Sound and Scripture: Reflections of a Torah Reader

On Saturday mornings in synagogues around the world, Torah, the fundamental Jewish text, is chanted using traditional melodies. Written word - scripture - is transformed into Song. "Torah", Joshua Gettinger writes, "is deep ancient wisdom. Chant is the voice of that wisdom, perhaps its most primal voice.... Torah teaches survival strategies for the world of today, no less than for the world of its origins. It reaches out to the human spirit on many levels and through the use of all human faculties, in word but also in music. Chant adds layers of liveliness and emotional richness to text....It is as if the music of the chant can blow away the layers of dust - millennia of interpretation and preconceptions - to gain access to the plain text and bring it to life, so that listeners in every age can hear it with fresh ears, with their own ears." Dr. Gettinger, a rural family physician by trade, advocates for a dramatic, artistic presentation of Torah, aimed at making the weekly experience of Torah both pleasurable and powerful.He suggests that Chant, both music and grammar, can be a legitimate interpretive tool, providing insight into meaning, and enriching understanding. In the second part of the book he explores a hidden story in the heart of Leviticus, a reading changed by paying attention to its music. This guide will introduce the novice and general synagogue goer to the art of chant, while providing the skilled reader with fascinating new perspectives.