Dr.

Francesco Spagnolo MUSIC 74 & 139

spagnoloacht@berkeley.edu UC Berkeley, Fall 2014
Office: 2121 Allston Way The Magnes, 2121 Allston Way
Hours: TUE 11:30-1 & by appt. MON & WED 2-4 PM


Jewish Nightlife: Poetry, Music, and Ritual Performance
From Renaissance Italy to Contemporary Israel


In this course we explore the inter-relations between the ritual performance of Jewish texts
and the dynamics of social change across Jewish history, focusing on three related topics:
the rise of Kabbalistic nocturnal rituals in the Italian ghettos during the early-modern period;
the performance of Hebrew poetry and Arabic music in the Ottoman Empire; and the
renaissance of piyyut (Hebrew liturgical poetry) in Israel from the 1970s to the present,
including Hassidic song, the performance of bakkashot among mizrachi Israelis, and the
current transcultural activities of online and participatory communities.
During the semester we will conduct field trips to Berkeley synagogues and leverage the
resources of The Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life, including manuscripts and printed
texts, written music manuscripts, audio and video recordings, iconographic sources, and
ritual and everyday life objects from the global Jewish diaspora.
The course will be complemented by weekly workshops led by Yair Harel (Jerusalem),
Schusterman Visiting Israeli Artist at The Magnes, UC Berkeley, this Fall. Harel, a performer,
artistic director, and community organizer, is also the creator of the website, An Invitation to
Piyyut, which integrates scholarship, digital archiving, and crowdsourcing in the study and
the performance of Hebrew liturgical poetry and music.

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Weekly Plan
Week 1 | WED 9/3
Introduction
Main themes, maps, timelines, and resources (on-site and online)

Week 2 | MON 9/8 & WED 9/10
Dangerous nights: text, music, learning (and the Passover Seder)
READING: Ginzburg 2 (Jews, Heretics, Witches p. 63-80); EJ Passover; Idelsohn XIV
(Haggadah p. 173-187)
LISTENING: Malavsky Family Passover Seder Service; The Socalled Seder
RESOURCES: Magnes Haggadah collection; sefaria.org (Pesach Haggadah, esp. section 5)

Week 3 | MON 9/15 & WED 9/17
Studying Jewish culture: time, space, language
READING: Biale, Cultures of the Jews (Preface); Idelsohn VII (Prayer Codes p. 56-70); EJ:
History: The Middle Ages, and History: Modern Times - to 1880
RESOURCES: Gourmet Ghettos: Modern Food Rituals (@Magnes); jewish-languages.org

Week 4 | MON 9/22 [no class on WED 9/24]
Worlds of Jewish music: introduction
READING: Grove I:1-4 (Introduction)
LISTENING: Musical Traditions in Israel
RESOURCES: Judaica Sound Archives; Invitation to piyyut

WEEK 5 | MON 9/29 & WED 10/1
Worlds of Jewish music: forms of liturgy
READING: Idelsohn X (Sabbath p. 128-150); Grove III:1-6 (Liturgical and Paraliturgical)
LISTENING: Musical Traditions in Israel; Titgadal wetitqadash...
RESOURCES: Magnes Prayer Book collection; sefaria.org; opensiddur.org

WEEK 6 | MON 10/6 & WED 10/8
Jewish night rituals: a survey (and, perhaps, a history)
guest presenter: India Mandelkern (History dept.) on Caffeine (Wed 10/8)
READING: Idelsohn XI, XII, and XIII (Sabbath at home, Special days, Distinguished occasions
p. 151-165); Horowitz, Coffee
LISTENING: Night rituals selections in bCourses
RESOURCES: select documents and objects of material culture from The Magnes Collection

RECOMMENDED ACTIVITY: Yair Harels noon concert (10/8 @Magnes)

