Nusach
Encyclopedia
Nusach is a concept in Judaism
that has two distinct meanings. One is the style of a prayer service (Nusach Temani
, Nusach Ashkenaz
, Nusach Sefard
or Nusach Ari
); another is the melody of the service depending on when the service is being conducted.
, which includes traditions regarding Jewish customs of all types.
is the style of service conducted by Ashkenazi Jews
, originating from central and eastern Europe. It is the shortest lengthwise (except for the "Baladi" Yemenite Nusach and Nussach HaGR"A).
It may be subdivided into the German, or western, branch, used in western and central Europe including the United Kingdom, and the Polish/Lithuanian branch, used in eastern Europe, the United States and among Ashkenazim, particularly those who identify as "Lithuanian
", in Israel.
, who adopted some Sephardic customs emulating the practice of the Ari
's circle of kabbalists
, most of whom lived in the Land of Israel
. Textually speaking it is based on the Sephardic rite, but in melody and feel it is overwhelmingly Ashkenazi.
and Mizrahi
Jews. Instead, Sephardim and Mizrahim follow several slightly different but closely related nuschaot.
The nearest approach to a standard text is found in the siddurim printed in Livorno
from the 1840s until the early 20th century. These (and later versions printed in Vienna
) were widely used throughout the Sephardic and Mizrahi world. Another popular variant was the text known as Nusach ha-Hida, named after Rabbi Chaim Joseph David Azulai
. Both these versions were particularly influential in Greece, Turkey and North Africa. However, most communities also had unwritten customs which they would observe, rather than following the printed siddurim exactly: it is easy, from the printed materials, to get the impression that usage in the Ottoman Empire
around 1900 was more uniform than it really was.
Other variants include:
Under the influence of the former Sephardi Chief Rabbi, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef
, a common nusach appears to be emerging among Israeli Sephardim, based largely on the Nusach Edot Hamizrach but omitting some of the Kabbalistic additions.
. This is divided into the Baladi (purely Yemenite) and Shami (Sephardified) versions.
Both rites are recited using the unique Yemenite pronunciation of Hebrew. Yemenite Jews, and some scholars, regard this as one of the most authentic, and most closely related to the Hebrew of Ancient Israel.
It is said among some mystics that an as-yet undisclosed nusach will be revealed after the coming of Mashiach
, the Jewish Messiah. Others say that the differences in nusach are derived from differences between the twelve tribes of Israel, and that in Messianic times each tribe will have its proper nusach.
.
Many of the passages in the prayer book
, such as the Amidah
and the Psalms, are chanted in a recitative rather than either read in normal speech or sung to a rhythmical tune. The recitatives follow a system of musical modes, somewhat like the maqam
at of Arabic music. For example, Ashkenazi cantorial
practice distinguishes a number of steiger
(scales) named after the prayers in which they are most frequently used, such as the Adonoi moloch steiger and the Ahavoh rabboh steiger. Mizrahi
communities such as the Syrian Jews
use the full maqam
system.
The scales used may vary both with the particular prayer and with the season. For examples, there are often special modes for the High Holy Days
, and in Syrian practice the scale used depends on the Torah reading for the week (see The Weekly Maqam
). In some cases the actual melodies are fixed, while in others the reader has freedom of improvisation.
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
that has two distinct meanings. One is the style of a prayer service (Nusach Temani
Yemenite Jews
Yemenite Jews are those Jews who live, or whose recent ancestors lived, in Yemen . Between June 1949 and September 1950, the overwhelming majority of Yemen's Jewish population was transported to Israel in Operation Magic Carpet...
, Nusach Ashkenaz
Nusach Ashkenaz
Nusach Ashkenaz is a style of Jewish religious service conducted by Ashkenazi Jews, originating from Central and Western Europe.It is primarily a way to order and include prayers, and differs from Nusach Sefard , and still more from the Sephardic rite proper, in the placement and presence of...
, Nusach Sefard
Nusach Sefard
Nusach Sefard is the name for various forms of the Jewish siddur, designed to reconcile Ashkenazi customs with the kabbalistic customs of the Ari. To this end it has incorporated the wording of Nusach Edot Mizrach, the prayer book of Sefardi Jews, into certain prayers...
or Nusach Ari
Nusach Ari
Nusach Ari means, in a general sense, any prayer rite following the usages of Rabbi Isaac Luria, the AriZal, in the 16th century, and, more particularly, the version of it used by Chabad Hasidim....
