I am in a Christmas play this week. The play is a series of vignettes and I play several different characters; in one I play an 80 year old rabbi who says the beginning of a Hebrew prayer at the wedding of his granddaughter. (He is not officiating as it is an interfaith ceremony.) The Hebrew I am supposed to speak:
Barukh attah Adonai Eloheinu melech haolam,
(Blessed art thou o Lord our God Ruler of the Universe)
Three questions:
Which of the k’s and h’s above should be pronounced with the hard K sound?
Since I am not Jewish IRL, would it be considered disrespectful for me to say these words by any Jews in attendance? (I am speaking more of Reform/mainstream Jews as I’m reasonably certain there won’t be any Hasids or ultra-orthodox in attendance.) If it is disrespectful, I’ll mime this portion.
Should this piece be spoken or sung/canted? (I’m told I have a near perfect “cantor’s voice”, so I’m so hoping it’s sung- in fact, even if it’s not usually sung, would it be alright to?)
Thanks in advance for any help.
(I’m afraid I have a slight reputation as “difficult” over this one scene: for one thing I’ve insisted on finding an actual yarmulke rather than the [grrrrr] improvised piece of cloth I was given, AND I’ve insisted on learning the actual pronunciation rather than follow the assistant director’s advice of “Just make something up- the audience won’t know” [probably right, BUT I’LL KNOW!], and I literally refused to do the scene if they didn’t remove The Wedding March from the scene [NO conservative rabbi would allow his granddaughter to march down the aisle to a piece by Wagner]. However, I’m moving in two weeks so if it brands me, who cares.)
Baruch and melech both have the same gutteral sound at the end. It’s sort of clearing your throat. I can’t think of any English words that have the same sound. If you have a Fiddler on the Roof CD, listen to the song “To Life.” It’s the same as in “L’chaim!”
I can’t imagine that it would be disrespectful. Go for it.
It may or may not be sung. It depends on which prayer you’re saying. There are many many prayers in Judaism that start with that phrase.
The third and fourth words are names of God and should not be spoken outside of the context of a real blessing.
If no one will know the difference anyway try using:
“Baruch ata Hashem Elokainu melech ha-olam…”
The “ch” at the end of the first and fifth words is as in the German ach.
As to whether or not it should be sung probably doesn’t make a difference.
The text you will be reciting is the standard opening to a blessing. There are dozens of possible endings to the blessing depending on the situation. Some of these blessings are usually sung, others not. Without knowing which one it is you’re going to be saying, I couldn’t say whether or not it should be sung.
In any event, there is no prohibition/requirement that any blessing be sung or simply recited. As such, you can do whichever you are more comfortable with.
Out of curiosity, what music do Jewish brides march down the aisle to? (Again, I’m asking more about mainstream ceremonies than the extremely conservative minority.) Also, is there an official stance on interfaith marriages in Reform Judaism? (I know that just as in Christianity there are some synagogues that allow women to be rabbis while others don’t, some bless gay unions while others don’t, etc., but this is more an “American Judaism in general” question.)
I apologize for any offense n my questioning- it’s born of ignorance rather than intent. (I live in an area of the nation with very few Jews and the ones I know are lax [to put it mildly- one admitted he ate pork chops on Yom Kippur one year because he totally forgot about the holiday, and when he realized it he just laughed it off]; I also have Jewish ancestry on my mother’s side but the last devout member of the family died long before I was born).
There is no standard tune that is used, as far as I know of. Many Jews, however, will not walk down to “Here Comes The Bride” as Wagner was rabidly anti-Jewish.
To the best of my knowledge, it is up to each individual Reform rabbi to decide if they want to perform interfaith wedding services. There are those that will do it, there are those that will do it but not with the services of a priest, minister, imam, etc., and there are those that will not do it at all.
Zev Steinhardt