Sunday, August 27, 2006
MUSICAL INSPIRATION from RAV KOOK ZT"L
Today is the 3rd of Elul and the 71st yahrzeit of HaRav Avraham Yitzchak HaKohen Kook. I blogged about him last year, Mizmor Shir L’Rav Kook
I recently spotted a recording of niggunim set to parts of Rav Kook’s “Orot HaTeshuva”. I haven’t been able to find this on the Web, but if anyone does, please notify us in the comments or by e-mail.
"I will open my riddle to the accompaniment of a harp." [Ps. 49:5]
The chida (riddle) works in a different fashion. The listener must work out the riddle for himself. The intellectual challenge stimulates the mind, enabling it to perceive deeper aspects of the idea to be grasped. Simply 'inclining an ear' is not enough to decipher the riddle. The listener needs a special inspiration — and that is the role of the harp. We find that the prophets utilized music in order to clear their minds and attain a prophetic state (see I Kings 3:15; I Samuel 10:5; I Chronicles 25:1). Music has the ability to stimulate and inspire. It assists us in solving the riddle, and we are granted a more profound insight into the original matter.
[adapted from Shivchei HaRe'iyah pp. 285-286]
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