Music on Tisha B’Av

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  • #2305662
    MosheFromMidwood
    Participant

    More than one of the special presentations for Tisha B’Av had music in it so I turned it off immediately. Is there a heter to have music for the benefit of these programs? This is a separate issue covered in a different coffee room post on whether Tisha B’Av is movie day. OK, so maybe the movies are a time filler and informative. I do question whether Oct 7 events qualifiy but as I heard on one program, all bad events that occur to klal Yisroel stem from the destruction of the Batei Mikdash, but why do they have to have music? At least it made me avoid them.

    #2305701
    Kuvult
    Participant

    This reminds of one time in Shul the Ruv was explaining about not specifically listening to music for enjoyment during these time periods.
    A man asked, “Can I listen to talk radio if some of the commercials might have music?”
    The Ruv almost choked but managed to answer respectfully.
    Very often a production with sight & sound needs filler sound or it just doesn’t flow. A pointless narrator would take away from the film while silence would as well. So some music is played during this time to improve the production & better your experience. It’s not played for musical enjoyment.
    There doesn’t need to be a heter because there’s no issur in the first place.

    #2305704
    yeshivaguy45
    Participant

    Maybe it was background music which is allowed? (Yes, it’s probably better without but it’s not assur)

    #2305707
    jdb
    Participant

    I once asked my rosh yeshiva why we are noheg to listen to music on a regular basis, even when Rav Moshe held differently. We also discussed why we sing psukim, and especially parts of shir hashirim, when this is also questionable from the gemara and rishonim.

    He answered in two parts. 1) It is a mitzva to be melamed zchus on klal yisrael, and 2) music today has a different social context than music did 200 years ago. Until recently, music was part of an occasion. You had to hire live performers. Nowadays, music is background noise everywhere we go.

    Based on the above, as we know that many, many leaders of klal yisrael appear in these Tisha B’av videos (and they know that these videos include some form of background music), and the music is not upbeat but rather serves to enhance the feeling of mourning and loss, there is good reason to assume that the background music is deemed acceptable.

    This isn’t to say that you should run to listen to sad music. But in many shuls, they sing parts of kinnos, or between kinos. If these videos help people experience Tisha B’av in a more meaningful manner, and the leaders of their communities embrace them, the YWN coffee room may not be the right venue for a productive debate.

    #2305767
    HaLeiVi
    Participant

    JDB, Chazal didn’t pick Shir Hashirim as a wild example of what someone might decide to sing. The point is obvious: to use the words of Shir Hashirim, that are Kodesh Kodoshim, for his own song about his own love. Any singer who sings a Pasuk is using the words for its actual meaning. If anything, those songs that use Pesukim only for its rhythmic sounds (e.g. Vedibarta bom bom, bom bom bom) would be a case of עשאוני בניך ככנור ונבל.

    #2305777
    ujm
    Participant

    There’s a software program that lets you enter your shaila as well as the answer to it that you want. It’ll then give you the name of a rabbi that says you can do what you want to do, as per the question you asked.

    #2305779
    ☕️coffee addict
    Participant

    Contrary to common misconception (ahem GH) the reason music is assur is because of dancing, if the music isn’t for dancing (ie to calm oneself down, keep oneself up, or to awake emotions) then it’s fine

    #2305784

    Moshe > I do question whether Oct 7 events qualifiy but as I heard on one program, all bad events that occur to klal Yisroel stem from the destruction of the Batei Mikdash,

    This is separate from the music. I heard it from multiple Rabbis that all tragic events are included, especially for a specific community. I am not sure it has to be necessarily linked as “stem from”, although it might be. Commemoration is a straight-forward issue not requiring theological justifications, I think.
    I am a little surprised that when you were listening about Oct 7 events, your thoughts go to “do they qualify”

    #2306226
    GRATEFULBLAC
    Participant

    I had a similar problem – On tisha B’Av afternoon, I was watching a holocaust documentary on YouTube, and every 5 minutes there was an advert break that i could not skip with music advertising some holiday etc.
    Not only was it bright sunny music but the advert had zero to do with mourning.
    Would it have better not to watch you tube on tisha b’av or is it just incidental to the main film.

    #2306291

    you don’t have to stare at youtube during the ad. Mute it and read a posuk, or watch another video on the second screen, or do chesed, call your zeidi.

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