WEEK 7 | MON 10/13 [no class on WED 10/15]
Ritual performance: introducing Yair Harel + field trips planning
READING: Heilman; Idelsohn XV (Festivals p. 188-204), EJ Sukkot
LISTENING: Field recordings selections in bCourses
RESOURCES: synagogues360.org

REQUIRED ACTIVITY: FIELD TRIP NO. 1 (guidelines distributed in class)

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WEEK 8 | MON 10/20 & WED 10/22
Piyyut: Hebrew liturgical poetry
READING: Idelsohn V-VI (Poetry/piyyut p. 34-46; Kabbalah p. 47-55); Grove III:2:iv (Poetry)
LISTENING: Titgadal wetitqadash, World music from Israel (selections in bCourses)
RESOURCES: Select texts from Cole and Carmi (in bCourses); Invitation to piyyut

REQUIRED ACTIVITY: FIELD TRIP NO. 2 (guidelines distributed in class)

WEEK 9 | MON 10/27 & WED 10/29
Field trips roundup + Midterm examination
Guidelines for the examination will be distributed by Week 8

WEEK 10 | MON 11/3 & WED 11/5
Mysticism as performance: Italy (and Christianity)
READING: Grove V:2 (Christian World); EJ Venice and Lilith (female demon); Horowitz Eve
LISTENING: Synagogal Music in the Baroque 1 & 3; Italian Jewish Musical Traditions
RESOURCES: select amulets from The Magnes Collection

Research papers proposals due by Monday, November 3

WEEK 11 | MON 11/10 & WED 11/12
Mysticism as performance: Ottoman Turkey (and Islam)
guest presenter Prof. Robert Alter on Hebrew poetry (Mon 11/10)
READING: Grove V:1 (Islamic World);Kligman 1 (Cultures in Contact Through Music p. 11-22);
Seroussi Perev; EJ Najara, Israel ben Moses
LISTENING: Effendi, Algazi, Benaroya, Maftirim (selections in bCourses)
RESOURCES: CD booklets from listening selections (PDFs in bCourses)

REQUIRED ACTIVITY: PIYYUT concert at The Magnes (THU 11/13 7PM)

WEEK 12 | MON 11/17 & WED 11/19
The politics of Jewish nightlife: Hassidic music
READING: EJ Hasidism; The Hassidic Nigun... CD booklet
LISTENING: The Hassidic Nigun as Sung by the Hassidim
RESOURCES: YouTube Jewish Nightlife playlist (and select links in bCourses)

WEEK 13 | MON 11/24 & WED 11/26
The politics of Jewish nightlife: the rise of Israeli Mizrachi music
READING: Regev and Seroussi 9 (Musiqa Mizrahit p. 191-212); Seroussi Moroccan Bakkashot
LISTENING: Mizrahi music (selections in bCourses); A Song of Dawn; Sacred Music of the
Moroccan Jews; With Song They Respond

Research papers due by Monday, November 24

WEEK 14 | MON 12/1 & WED 12/3
The politics of Jewish nightlife: Israel and the revolution of the 3rd generation
READING: Regev and Seroussi 1 (A Short Introduction to Israeli Culture p. 15-25)
RESOURCES: Invitation to piyyut; Jerusalem Piyyut Festival

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General Requirements

Regularly attend class and section (music workshop) meetings, be on time and
prepared. (Unexcused absences will affect your grade)
Be prepared ahead of time for both lectures and workshops: be thoroughly familiar
with all assigned reading, listening, and resource materials, ready to discuss them,
and to ask questions about them
Participate in the lectures and workshops actively and critically (physical presence
does not qualify as class participation)
Complete all assignments on time. Late work will not be accepted unless you have
received a written confirmation by the instructor prior to the assignment deadline

Grades will be based on the following:
1. Attendance and participation (lectures, workshops, required activities) 30%
2. Four (un-announced) Response Exercises 20%
3. Midterm (held on Week 8) 10%
4. Research paper (due on Monday, November 24) 30%
5. Final (held on Thursday, December 18, 3-6 pm) 10%