); another is the melody of the service depending on when the service is being conducted.
Meaning of term
Nusach primarily means "text" or "version", in other words the correct wording of a religious text or liturgy. Thus the nusach tefillah is the text of the prayers, either generally or as used by a particular community. In common use nusach has come to signify the entire liturgical tradition of the community, including the musical rendition. It is one example of minhagMinhag
Minhag is an accepted tradition or group of traditions in Judaism. A related concept, Nusach , refers to the traditional order and form of the prayers...
, which includes traditions regarding Jewish customs of all types.
Nusach Ashkenaz
Nusach AshkenazNusach Ashkenaz
Nusach Ashkenaz is a style of Jewish religious service conducted by Ashkenazi Jews, originating from Central and Western Europe.It is primarily a way to order and include prayers, and differs from Nusach Sefard , and still more from the Sephardic rite proper, in the placement and presence of...
is the style of service conducted by Ashkenazi Jews
Ashkenazi Jews
Ashkenazi Jews, also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim , are the Jews descended from the medieval Jewish communities along the Rhine in Germany from Alsace in the south to the Rhineland in the north. Ashkenaz is the medieval Hebrew name for this region and thus for Germany...
, originating from central and eastern Europe. It is the shortest lengthwise (except for the "Baladi" Yemenite Nusach and Nussach HaGR"A).
It may be subdivided into the German, or western, branch, used in western and central Europe including the United Kingdom, and the Polish/Lithuanian branch, used in eastern Europe, the United States and among Ashkenazim, particularly those who identify as "Lithuanian
Lithuanian Jews
Lithuanian Jews or Litvaks are Jews with roots in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania:...
", in Israel.
Nusach Sefard
This is the style of service used by some Jews of central and eastern European origins, especially HasidimHasidic Judaism
Hasidic Judaism or Hasidism, from the Hebrew —Ḥasidut in Sephardi, Chasidus in Ashkenazi, meaning "piety" , is a branch of Orthodox Judaism that promotes spirituality and joy through the popularisation and internalisation of Jewish mysticism as the fundamental aspects of the Jewish faith...
, who adopted some Sephardic customs emulating the practice of the Ari
Isaac Luria
Isaac Luria , also called Yitzhak Ben Shlomo Ashkenazi acronym "The Ari" "Ari-Hakadosh", or "Arizal", meaning "The Lion", was a foremost rabbi and Jewish mystic in the community of Safed in the Galilee region of Ottoman Palestine...
's circle of kabbalists
Kabbalah
Kabbalah/Kabala is a discipline and school of thought concerned with the esoteric aspect of Rabbinic Judaism. It was systematized in 11th-13th century Hachmei Provence and Spain, and again after the Expulsion from Spain, in 16th century Ottoman Palestine...
, most of whom lived in the Land of Israel
Land of Israel
The Land of Israel is the Biblical name for the territory roughly corresponding to the area encompassed by the Southern Levant, also known as Canaan and Palestine, Promised Land and Holy Land. The belief that the area is a God-given homeland of the Jewish people is based on the narrative of the...
. Textually speaking it is based on the Sephardic rite, but in melody and feel it is overwhelmingly Ashkenazi.
Sephardi and Mizrachi Nuschaot
There is not one generally recognized uniform nusach for SephardiSephardi Jews
Sephardi Jews is a general term referring to the descendants of the Jews who lived in the Iberian Peninsula before their expulsion in the Spanish Inquisition. It can also refer to those who use a Sephardic style of liturgy or would otherwise define themselves in terms of the Jewish customs and...
and Mizrahi
Mizrahi Jews
Mizrahi Jews or Mizrahiyim, , also referred to as Adot HaMizrach are Jews descended from the Jewish communities of the Middle East, North Africa and the Caucasus...
Jews. Instead, Sephardim and Mizrahim follow several slightly different but closely related nuschaot.
