, and someone wanted to sing an Arab song, even if the content of that song was praising bravery or generosity, and it was from the beloved part, or in the praises of wine, they would distance it as far as possible and it was not allowed for them to hear it,\" and so on.  <br>This is complete folly for the speech is not prohibited, nor is it more loved or hated due to the action done with it, but rather due to its content. So if that content is uplifting, one is obligated to say it in any language. And if the intention of that song is to belittle, in any language, it is forbidden to say it. According to this, the Rambam's view on songs is that any language is equal to him as Hebrew, as long as the content is beautiful. And from the words of the aforementioned Gaon, it seems that we are also particular about the holiness of the language. We found a strong basis to agree with those pious individuals I mentioned, but the truth is, as we have carefully examined, there's no disagreement in their opinion, the Gaon with the Rambam. In truth, the Gaon also was particular about songs due to their content and not their language. And what he said about the language of the Muslims, which is Arabic, means that usually, the majority of Muslim songs are lustful. Therefore, if Muslim songs were all lustful, we would go after the majority and also prohibit those that are not composed in Hebrew. Because it is known the nature of poets when they hear a melody with an instrument, and as the player plays, the spirit moves them to utter the words of the songs together with the harp, even without intention, because it is a permanent nature in poets. And on this, they prohibited unless a song in Hebrew has already been composed for it.  <br>Hence, a person should draw an inference from Muslim songs, the majority of which are lustful; therefore, their melodies were permitted to be sung in the Hebrew language, in prayers, and in holy words. Because the subjects are either beautiful or holy, and we do not care that perhaps at that moment when singing that tune in Hebrew words, one might remember the Arab ones which are frivolous or lustful matters. The custom in all of Israel and Arabia, in all synagogues, and the sages did not protest against them, are the songs of Edom, the majority of which are about wars and tales of bravery. So it's even more so allowed to sing in those tunes, in that language, during feasts. <br>And in the synagogue in the Holy Language, during worship and prayer, all the more so the melodies of the Christian churches, which are truly humble melodies that bring forth love for God and His unity. And we do not know the Latin language in which they sing in that humble tone, and that’s how we won’t even know the matters of the trinity (that these songs may originally was about) which are forbidden to us. Certainly, not only are they permissible for us, but on the contrary, they are an obligation for us for all the reasons mentioned above, and it is clear."
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