Music has always played an integral role in the worship service. Levites had the responsibility of singing and playing instruments as part of the Temple service, which centered around the sacrificial cult. Obviously, playing a musical instrument on a weekday presents no issues. However, Shabbat provides challenges to musical accompaniment. To better understand the Mishna’s discussion about music on TB Eruvin 102 that continues on today’s daf TB Eruvin 103, we need to refresh your memory what a shevut is.
“The term שְבוּת (shevut-gg, resting) covers a whole area of activities which are not strictly work but are to be avoided because they are not in the spirit of the Sabbath (מִשׁוּם עוּבְדִין דְּחוֹל), or because doing them may lead to acts that constitute a major desecration of the Sabbath (מִשׁוּם גְזֵרָה) (Maimonides, Hil. Shabbat 21:1)[1] The rabbis made a distinction between what is permitted inside the Temple and what is permitted outside the Temple. We have the rabbinic principal that there is no shevut prohibitions in the Temple (אין שבות במקדש)
“One may tie up on Shabbat a string [nima] that came loose from a harp used in the Temple, but not in the rest of the country. And tying the string to the harp for the first time is prohibited both here and there.” (TB Eruvin 102, Sefaria.org translation) This Mishna follows the opinion of Rabbi Eliezer who taught in the 19th chapter of massekhet Shabbat the preparation that enable the performance of a mitzvah override the prohibitions of Shabbat as long as these preparations were not possible before Shabbat. (מַכְשִׁירֵי מִצְוָה דּוֹחִין אֶת הַשַּׁבָּת) “According to Rabbi Eliezer, who said that the preparations that enable the performance of a mitzva override the prohibitions of Shabbat, one may tie even the broken harp string, as this is for the purpose of the mitzva of accompanying the Temple service with music.” (TB Eruvin 102, Sefaria.org translation) Trying to reconcile our Mishnah with a baraita which says one may tie the broken string into a bow and with a knot, Rabbi Shimon rejects both tying a knot and tying a bow because of the quality of the music. “Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar says: Even if he ties a knot or a bow, the harp will not issue the proper sound, and he would therefore be committing a transgression without performing the mitzva in a fitting manner. Rather, he unwinds the string from the lower knob and winds it around the upper one, or he unwinds the string from the upper knob and winds it around the lower one, before tightening the string until it produces the proper note.” (Sefaria.org)
A question arises whether these rabbinic ordinances concerning musical instruments still apply today in the 21st-century. Rabbi Klein writes, “… The Mishnah forbids clapping and dancing on Sabbath and festivals because of the possibility that one of the musical instruments may break and someone would repair it (M. Bet 5:2), but Tosefot (B. Bet. 30a, s.v. תנן אין מטפחין) permit these activities since in their day people were not skilled in making musical instruments.”[2] Even today most people don’t have the skill to fix most instruments, I would think that any professional string instrument musician knows how to replace broken strings on their instrument or on their bow. Does that mean one may play the piano because the average person does not know how to tune it or repair it, but one is forbidden to play a guitar because the guitarist does know how to replace a string? Rabbi Klein doesn’t rule one way or the other.
Michael Katz and Gershon Schwartz ז"ל writes, “May musical instruments be used to enhance the singing of z’mirot (Shabbat table songs-gg)? The large majority of halakhic authorities view the use of musical instruments on Shabbat is forbidden. Some justify this with reference to the fact that something new-the musical sound itself-is being created others understand the prohibition as a kind of precautionary decree that prevents us in advance, so to speak, from being tempted to fix an instrument that malfunctions or replace a string that breaks. While some Conservative authorities have allowed the use of musical instruments, such as an organ, on Shabbat services, the majority opinion of the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards follows the responsum penned by Rabbi Eli Bohen in 1962, which prohibited music even at social functions held in the synagogue. Before deciding whether or not to use musical instruments at home on Shabbat, one should seek a rabbi’s opinion.”[3]
I have a sense that more and more Conservative rabbis are permitting musical instruments in their synagogues on Shabbat. I wonder how they deal with the potential Shabbat violations that may and do arise like fixing a broken instrument or replacing a broken string which is a Torah violation of Shabbat.
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