Maqam: Mood-Setting Melodies

By Rabbi Binyomin Zev Karman

As the congregants file into the k’nees (shul) and find their seats, the pleasant voice of the chazzan can be heard as the tunes of that week’s maqam waft through the walls of the sanctuary. Depending on the maqam scheduled for that week, the audience will have an idea what that week’s parashah is about, and if there is a celebration of a brit milah, a bar misvah, and what hagim are coming up.

The maqam, or place on the musical scale where the various tunes to be used are located, has been part of the sephardic liturgy for generations. These time-honored tunes and scales draw the congregation onto the prayers and help the chazzan set the mood for the tefillah.

“‘Maqam’ is Arabic for ‘place,’ related to the Hebrew word ‘makom,’ and it refers to the place on the musical scale of the tunes that will be used during the tefillah of that Shabbat,” Rabbi Moshe Mustacchi explains. “The Arabic music scale, which utilizes a quarter tone scale as opposed to the full tone scale used by Western music, is quite different, and as a result the tunes are quite different. When the ‘place’ on the scale is chosen, there are groups of tunes that fit with that maqam, and the scale helps determine the moods that the tunes are meant to present.”

Syrian Songs

There are eight maqamot generally used in the Syrian liturgy: Ajam, Nahwand and Nawa, Kurd, Hajaz, Rast, Sigah, Bayat and Saba. Each week, a maqam is scheduled, and the tunes used for the tefillot of that week will have a certain sound that evokes a mood which is appropriate for that Shabbat. The maqam and its associated tunes may be determined based on the parashah being read that Shabbat, the hagim of that time of year, or an event taking place in the particular k’nees, such as a brit milah, bar misvah or hattan. The maqamot are rotated so that the same one is not used two weeks in row, and in a manner that all the maqamot are used within a span of time.

The hazzan will have to prepare beforehand which tunes he will use during the tefillah. Depending on his voice and range, the chazzan will consider the tunes available and select the ones he feels fit best with his style, range and the mood he wishes to convey.

“On a day when I feel my voice is in good shape, I may choose a tune that hits higher notes. There are also some tunes which work better with the voice of the hazzan and his style,” says Rabbi Mustacchi. “Planning ahead, I will decide which tunes to use, and hopefully it will encourage the congregation to join in an inspirational tefillah.”

Classic Vs. Contemporary

Hacham Raphael Antebi Ades Tabbush (1830-1918) was an outstanding Syrian composer who rejuvenated the use of pizmonim in the Syrian Jewish communities by composing more than 400 pizmonim and also by restoring many that had been lost. He had a pizmon for every occasion, whether a wedding, bar misvah, or a simple social gathering. He taught in Midrash Aboud Harari in Aleppo, and he visited the Talmud Torah often to test out boys that he felt would have a capable future in hazzanut and pizmonim. His prime student, Moshe Ashear (1877-1940), immigrated to New York in 1912, and he provided a link between the classical pizmonim and the newer ones being composed.

Most of the tunes used by hazzanim are traditional. In some congregations they are sticklers for this tradition and will not allow any innovation. Other places are a little bit less constricted and will allow the hazzan some leeway to choose and sing some more up to date tunes. Either way, the hazzan may want to use a particular tune that has not been used lately to surprise the congregation, or one he knows will encourage the crowd to join in.

“In Syrian shuls, there are several phrases which are sung during the course of the tefillah where the tune used is according to the weekly maqam,” explains Rabbi Mustacchi. “This includes the words halelu Keil bekadsho in Pesukei D’Zimrah; Nishmat kol hai and sha’avat aniyim; Keil hahoda’ot in Yishtabah and the kaddish following it; semeihim beseitam in Keil Adon and miMizrayim ge’altanu in Birchot Kriat Shema; and Nakdishach in Kedushah.”

Timely Tunes

The maqam of the week is often determined by the parashah.

“‘Rast,’ which has the origin of the Arabic word ‘ras,’ means ‘head’ (related to the Hebrew word ‘rosh’ and Aramaic word ‘reish’) is used for the parshiot which begin each sefer of the Torah,” Rabbi Mustacchi shared with me. “Thus, the week we read Parashat Bereishit, Shmot, Vayikra and Bamidbar will use Maqam Rast. Technically, we should use Rast for Parashat Devarim as well, since it is the beginning of a new sefer. However, since Tishah B’Av always falls in the week of Devarim, we use a different maqam called Hijaz, which has somber tones and sets the mood for the upcoming sad day of Tishah B’Av. Rast is also used by Minchah of Shabbat.”

For Kabbalat Shabbat and Arbit on Friday night, Maqam Nawa or Hahwand is used. “Some say the reason for this is because the name of the Maqam, Nawa, sounds like the word ‘na’avah,’ which means ‘pleasant.’ Since we recite the passuk of lebeitcha na’avah kodesh on Friday night, we use that maqam. The tone of this maqam is serene, calm and relaxing, and it lends itself to welcoming the Shabbat in a pleasant atmosphere, and it is a relaxing time at the end of the work-week,” Rabbi Mustacchi tells me.

