"Jewish" rapping

[Super Mentalita]

Dust Up! Here is more Nosan Zand for you all...

Fast Lane


Bound Up


Believer w/Matisyahu

Just noticed that the other guy in the 'believers' video is from the film 'The Possession'! 

[Ephraim Ben Noach]

[Ephraim Ben Noach]

Not technically rap, but anyway.

[ChabadKahanist]

Mattisyahu is completely off the derech nowadays.

[Binyamin Yisrael]

Is rap forbidden during the Three Weeks, or does it not count as music?

[Israel Chai]

Is rap forbidden during the Three Weeks, or does it not count as music?

 

[Israel Chai]

Is rap forbidden during the Three Weeks, or does it not count as music?

Justin Beiber squealing doesn't count either. It's just something you generally shouldn't do.

[muman613]

Is rap forbidden during the Three Weeks, or does it not count as music?

I believe any 'music' which employs musical instruments is considered music which is forbidden during periods of mourning. The three-weeks is a period of mourning and only acappella music is permitted.

From the Chabad website:

http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/527621/jewish/Am-I-allowed-to-listen-to-recorded-music-during-the-Three-Weeks.htm

The general consensus of most contemporary Halachic authorities is that like live music, listening to recorded music is prohibited during the Three Weeks mourning period. (Click here for more mourning practices observed during this time.)

Recorded a cappella music is the subject of debate between Halachic authorities. Rabbi Moshe Feinstein (1895-1986, foremost Halachic authority of the last generation), rules that it is permissible to listen to such music during the Three Weeks, while others disagree. You would be well-advised to consult with your local rabbi regarding this matter.

Best wishes,

Rabbi Baruch S. Davidson

[muman613]

Justin Beiber squealing doesn't count either. It's just something you generally shouldn't do.

The issue is not the voice, it is the musical instruments.... Listening to only voice is permitted...

[Israel Chai]

The issue is not the voice, it is the musical instruments.... Listening to only voice is permitted...

There's another one I think where you can't sing I heard... and i would advise not listening to Justin Beiber without the computer music behind to drown some of it out.

[muman613]

There's another one I think where you can't sing I heard... and i would advise not listening to Justin Beiber without the computer music behind to drown some of it out.

The only thing I know which relates to voice is that a man cannot listen to a woman singing, especially a woman singing live before men. This is called 'Kol Isha'... But I do not know any Jewish custom of not listening to vocal singing.

http://koltorah.org/ravj/The%20Parameters%20of%20Kol%20Isha.htm

Here is the beginning of this article reproduced:

The Parameters of Kol Isha
by Rabbi Howard Jachter

The Gemara (Berachot 24a) records the prohibition of Kol Isha. In this essay, we shall outline the parameters of this issue, as delineated by twentieth century Halachic authorities. We shall discuss the source of the prohibition and its applicability in our times. Then we shall discuss the questions of whether this prohibition applies to Zemirot, tape recordings, and radio broadcasts. We shall conclude with a brief discussion regarding husband-wife restrictions, and men hearing young girls sing.

The Source of the Prohibition

The Gemara (Berachot 24a) states, “The voice of a woman is Ervah, as the Pasuk [in Shir Hashirim 2:14] states ‘let me hear your voice because your voice is pleasant and appearance attractive.’” Rashi explains that the Pasuk in Shir Hashirim indicates that a woman’s voice is attractive to a man, and is thus prohibited to him. Rav Hai Gaon (cited in the Mordechai, Berachot 80) writes that this restriction applies to a man who is reading Kriat Shema, because a woman’s singing will distract him. The Rosh (Berachot 3:37) disagrees and writes that the Gemara refers to all situations and is not limited to Kriat Shema. The Shulchan Aruch rules that the Kol Isha restriction applies to both Kriat Shema (Orach Chaim 75:3) and other contexts (Even Haezer 21:2). The Rama (O.C. 75:3) and Bait Shmuel (21:4) clarify that this prohibition applies only to a woman’s singing voice and not to her speaking voice.

The Shulchan Aruch (E.H. 20:1) rules in accordance with the view of the Rambam (Hilchot Issurei Biah 21:1) that a couple is biblically forbidden to have physical contact if they are forbidden to live with each other. The Acharonim (summarized in Teshuvot Yabia Omer 1:6) debate whether the Kol Isha prohibition is also a biblical level prohibition. Rav Ovadia Yosef (ibid.) rules in accordance with the opinions that it is only a rabbinical prohibition.

