Women: You Can Sing If You Want To

Sing -- if you want to

Kol, kol isha,
Kol isha is a bisha,
Kol isha is a bisha,
When men are all around.

Kol isha means a women’s voice, and refers to the prohibition for women to sing in the presence of men, because it is considered alluring.  Bisha is Yiddish for “shame.” So, this friend was taught that even if she had a wonderful voice and wanted to start a singing career, her warbling would be confined to a women-only audience. There are many wonderful singers who adhere to this prohibition.

This prohibition does not extend to male singers. And there are plenty of male religious singers, who have women followers who view these men as adoringly as any rock star fan. This seems to be okay, of course. I guess they’re not so alluring.

I’ve always kind of been pretty apathetic to the issue, but its inequality was brought home to me a few months ago when I attended a Battle of the Bands in my neighborhood. I only stayed for one band, but that was enough for me. It bothered me that no women were represented; after all, there are those authorities who say a woman can sing if a man is singing with her.

True, I know that there are two trends in the modern Orthodox world: one, to go as right as possible, or to question all the extremes and wonder where the moderates went.

Well, thank goodness, there are some rational people like Rabbi David Bigman, who heads up the Maale Gilboa Yeshiva. Bigman was my guest on my Kol Isha segment, and he said that he delved into this subject when there was a controversy surrounding the issue of an Israeli women singer appearing in his own neighborhood.  After looking at the sources,  Bigman concluded that there is no problem for religious women to develop a career in singing —  even within the general culture (my emphasis) — as long as the content, atmosphere, dress and body language is appropriate. That means, no Beyonce or Lady Gaga suggestive clothing or moves: a smart tactic  for any self-respecting person, I think!

So instead of blindly accepting certain misconceptions, look at the sources. Or look at Rabbi Bigman’s analysis of Kol Isha on Jewish Ideas Daily.

And start looking for a talent scout.

Share on Facebook