In Memory of Louis & Molly Wolff (Lupu), A”H — on behalf of Nisan David & Judy Wolff.
8 June 2015
Sephardi Ideas Monthly is a continuing series of essays from the rich, multi-dimensional world of Sephardi thought that is delivered to your inbox on the second Monday of every month.
Last month Sephardi Ideas Monthly turned its attention to piyyut, Sephardi liturgical poetry and (soul) music. Our feature article, Basmat Hazan Arnoff’s, “The Piyyut is Jewish Soul Music,” offered an introduction into Israel’s popular piyyut revival. Thanks to piyyut’s entry into the Israeli mainstream during the first decade of the 21st century, Israeli Jews from various communities─Mizrahim and Ashkenazim, Religious, Traditional and Secular─have been exploring a spiritually nourishing and aesthetically pleasing way to connect to the Jewish tradition, and to each other.
This month’s essay, “Jazz, Piyyut, and Jewish Identity,” takes us a little deeper into that same story. The essay is actually the transcription of a 2012 discussion with musical interludes (check out the podcasts) between Omer Avital, an Israeli-born, New-York based, world-class jazz musician and master of classical Arabic music, and Aryeh Tepper, ASF’s Director of Publications and Online Educational Programming.
Omer Avital
Avital, half-Moroccan and half-Yemenite, is a major player in Israel’s piyyut revival. He often performs in Israel, and he has created a distinctive sound by using the American blues and jazz traditions to extend and elaborate traditional Andalusian and Yemenitepiyyutim. In “Jazz, Piyyut and Jewish Identity,” Avital and Tepper explore the social and cultural context for the popular return to piyyut as well as the characteristics of different piyyut traditions. In addition, Avital entertains the crowd with his oud while telling a little bit of his own story.
Like many Israelis, Avital didn’t grow up with a love of piyyut. To the contrary, growing up in Israel during the 1980’s, Avital reports that, “The Mizrahim were ashamed of their culture or wanted to be mainstream. We didn’t listen to that music; it was off the table.” Instead, and again like many Israelis, Avital found his way back to piyyut as an adult: “When I come to America, I see that when it’s Jews, it’s gefilte fish. I have nothing against gefilte fish, but it’s not my tradition. I have a history of thousands of years that’s heavily linked to the Arabic tradition. I feel myself a part of the Middle East. I started to realize these things only in my mid-30s.”
Avital might have started late but he has been making up for lost time at a staggering pace, mastering both classical Arabic music and various piyyut traditions, and we invite you to learn more about piyyut in general, and Avital’s musical journey in particular, in this month’s featured article, “Jazz, Piyyut, and Jewish Identity.”
Sephardi Ideas Monthly would like to thank the editors of Jewish Ideas Daily, now the editors of Mosaic, for permission to use the article.
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