Research papers should be 6 to 8 pages long (1500-2000 words). They must have a title
(preferably a creative and descriptive one), explain the topic of the research, ask clear
questions and develop solid answers. The quality of your writing is extremely important
(grammar counts, and so do editing and proofing). More than one answer to a question may
be offered: do not be afraid to explore alternative views on a single issue. Papers need to be
based on both primary (music, lyrics, documents, etc.) and secondary (articles, books, CD
notes, etc.) sources. All sources must be fully listed at the end of the paper, and all
quotations from them must be highlighted in your notes. Short proposals (abstracts) are
due by Monday, November 3. Papers are due, in class, by Monday, November 24.

Music workshops will be conducted by Yair Harel, an internationally renowned artist and
teacher of piyyut, or Hebrew liturgical poetry. No prior knowledge of music, or of Hebrew, is
required. Each session will be based on texts (including Hebrew transliteration and English
translations), music files and music charts, distributed via bCourses. The workshops will begin
on the 7th week of classes.

The format(s) of the Response Exercises and of the Midterm will be announced in class.
Both will be based solely on materials included in the syllabus. The Final will involve a class
presentation based on the weekly lectures and music workshops.

Electronic devices (except for smartphones) are allowed in this class, and are to be used
for class-related purposes only, such as taking notes and doing online research.

A Note on R&R Week
No additional materials will be assigned during dead week, but class may meet if
preparations for the Final presentation require us to do so.

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Reading Assignments*
Biale, David. Cultures of the Jews: A New History. New York: Schocken Books, 2002
Carmi, T. The Penguin Book of Hebrew Verse. New York: Viking Press, 1981
Cole, Peter. The Poetry of Kabbalah: Mystical Verse from the Jewish Tradition. New
Haven: Yale University Press, 2012
EJ: Michael Berenbaum and Fred Skolnik eds. Encyclopaedia Judaica. Detroit:
Macmillan, 2007 http://bit.ly/EJUCB (UCB access required)
Ginzburg, Carlo. Ecstasies: Deciphering the Witches' Sabbath. New York: Pantheon
Books, 1991
Grove: L. Macy ed. The New Grove Dictionary of Music Online,
http://www.grovemusic.com (UCB access required)
Heilman, Samuel C. Synagogue Life. A Study in Symbolic Interaction, The University of
Chicago Press, Chicago London 1976 (repr. 1998)
Horowitz, Elliott. Coffee, Coffeehouses, and the Nocturnal Rituals of Early Modern
Jewry, AJS Review 14/1 (Spring 1989): 17-46
Horowitz, Elliott. The Eve of the Circumcision. A Chapter in the History of Jewish
Nightlife, Journal of Social History, 23/1989: 45-70
Idelsohn, Abraham Z. Jewish Liturgy and Its Development (1932). Dover 1995
(required)
Kligman, Mark. Maqam and Liturgy. Ritual, Music, and Aesthetics of Syrian Jews in
Brooklyn. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 2009
Regev, Motti and Edwin Seroussi. Popular Music & National Culture in Israel. Berkeley:
University of California Press, 2004 http://bit.ly/regevseroussi (UCB access required)
Seroussi, Edwin. Politics, Ethnic Identity, and Music in Israel: The Case of the
Moroccan Bakkashot. Asian Music 17/2 (Spring-Summer 1986): 32-45
Seroussi, Edwin. "The Perev as a Vocal Genre in Ottoman Hebrew Sources." Turkish
Music Quarterly 4/3 (Summer 1991): 1-9
Listening Assignments*
Adler, Israel ed. Synagogal Music in the Baroque, Vol. 1, Anthology of Music
Traditions in Israel no. 7, Jerusalem 1991, AMTI CD 9101, and Vol. 3, Anthology of
Music Traditions in Israel no. 9, Jerusalem, 1996, AMTI CD 9601
Bahat Avner and Naomi eds. With Songs They Respond: The Diwan of the Jews from
Central Yemen. Anthology of Music Traditions in Israel no. 19, Jerusalem, 2007,
AMTI CD 0601
Dolgin, Johs. The Socalled Seder. A Hip Hop Haggadah. JDub, 2005
Maftirim. Judeo-Sufi Connection, Kalan, Istanbul, 2001
Malavsky Family Choir, Malavsky Family Passover Seder Service, Banner, 196[?]
Marks, Essica ed. A Song of Dawn: The Jerusalem Sephardi Baqqashot at the Har
Tzyion Synagogue. Anthology of Music Traditions in Israel no. 20, Jerusalem 2007
AMTI CD 0701
Mazor, Yaakov ed. The Hasidic Nigun as Sung by the Hasidim. Anthology of Music
Traditions in Israel no. 17, Jerusalem 2004, AMTI CD 0402
Musical Traditions in Israel: Treasures of the National Sound Archives. National Sound
Archives, Jerusalem 1999

