Maimonides and Music

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The first responsum deals with music in the synagogue. Farmer contextualizes Maimonides’ responsum by reminding us that the view of music in the religious sphere at that time in Egypt was one that in many ways was shared by Muslims and Jews alike. He notes that religious leaders stigmatized music more often than not because they felt that the power of music could lead certain believers astray (see the works of the seminal Sufi thinker al-Ghazali for more on this subject as well). Maimonides, however, goes beyond operating from a stance of fear for degeneration, recognizing instead the power of music as an important tool for spirituality. He not only supports the use of music in religious life, but supports the incorporation of certain secular, non-Jewish influences into the synagogue liturgy.

The second responsum deals more directly with listening to secular music. After presenting what seems to be a support for the restraining and repressing of listening by the Jew, Maimonides cleverly concludes that it is not the music but the person listening to the music that must be confronted. Maimonides trusts that the sound of music is a manifestation of God — as is everything in the world — and that it is man who corrupts this sound with his impurities of context. The inference is subtle but crucial. Refine one’s self — the listener — in order that he may receive the blessing of music.