Both Rav Ovadia Yosef (ibid) and Rav Yehuda Henkin (Teshuvot Bnei Banim 3:127) reject the claim that this prohibition does not apply today since men nowadays are accustomed to hear a woman’s voice. These authorities explain that since the Gemara and Shulchan Aruch codify this prohibition, we do not enjoy the right to abolish it. The Gemara and its commentaries do not even hint at a possibility that this prohibition might not apply if men become habituated to hearing a woman’s voice. Thus, all recognized Poskim agree that the prohibition of Kol Isha applies today.

Zemirot

There is, however, considerable disagreement regarding the scope of the Kol Isha prohibition. For example, the question of its applicability to Zemirot has been discussed at some length in the twentieth century responsa literature. Rav Yechiel Yaakov Weinberg (Teshuvot Seridei Eish 2:8) notes that traditionally women refrained from singing Zemirot when there were males who were not family members sitting at the Shabbat table. However, he records that the practice in Germany was for woman to sing Zemirot in the company of unrelated men. Rav Weinberg records that Rav Azriel Hildesheimer and Rav Samson Raphael Hirsch (two great German Rabbis of the nineteenth century) sanctioned this practice. Rav Weinberg reports that they based their ruling on the Talmudic rule (Megila 21b) that “Trei Kali Lo Mishtamai,” two voices cannot be heard simultaneously.

Rav Weinberg writes that he does not find this explanation satisfying (perhaps because the Gemara (Sotah 48a) writes that men and women singing together is a major impropriety). Rav Weinberg instead defends the German Jewish practice by citing the Sdei Chemed (Klalim, Maarechet Hakuf, 42) who quotes the Divrei Cheifetz who asserts that the Kol Isha prohibition does not apply to women singing Zemirot, singing songs to children, and lamentations for the dead. This authority explains that in these contexts men do not derive pleasure from the woman’s voice. In fact, the Pasuk (Shoftim 5:1) records that Devora the prophetess sang a song of praise to Hashem together with Barak the son of Avinoam. According to the simple reading of the text, Devora was married to Lapidot and not Barak. The Sdei Chemed writes that he believes that it is proper to be strict and not follow the approach of the Divrei Cheifetz, but he regards the lenient opinion as a viable approach.

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[Tag-MehirTzedek]

Is rap forbidden during the Three Weeks, or does it not count as music?

 Music is not forbidden during the 3 weeks, their is no such law. Now their are those particularly from Askenasi descent who took it upon themselves not to listen to music, but Chazal never had this idea of the "3 weeks" and one won't find anywhere in the Mishna or Talmudh or Rishonim mentioning such a concept.

[Ephraim Ben Noach]

 Music is not forbidden during the 3 weeks, their is no such law. Now their are those particularly from Askenasi descent who took it upon themselves not to listen to music, but Chazal never had this idea of the "3 weeks" and one won't find anywhere in the Mishna or Talmudh or Rishonim mentioning such a concept.

Really? What is forbidden for the 3 weeks?

[Tag-MehirTzedek]

Really? What is forbidden for the 3 weeks?

 Nothing out of the ordinary. Their is from Rosh Hodesh Av and onward some things, then the week of TishaBav and then on Tishabav itself (different levels and diff. restrictions) but the whole concept of the 3 weeks is fairly new.

[Ephraim Ben Noach]

Nothing out of the ordinary. Their is from Rosh Hodesh Av and onward some things, then the week of TishaBav and then on Tishabav itself (different levels and diff. restrictions) but the whole concept of the 3 weeks is fairly new.

Okay, thank you.

[Binyamin Yisrael]

The Gemara (Berachot 24a) states, “The voice of a woman is Ervah, as the Pasuk [in Shir Hashirim 2:14] states ‘let me hear your voice because your voice is pleasant and appearance attractive.’” Rashi explains that the Pasuk in Shir Hashirim indicates that a woman’s voice is attractive to a man, and is thus prohibited to him. Rav Hai Gaon (cited in the Mordechai, Berachot 80) writes that this restriction applies to a man who is reading Kriat Shema, because a woman’s singing will distract him. The Rosh (Berachot 3:37) disagrees and writes that the Gemara refers to all situations and is not limited to Kriat Shema. The Shulchan Aruch rules that the Kol Isha restriction applies to both Kriat Shema (Orach Chaim 75:3) and other contexts (Even Haezer 21:2). The Rama (O.C. 75:3) and Bait Shmuel (21:4) clarify that this prohibition applies only to a woman’s singing voice and not to her speaking voice.

How can you rule on Kol Isha based on Shir HaShirim. Shir HaShirim is not a love story between a man and a woman. It is a parable about G-d and the Jewish People.

Also, kol isha is a chumra, not actual Halacha. The only prohibition of Kol Isha is during prayer. Mixed seating and women leading synagogue services are forbidden.