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Ottens, Rita and Joel Rubin, Cantor Isaac Algazi: Sweet Singer of Israel. Wergo, 2002,
SM 1622 2
Seroussi, Edwin, Rivka Havassy and Joel Bresler. An Early Twentieth-Century Sephardi
Troubadour: The Historical Recordings of Haim Effendi of Turkey. Anthology of Music
Traditions in Israel no. 21, Jerusalem 2008, AMTI CD 0801
Seroussi, Edwin. Ottoman Hebrew Sacred Songs (performed by Samuel Benaroya).
Anthology of Music Traditions in Israel no. 12, Jerusalem 1998, AMTI CD 9803
Seroussi Edwin ed. Sacred Music of the Moroccan Jews, collected by Paul Bowles,
2000, Rounder Records 82161-5087-2
Spagnolo Francesco ed. Italian Jewish Musical Traditions: The Recordings of Leo Levi
(1954-1961). Anthology of Music Traditions in Israel no. 14, The Hebrew University
Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Rome-Jerusalem 2001, AMTI CD 0102
Titgadal wetitqadash betokh Yerushalaim Jerusalem in Hebrew Prayer and Song.
GEMA CD 66.21201
World Music from Israel: The Deben Bhattacharya Collection. Fremeaux, CD FA 079,
1998
Assigned Resources*
The Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life www.magnes.org
The Magnes Collection online catalog www.magnesalm.org
Spagnolo, Francesco and India Mandelkern, Gourmet Ghettos: Modern Food Rituals,
The Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life, UC Berkeley, 2014-2015
www.bit.ly/gourmetghettos
Sefaria www.sefaria.org
Jewish Language Research Website www.jewish-languages.org
Judaica Sound Archives (Florida Atlantic University) http://faujsa.fau.edu
Invitation to Piyyut http://www.piyut.org.il/english
Jerusalem Piyyut Festival http://piyut-festival.co.il/2014/eng
The Open Siddur Project http://opensiddur.org
YouTube www.youtube.com
YouTube: Jewish Nightlife playlist http://bit.ly/jewishnightlifeYT
Synagogues360 http://synagogues360.org
Course Blog
A course blog is available online at jewishnightlife.wordpress.com. The blog is maintained by
the instructors, and follows the pace of the course throughout the semester. It is a useful
resource for reviewing course materials, resources, and assignments, to conduct independent
research and prepare for class and for the exams. Students are encouraged to contribute to
the blog, and their work may be posted there on various occasions. In order to contribute
content directly, students must be familiar with Wordpress (a free and open source content
management system).

*All assignments are available via the UC Berkeley Library portal, bCourses, or links provided
in class, with the exception of Idelsohn, Jewish Liturgy, a copy of which is required for each
student in this course. Some resources are restricted to UC Berkeley accounts (setup guide:
http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/using-the-libraries/connect-off-campus).

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