The nearest approach to a standard text is found in the siddurim printed in Livorno
Livorno
Livorno , traditionally Leghorn , is a port city on the Tyrrhenian Sea on the western edge of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of approximately 160,000 residents in 2009.- History :...
from the 1840s until the early 20th century. These (and later versions printed in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
) were widely used throughout the Sephardic and Mizrahi world. Another popular variant was the text known as Nusach ha-Hida, named after Rabbi Chaim Joseph David Azulai
Chaim Joseph David Azulai
Chaim Joseph David Azulai ben Isaac Zerachia , commonly known as the Chida , was a Jerusalem born rabbinical scholar, a noted bibliophile, and a pioneer in the publication of Jewish religious writings.- Biography :Azulai was born in Jerusalem, where he received his education...
. Both these versions were particularly influential in Greece, Turkey and North Africa. However, most communities also had unwritten customs which they would observe, rather than following the printed siddurim exactly: it is easy, from the printed materials, to get the impression that usage in the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
around 1900 was more uniform than it really was.
Other variants include:
- the customs of the Spanish and Portuguese JewsSpanish and Portuguese JewsSpanish and Portuguese Jews are a distinctive sub-group of Sephardim who have their main ethnic origins within the Jewish communities of the Iberian peninsula and who shaped communities mainly in Western Europe and the Americas from the late 16th century on...
, based on an older form of the Castilian rite, with some influence from the customs both of Italian JewsItalian JewsItalian Jews can be used in a broad sense to mean all Jews living or with roots in Italy or in a narrower sense to mean the ancient community who use the Italian rite, as distinct from the communities dating from medieval or modern times who use the Sephardi or Ashkenazi rite.-Divisions:Italian...
and of Northern Morocco. This version is distinguished by the near-absence of Kabbalistic elements. - Nusach Edot Hamizrach, originating among Iraqi Jews but now popular in many other communities. These are based on the opinions of the Ben Ish ChaiBen Ish ChaiYosef Chaim or in Iraqi Hebrew Yoseph Ḥayyim was a leading hakham , authority on Jewish law and Master Kabbalist...
and have a strong KabbalisticKabbalahKabbalah/Kabala is a discipline and school of thought concerned with the esoteric aspect of Rabbinic Judaism. It was systematized in 11th-13th century Hachmei Provence and Spain, and again after the Expulsion from Spain, in 16th century Ottoman Palestine...
flavour. - Minhag Aram Soba, as used by SyrianSyrian JewsSyrian Jews are Jews who inhabit the region of the modern state of Syria, and their descendants born outside Syria. Syrian Jews derive their origin from two groups: from the Jews who inhabited the region of today's Syria from ancient times Syrian Jews are Jews who inhabit the region of the modern...
Musta'arabim in earlier centuries (the current Syrian rite is closely based on the Livorno prints). - the Moroccan rite, also related to the text of the Livorno prints but with a strong local flavour. This subdivides into the customs of the Spanish-speaking northern strip and the Arabic-speaking interior of the country.
- formerly, there were variants from different parts of Spain and Portugal, perpetuated in particular synagogues in Salonica and elsewhere, e.g. the Lisbon and Catalan rites, and some North African rites appear to reflect Catalan as well as Castilian influence.
Under the influence of the former Sephardi Chief Rabbi, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef
Ovadia Yosef
Ovadia Yosef is the former Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel, a recognised Talmudic scholar and foremost halakhic authority.He currently serves as the spiritual leader of the Shas political party in the Israeli parliament...
, a common nusach appears to be emerging among Israeli Sephardim, based largely on the Nusach Edot Hamizrach but omitting some of the Kabbalistic additions.
Nusach Teman
A "Temani" nusach was the standard among the Jews of YemenYemenite Jews
Yemenite Jews are those Jews who live, or whose recent ancestors lived, in Yemen . Between June 1949 and September 1950, the overwhelming majority of Yemen's Jewish population was transported to Israel in Operation Magic Carpet...
. This is divided into the Baladi (purely Yemenite) and Shami (Sephardified) versions.
Both rites are recited using the unique Yemenite pronunciation of Hebrew. Yemenite Jews, and some scholars, regard this as one of the most authentic, and most closely related to the Hebrew of Ancient Israel.
