Singing Communities
Over 10 Singing Communities are currently active and meet every week; the circle of groups learning traditional Jewish song grows every year. The Communities reflect the diversity of Israeli society and include secular, observant and traditional men and women of all ages from varied ethnic backgrounds.
Singing Communities meet weekly to learn and sing piyyutim and niggunim, and to study the various facets of their textual content. Each Community is led by a trained facilitator and hosts experienced professional paytanim and singers in its encounters.
You are invited to join a Singing Community in your area. Previous musical background is not required.
Piyyut and Niggun
The treasures of poetry and song, especially when united in a single genre, may be the most powerful creation produced by Jewish culture. The emotional and spiritual experience they offer provides a choice means of introduction to the Jewish heritage and traditions from East to West for a broad public.
Over hundreds of years, Jewish communities have developed a rich textual and musical world to accompany the Jewish lifecycle and to mark the seasons and Festivals of the Hebrew calendar year – an oral tradition of solo and group song transmitted over generations.
In Kehillot Sharot – Singing Communities – we seek to learn and teach these treasured traditions and to make their voices heard as part of contemporary Israeli culture.
The texts and melodies of Jewish song open the way to a personal musical, emotional and spiritual experience
in a community setting and offer a glimpse at the beauty
of the culture, language, ideas and history of the communities where they were composed.
Kehillot Sharot was established in 2002 with the support of the Avi Chai Foundation and operates in collaboration with the International Cultural Center in Jerusalem.
