Turkish Music in the Synagogue: Objections of a Rabbi

Sa’adi Besalel a-Levi

1881–1890

The sinyor Rav h"r1 Shaul had a strong aversion to the Turkish language to the extent that he would excommunicate anyone singing Turkish songs. Not only Turkish songs, but even a Jewish liturgical poem chanted in a Turkish mode or copying a known Turkish song.

Let me tell you a story, my dear readers! I did tell you earlier that I, the author of…

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Creator Bio

Sa’adi Besalel a-Levi

1820–1903

Sa’adi Besalel a-Levi was a publisher, journalist, and singer in Salonika. Although his formal education was limited to a few weeks of traditional schooling, he was a passionate maskil who was instrumental in establishing the first Alliance Israélite Universelle school in Salonika (1873). In addition to publishing religious and secular texts, including his own poems and songs composed for holidays and special occasions, he founded two long-lasting periodicals. In 1875, he started a Ladino newspaper, La epoka, and in 1895, the French-language Le journal de Salonique. In 1874, a-Levi was excommunicated by local rabbis on false charges. In his memoir he presents himself as a victim of the ignorant masses and a heroic fighter for progress.

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