<html><head></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="5"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px;"> "שִׁירוּ לוֹ, זַמְּרוּ לוֹ, שִׂיחוּ בְּכָל-נִפְלְאוֹתָיו" Psalms 105:2</span></font></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 20px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; "> "Sing unto Him, make melody unto Him; Speak of all His marvelous works."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 20px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; "><br></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 20px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; ">Interestingly the verse has <i>singing</i> followed by <i>melody</i> prior to "speaking."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 20px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; ">Rav Kook zt"l describes this as three stages. The first stage is <i>shirah </i>(song) which is an initial flash of insight not fully developed. The second is <i>zimrah </i>(music) expressing our inner emotions and feelings of gratitude. And the third is <i>sicha</i> (speech) which is contemplative discourse.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 20px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; "><br></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 20px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; ">As a chazzan, I see it a bit differently. Before we can have the ability to speak, we need the foundation of individual singing. Next, we add instruments in order to bring that singing to a higher level, and only at that point, can we speak (intelligently) of "all His wonders." In other words, without the emotion as our foundation, we can't really reach the optimum level and intensity of speech. Before a little baby can speak, he or she makes all sorts of noises and song. In order to study Torah, we must have the chant. And as the Beis Hamikdash had all types of musical instruments, it gave the emotion for the <i>sicha</i>. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 20px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; "><br></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 20px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; ">May the <i>song</i> we sing have the exalted <i>melody</i> with which to bring us to the quintessential <i>sicha.</i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 20px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; "><br></span></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="5"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 20px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">ri</span></font></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 20px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; "><br></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 20px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: normal; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; font-size: medium; "><p><font class="Apple-style-span" face="David"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><font class="Apple-style-span" face="'Trebuchet MS'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: normal; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; font-size: small;"><br></span></font></span></font></p></span></span></div></body></html>