[Avodah] changing tune in lecha dodi

[Micha Berger]

On Mon, Nov 22, 2010 at 02:57:41PM -0600, The Goldmeiers wrote:
> Regardless, My Rov recently made a statement that he wants to insists ALL
> chazanim to change the tune and he dislikes it when a chazan doesn't.
> he says, "it's become minhag Yisroel" to change the tune...

I think in practice, it's pretty close to universal. That has been my
observation listening to minyanim from numerous eidot at the kotel.
There are some holdouts, but not many.

As for the origin, bemechilas kevod toras R' Dovid Cohen, I think it
has a basis.

There is a minhag Frankfurt-am-Main to sing one tune for the beginning to
His'oreri -- using one tune for Shamor and Liqras Shabbos (about Shabbos)
as well as for the verses about galus.

Then they switched to a happy tune for *His'oreri*, when the piyut starts
discussing the Ge'ulah.

And then for the return to discussing Shabbos in Bo'i veShalom they
would *switch back*.

Not exactly the same minhag, but the beginning of the idea.

To my mind this must be connected to the Chassidishe minhag, which is
to use a slow tune for the first verses, and a lively / happy one for
the last 4. The only question would be why His'oreri is not considered
among the nechamah. Admittedly, it's a major one.

Second, this is a piyut written in Tzefas that has 10 stanzas (if you
count the initial use of the chorus as a stanza) and is written for
Shabbos. I am not an authority on qabbalah, but I would be surprised to
learn that there is no motivation based on the Eitz Chayim for changing
tunes after 6 stanzas, the sefiros related to the work-weak.


While we're on the subject of new minhagei Yisrael... My own minhag
is to only do a full hishtachavayah for the Avodah, not the Aleinu on
either RH or YK. At this point, though, I haven't seen a minyan where
keeping this minhag wouldn't raise perishah min hatzibbur problems.
Has my minhag become trumped by a new minhag Yisrael, or are there still
shuls out there who do things as my grandfather a"h did?

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger             Take time,
micha at aishdas.org        be exact,
http://www.aishdas.org   unclutter the mind.
Fax: (270) 514-1507            - Rabbi Simcha Zissel Ziv, Alter of Kelm