From Tunisia to Jerusalem and the Mahgreb

Last Thursday's concert at Confederation House was what we particularly like -- a bit of family history and a lot of North African music. I was particularly happy that I recognized the first tune. Not that I know its name, and I certainly could not sing it for you, but I knew I had heard it before. I was also pleased that when they played a new melody to words I know (such as Ya Ribon), I heard the music as a melody and could sing along. To be sure, the rest of the audience certainly knew the words and music and carried me.

The night before, at Beit Avi Chai, we had also heard north African music, from a slightly wider area. This, too, was a delightful concert. We were pleased to see such a variety of ages in the audience from primary-school kids to aged grandparents.

Copyright 2018 Jane S. Fox

Teddy Kollek with Singalong

A lecture, a panel discussion and a singalong -- this is a combination I've seen only at beit Avi Chai bac.org.il where this month's was on Teddy Kollek https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teddy_Kollek. We started with songs about Jerusalem, followed by a short film on his life. The panel inluded a current deputy mayor and the director of the Jerusalem Foundation who had a chip on her shoulder because she had not herself thought of marking the tenth anniversary of his death. As she told the moderator in her opening statement, "We at the Foundation should have organized an event, thought since we didn't I suppose it's good that you did, though you should have invited more people to speak and included different material."

Copyright 2017 Jane S. Fox

Rosh Khodesh at Beit Avi Chai

Adar aleph, it seems, is the Tribe of Dan's month, so last night at Beit Avi Chai we were at a presentation that included a lecture on the tribe, a history of the Dan bus cooperative, and a singalong.

First an oudist and a kanounist played for us in the picture gallery leading to the small cafe. Such house-style concerts are a new feature before eveng events.

I always find it interesting to listen to secular Bible scholars what might be the origin of Biblical passages, in this case about what Dan's blessing might mean and what the story might be behind the sanctuary set up art what is now called Tel Dan.

Copyright 2016 Jane Fox

Jacky Levy et al. et al.

Noticing a last-minute poster, we went to Beit Avi Chai to see Jacky Levy and company (Kalabat Shabbat) doing their T"U b'Shvat program (two weeks after the holiday). "Why do Jews like T"U b'Shvat (new year's day for trees) so much? Because it has nothing to do with anyone trying to destroy us. The trees never had anything against us." Probably only in Israel would you get a humorous take on people's reaction to terrorism. ow that I think about it, that monologue was a variation on the "When I came to Israel," or "When I was your age."

We went early to try out Beit Avi Chai's newest version of its cafe. Not much, but fine for coffee or a soft drink or beer with a small cold sandwich or pastry. Israeli sandwiches are almost always good because the bread is excellent and the ingredients extremely fresh.

Along the art-display corridor where they've put the cafe, we noticed a guitar and violin on two chairs, next to their cases, and chairs set around. Someone was going to play. And they did, original works played and sung for 45 minutes before the event we'd paid for.

Beit Avi Chai also supports TV shows on channel 20 -- a sort of Modern Orthodox channel. I've seen several episodes from a travel series about Jewish communities around the world and three soap operas. Chabad undoubtedly did not get started in Katmandu the way the soap opera tells it, but the show is fun to watch.

Copyright 2016 Jane Fox

Poetry Set to Music

Wednesday night we had tickets at Bet AviChai (bac.co.il) only because we'd been given discount coupons after a Tuesday night lecture.

That lecture was a fascinating account of the real ship Exodus (as apposed to Leon Uris's novelized composite of several ships and romance, which later became a popular movie). Much more is known now that governments have released documents kept classified for decades.

After the lecture Michael dropped his cellphone from two flights up. The seven-year-old phone made by a company called Tellit worked just fine after I put it back together again.

Wednesday night was poetry. We were a bit apprehensive, but it turned out to be classic poets (Bialik, Altermann, and the like) plus some we'd never heard of, many set to music. The poem about the solar water heater and the antenna was new to us. The singers were so good that I think even listeners who understood no Hebrew would have enjoyed the performance.

We are now on the BetAviChai mailing list, so se won't be dependent on my noticing posters for their events or being handed a flyer at one event for another one. As with other Jerusalem venues, performances don't always seem to appear on the website when I'm looking.

Copyright 2013 Jane Schulzinger Fox

Nino Biton and his Maghreb Band

At Beit AviKhai last night (www.bac.org.il) last night we enjoyed Nino Biton and his Maghreb band playing music in the Algerian style. After four lectures on the subject, I have a vague notion of what a makam (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Makam) is. Each selection was written to (or is it with? or in?) a different makam, and yet there was a recurrent pattern -- perhaps because of their common Algerian connection. One of the musicians played piano -- an instrument with very fixed notes. How does that fit the structure? A high energy level and enthusiastic audience make these live performances more enjoyable than recordings.

Copyright 2013 Jane Schulzinger Fox

End of Divine RIght

Beit Avi Chai's lecture series on the Jews of North Africa did not start with their arrival there. The series is, after all, only four lectures. It started with colonialism, and the results of good intentions. (Patricia Limerick has a wonderful riff on good intentions in her book about the history of the American West, Legacy of Conquest).

What we heard about the changes colonialism brought to the Jews of the Maghreb was interesting, but there was also a reminder for all of "the West."

"Louis XIV ruled by divine right, Napoleon by the will of his people (however often he ignored their will)." That change in the basis for the legitimacy of power is something to remember today.

Copyright 2012 Jane S. Fox

Homayun Shushtar Bidad

After the third maqam concert I have musical notation of these three forms, three sets of treble clef scales I can play on the piano, with an arrow from D to C above middle C (Homayun), from G to middle C (Shushtar or Chakovak http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mugham), and from G to D (Bidad of Hijaz Misri http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7R3Z5QdOJ7M). And I still do not understand. I'm guessing that the indicated notes show resolution. Not even Wikipedia can get my mind out of its stubborn Western set.

Bu http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UPhlmO1FI0 is clear to my ears.

Copyright 2012 Jane S. Fox