Summary: Ethan Tucker. Music has played a central role in religious rites across cultures and throughout time. And yet, traditional Jewish practice has mainly forbidden the use of musical instruments on Shabbat and Yom Tov, days that are uniquely focused on spirituality and on transcending the mundane. Why? What is the basis for this prohibition, both in the textual record and conceptually? How should we think about this prohibition today? We will review the sources and suggests a few different models for thinking about this question.