Other Nuschaos
In addition, there are other nuschaos.- Nussach HaGR"A was a very brief version of Nussach Ashkenaz written by the Vilna GaonVilna GaonElijah ben Shlomo Zalman Kramer, known as the Vilna Gaon or Elijah of Vilna and simply by his Hebrew acronym Gra or Elijah Ben Solomon, , was a Talmudist, halachist, kabbalist, and the foremost leader of non-hasidic Jewry of the past few centuries...
(otherwise known as Elijah of Vilna or the GRA) he believed that many things in prayer were added later and took them out in addition to editing some grammatical errors (according to him) and small changes in other parts as well. - There are the Minhag Italiani and Minhag Benè Romì used by some Italian JewsItalian JewsItalian Jews can be used in a broad sense to mean all Jews living or with roots in Italy or in a narrower sense to mean the ancient community who use the Italian rite, as distinct from the communities dating from medieval or modern times who use the Sephardi or Ashkenazi rite.-Divisions:Italian...
. - Closely related to these was the "RomanioteRomaniotesThe Romaniotes or Romaniots are a Jewish population who have lived in the territory of today's Greece and neighboring areas with large Greek populations for more than 2,000 years. Their languages were Yevanic, a Greek dialect, and Greek. They derived their name from the old name for the people...
" rite from Greece where there was an ancient, pre-Diaspora Jewish community. The only surviving Romaniote synagogues are in IoanninaIoanninaIoannina , often called Jannena within Greece, is the largest city of Epirus, north-western Greece, with a population of 70,203 . It lies at an elevation of approximately 500 meters above sea level, on the western shore of lake Pamvotis . It is located within the Ioannina municipality, and is the...
and New YorkKehila Kedosha JaninaKehila Kedosha Janina is a Romaniote synagogue situated in Chinatown, in the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York City.-History:Kehila Kedosha Janina holds the distinction of being the only Romaniote synagogue in the Western Hemisphere. The congregation was founded in 1906 by Greek Jewish...
, and even these now use a predominantly Sephardic rite: there were formerly Romaniote synagogues in Istanbul and Jerusalem. (The customs of CorfuCorfuCorfu is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea. It is the second largest of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the edge of the northwestern frontier of Greece. The island is part of the Corfu regional unit, and is administered as a single municipality. The...
are a blend between the Romaniote and Sephardic rites.) - There was once a French nusach, closely related to the Ashkenazi, which is now used only in certain towns in Northern Italy (see Appam).
- Distinct PersianPersian JewsPersian Jews , are Jews historically associated with Iran, traditionally known as Persia in Western sources.Judaism is one of the oldest religions practiced in Iran. The Book of Esther contains some references to the experiences of Jews in Persia...
and ProvençalHachmei ProvenceThe term Hachmei Provence refers to the Jewish rabbis of Provence, a province in southern France, which was a great Torah center in the times of the Tosafists...
nuschaot also existed before being gradually replaced by the Edot Hamizrach and Spanish and PortugueseSpanish and Portuguese JewsSpanish and Portuguese Jews are a distinctive sub-group of Sephardim who have their main ethnic origins within the Jewish communities of the Iberian peninsula and who shaped communities mainly in Western Europe and the Americas from the late 16th century on...
nuschaot respectively. - Nusach Eretz Yisrael, a recent attempt at reconstructing the nusach of Eretz Yisrael in the TalmudTalmudThe Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
ic/GeonicGeonimGeonim were the presidents of the two great Babylonian, Talmudic Academies of Sura and Pumbedita, in the Abbasid Caliphate, and were the generally accepted spiritual leaders of the Jewish community world wide in the early medieval era, in contrast to the Resh Galuta who wielded secular authority...
period by Machon Shilo's Rabbi David Bar-HayimDavid Bar-HayimDavid Bar-Hayim is an Israeli rabbi who heads the Machon Shilo in Jerusalem, Israel.-Biography:...
. This reconstruction is based on the Jerusalem Talmud and documents discovered in the Cairo GenizaCairo GenizaThe Cairo Geniza is a collection of almost 280,000 Jewish manuscript fragments found in the Genizah or storeroom of the Ben Ezra Synagogue in Fustat, presently Old Cairo, Egypt. Some additional fragments were found in the Basatin cemetery east of Old Cairo, and the collection includes a number of...
h, and is published in the form of a siddurSiddurA siddur is a Jewish prayer book, containing a set order of daily prayers. This article discusses how some of these prayers evolved, and how the siddur, as it is known today has developed...
by Yair Shaki. Rabbi Bar-Hayim's Jerusalem followers use this nusach in a public prayer service held in Machon Shilo's synagogue. - Beis Aharon V'Yisrael is the nusach used by Karlin-Stolin Hasidim.
