A Jewish Sufi on the Influence of Music

To palliate the lack of specialized compositions by Jewish authors during the mediaeval period on the subject of music, a fair deal of information concerning attitudes towards this art can be gleaned from works of a more general nature. In addition to encyclopedias of the sciences and biblical commentaries, especially of the Psalms, moral treatises can prove to be a rich source for this kind of speculation, particularly in connection with the 'ethical' and therapeutic properties ascribed to music. The highly interesting ethical treatise al-Mursid ila al-tafarrud ('The guide to detachment'), preserved in the Bodleian ms. Hunt. 382, contains such a passage on music which deserves to be brought to the attention of students of the subject.