Sacred Sounds

I normally write about popular rather than sacred music.  It's just what I know about.  But a friend of mine who is living in Israel for a bit right now has a wonderful post up about praying with, and in support of, women at the Western Wall.  It's a powerful meditation, and made me think a bit about the impact of song. He writes:

the ultra-Orthodox men (there were probably now more than 50 of them) began also reciting from the book of Pslams. They however, were not singing Hallel. There were wailing the saddest parts of the book, normally reserved for times of intense mourning and hardship. It was as if they were begging God to forgive them for being near this spectacle.

As they began to sing louder, so did we. I could hear the women singing in front of me, and joined them as loudly as I could. I've never been that afraid while praying before. I kept saying to myself, "Look forward toward the Kotel and keep praying. You are here to worship God on Rosh Hodesh. What you are doing is normal and regular, albeit in an exceptionally special place."

...

After the services at the Kotel, one of the older women approached me and said that today was the first time when she could hear male voices behind her singing along with them, and how wonderful that was. I thanked her, but said that the honor of being there with them was all mine.

I imagine this will be particularly interesting to those of you who are Jewish, but I really encourage everyone to read the whole post.  Music is a weapon, and a tool of liberation, whether it's played on the radio or sung at sacred spaces.