Hijaz is a somber maqam, and it is used for those parshiot which discuss the death of a person, such Parashat Veyehi and Aharei Mot, as well for parshiot which discuss tragic events, including Ki Tisa, where the Egel is mentioned, and Shelah, where the Meraglim are mentioned.

Bayat, one of the most common maqamot, conforms with happy and exciting tunes, and is used when there is a bar misvah or the birth of a baby girl being celebrated that week. There are many wedding songs that are sung in Bayat as well.

“Ajam” means “foreigner” in Arabic, and typically refers to Iranians. It is classical maqam which also has many happy and festive tunes. It is used for Shabbat Shirah, which of course includes Shirat Hayam, and is also used for some of the hagim, when it is alternated with Sigah, which is a heavy maqam.

“Usually on the first day of the hag we will use Sigah, and the second day we will use Ajam, which is lighter and more joyous,” says Rabbi Mustacchi. “The ta’amei hamikrah, used for reading the Torah, are also in Sigah. We also have special tefillot for Shabbat Zachor and Purim which are sung in Sigah.

“When a brit milah is being celebrated, Saba will be used, since ‘sabi’ in Arabic means ‘baby boy.’ It is also used for parshiot which mention brit milah like Lech Lecha, Tazria and Pinchas. Since a brit, a covenant, is related to the observance of misvot, it may be used for parshiot which have an abundance of misvot, like Mishpatim, Kedoshim and Behar. ‘Saba’ (‘tzava’) in Lashon Kodesh means ‘army,’ so Saba is also used for parshiot which mentions the army, like Parashat Ki Teisei.”

While the tefillah of Shaharit is sung in the maqam scheduled for the current week, Mussaf uses the maqam of the upcoming week as a sort of preview of what to expect.

“The maqam helps put the congregation into the mood of the parashah, the hag or an event that is being celebrated,” Rabbi Mustacchi says with pride. “If the hazzan is good, the people will know what is happening or coming up, and they will look forward to it with anticipation.”

In addition to the weekly maqam, the Syrian community has a set group of bakashot sung every week. “Although in the past there were books of poems compiled with dozens of bakashot, including Mikra Kodesh, published in Aleppo in 1873, Bakashot L’Shabbat in 1953 and Shir uShebahah and Hallel vZimrah in the 1920s, they has been updated and our custom is to sing the same bakashot each week. They are set in a specific order to replace Tikkun Hasot, which is not recited on Shabbat.”

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Moroccan Maqamot

“While the Syrian customs limits the maqam to parts of the tefillah, the maqam in the customs of Morocco is more musically complex,” said Elie Gabay, who serves as the hazzan in Congregation Yismah Moshe, a Moroccan shul in Midwood. “We generally use the weekly maqam for the same parts of tefillah as the Syrian Jews.” (However, the Syrian Jews only sing the end of Keil Adon from semeihim betzeitam onward, and Moroccan Jews sing it in its entirety, and sing l’Keil Baruch as well.)

“The custom in Morocco, however, was to use the maqam for the weekly bakashot as well. Each Friday night or early Shabbat morning, the men would gather and sing a series of poems which told the story of the parashah, including many references to the midrashim or the upcoming events. There are a multitude of bakashot for each parashah, and the singing could take an hour or two. It helped the people connect to the parashah and get them into the mood of the week, and lifted their ruchniyut.”

While some of the bakashot were written by Rishonim and early Aharonim, including Ibn Ezra, Shlomo ibn Gabirol, Rav Yehudah Halevi and Rav Yisrael Najara, others were written by more contemporary poets. In 1921, they were compiled into a voluminous tome titled Shir Yedidut and published it in Marrakesh, Morocco. The poems were divided into 19 sections to be sung during the weeks between Parashat Bereishit and Parashat Zachor, and the weekly maqam coincided with these bakashot. The text of the petihah, the opening poem, is often sung as a “warm-up” for the bakashot, and the tune for the petihah varies according to the maqam of the week, and then used for the bakashot of that week.

“While in Morocco the bakashot were sung Friday night or early Shabbat morning, today in Israel it is often sung on Motzoei Shabbat with musical accompaniment, which helps attract a larger audience as well,” said Elie.

“While the Syrian maqam has a distinct Arabic influence, Hacham Yoram Abergel, zt”l, a great Hacham of Moroccan origin, explained the style of songs and tunes used by the people of the Maghreb, or northern Africa (Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria), is considered more musical, since it was influenced by the Andalusian tones, which captures the sounds of the nearby ocean,” Elie explained. “One of Bakashot is Ram el Maya, where you can envision in the tune the sounds of the water as it raged in the sea and then calmed as it crested and splashed on the stones of the seashore.”

As a result of the flowing style of the tunes favored by the Moroccan community, the tefillot are usually quite lengthy, and many parts of the tefillah are sung in unison.

“The tefillah is beautiful, and even on a regular Shabbat, the prayers can take several hours,” said Elie with pride. “Our prayers may take more time, but we are in no rush to finish.”

This article originally appeared in Hamodia’s Sefardic Heritage in America – Succos Supplement