It is said among some mystics that an as-yet undisclosed nusach will be revealed after the coming of Mashiach
Messiah
A messiah is a redeemer figure expected or foretold in one form or another by a religion. Slightly more widely, a messiah is any redeemer figure. Messianic beliefs or theories generally relate to eschatological improvement of the state of humanity or the world, in other words the World to...
, the Jewish Messiah. Others say that the differences in nusach are derived from differences between the twelve tribes of Israel, and that in Messianic times each tribe will have its proper nusach.
Musical nusach
The whole musical style or tradition of a community is sometimes referred to as its nusach, but this term is most often used in connection with the chants used for recitative passages, in particular the AmidahAmidah
The Amidah , also called the Shmoneh Esreh , is the central prayer of the Jewish liturgy. This prayer, among others, is found in the siddur, the traditional Jewish prayer book...
.
Many of the passages in the prayer book
Siddur
A siddur is a Jewish prayer book, containing a set order of daily prayers. This article discusses how some of these prayers evolved, and how the siddur, as it is known today has developed...
, such as the Amidah
Amidah
The Amidah , also called the Shmoneh Esreh , is the central prayer of the Jewish liturgy. This prayer, among others, is found in the siddur, the traditional Jewish prayer book...
and the Psalms, are chanted in a recitative rather than either read in normal speech or sung to a rhythmical tune. The recitatives follow a system of musical modes, somewhat like the maqam
Arabic maqam
Arabic maqām is the system of melodic modes used in traditional Arabic music, which is mainly melodic. The word maqam in Arabic means place, location or rank. The Arabic maqam is a melody type...
at of Arabic music. For example, Ashkenazi cantorial
Hazzan
A hazzan or chazzan is a Jewish cantor, a musician trained in the vocal arts who helps lead the congregation in songful prayer.There are many rules relating to how a cantor should lead services, but the idea of a cantor as a paid professional does not exist in classical rabbinic sources...
practice distinguishes a number of steiger
Jewish prayer modes
Jewish liturgical music is characterized by a set of musical modes. There are a number of ways to define a musical mode - many scholars think about a mode as a collection of pitches or a scale, while others define a mode as a collection of musical motives or phrases....
(scales) named after the prayers in which they are most frequently used, such as the Adonoi moloch steiger and the Ahavoh rabboh steiger. Mizrahi
Mizrahi Jews
Mizrahi Jews or Mizrahiyim, , also referred to as Adot HaMizrach are Jews descended from the Jewish communities of the Middle East, North Africa and the Caucasus...
communities such as the Syrian Jews
Syrian Jews
Syrian Jews are Jews who inhabit the region of the modern state of Syria, and their descendants born outside Syria. Syrian Jews derive their origin from two groups: from the Jews who inhabited the region of today's Syria from ancient times Syrian Jews are Jews who inhabit the region of the modern...
use the full maqam
The Weekly Maqam
In Mizrahi and Sephardic Middle Eastern Jewish prayer services, each Shabbat the congregation conducts services using a different maqam. A maqam , which in Arabic literally means 'place', is a standard melody type and set of related tunes. The melodies used in a given maqam aims effectively to...
system.
The scales used may vary both with the particular prayer and with the season. For examples, there are often special modes for the High Holy Days
High Holy Days
The High Holidays or High Holy Days, in Judaism, more properly known as the Yamim Noraim , may mean:#strictly, the holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur ;...
, and in Syrian practice the scale used depends on the Torah reading for the week (see The Weekly Maqam
The Weekly Maqam
In Mizrahi and Sephardic Middle Eastern Jewish prayer services, each Shabbat the congregation conducts services using a different maqam. A maqam , which in Arabic literally means 'place', is a standard melody type and set of related tunes. The melodies used in a given maqam aims effectively to...
). In some cases the actual melodies are fixed, while in others the reader has freedom of improvisation.