concepts

Gezungnungs-marsh (LKT)

This entry is part of the Lexicon of Klezmer Terminology (LKT). The LKT compiles a wide array of source materials that shed light on the historical and contemporary state of knowledge about klezmer music. Each entry includes a number of citations from primary and secondary sources that…

Glanse (lan-she) (LKT)

Goldene tants (LKT)

Had Gadya

Written in Aramaic, Had Gadya appears at the very end of the Passover Haggadah. Like Ehad Mi Yodeah, also found at the end of the Haggadah, it is a cumulative song, with each verse adding another motif to the story. It begins with a kid bought by the “father” (of the singer-subject of…

Haggadah

Lit. “telling.” The Haggadah is a set of prayers, midrashic commentaries and psalms recited as part of the seder ritual on Passover eve. There are twenty components which make up the narration of the haggadah as well as ritual acts interspersed such as hand washing, Kiddush, eating of the bitter…

Hakhnoe-tants (LKT)

Hallelujah

Liturgical expression meaning “praise the Lord,” which appears exclusively in the Book of Psalms. This expression generally opens or closes a psalm, and has a special repeating melodic phrase.

Hasidism

A movement within Judaism founded by Rabbi Israel Eliezer Baal Shem Tov in the second half of the 18th century in Poland. The Hasidic movement stresses the service of God through the mystical and legalistic dimensions of Judaism. Hasidism grew out the desire to replace the overly academic model of…

Havdalah

Lit. 'distinction.' A blessing recited at the end of Shabbat and festivals to separate the sacred from the ordinary, the holiday from the regular week day. Blessings are said over the wine, the havdalah candle, the sweet spices and the ending of the holiday.

Hazzan (pl. Hazzanim)

1. In Temple and talmudic days, the hazzan was a general communal functionary. Since the 6th century c.e., the hazzan has functioned as the leader (cantor) who recites aloud the prayers before the congregation. Also used in contrast to Ba'al Tefillah (q.v.). 2. In Talmudic sources, the term hazzan…

Heikhal Hanegina (the Hall of Music)

A term from the Kabbalah, that refers to a heavenly hall in which entrance is permitted only through song or music. There is a common belief that the Heikhal Hanegina is the source of all of the world's melodies, and that it is close to, or the same, as the heikhal Hateshuva (the hall of repentance…