Friday, March 09, 2007

The Jewish Imperative to Sing, III

MUSICAL NOTE (from LSS Shabbat Echod)
by Cantor Sherwood Goffin

Did you know that there is a custom - not only to sing, but to dance at Kiddush Levana, the ceremony of sanctifying the moon performed after every Rosh Chodesh! The Ramah, Rabbi Moshe Isserles, in the Shulchan Aruch(426), says that there is a custom to dance at Kiddush Levana. In the Darkei Moshe of the Ramah, he even more explicitly says that this dancing is required according to Kabbalah. He then states that if dancing is required then it certainly requires singing! (To what do you dance if there is no inging). This another example of the requirement to sing in public.

Daven Well and Sing Along!

1 comment:

joshwaxman said...

At Rabbi Friedman's shul in KGH, we sing and dance at kiddush levana, in accordance with the custom.

And after all, we say "keshem sheAni roked kenegdech," which may be taken to imply that we are dancing in the moonlight.