Nusach Totally Explained

Everything about Nusach totally explained

Nusach (Hebrew: נׄסַה nosaħ, modern pronunciation nósakh or núsakh) is a concept in Judaism that has two distinct meanings. One is the style of a prayer service (Ashkenaz, Sephardi, Nusach Sefard or Nusach Ari); another is the melody of the service depending on when the service is being conducted.

Meaning of term

Nusach primarily means "text" or "version", in other words the correct wording of a religious text. Thus the nusach tefillah is the text of the prayers, either generally or as used by a particular community. In common use nusach has come to signify the entire liturgical tradition of the community, including the musical rendition. It is narrower than minhag, which can refer to custom in any field, not necessarily that of communal prayer.
03:47, 19 May 2008 (UTC)

Prayer Services

Nusach Ashkenaz

Nusach Ashkenaz is the style of service conducted by Ashkenazi Jews, originating from central and eastern Europe. It is the shortest lengthwise (except for the "Baladi" Yemenite Nusach).
It may be subdivided into the German, or western, branch, used in western and central Europe including the United Kingdom, and the Polish/Lithuanian branch, used in eastern Europe, the United States and Israel (that is, so far as they use the Ashkenazi rite at all).

Nusach Sefard

Nusach Sefard is the style of service used by some Jews of central and eastern European origins, especially Hasidim, who adopted some Sephardic customs emulating the practice of the Ari's circle of kabbalists, most of whom lived in the Land of Israel. Textually speaking it's based on the Sephardic rite, but in melody and feel it's overwhelmingly Ashkenazi.

Nusach Ari

This is a variant of Nusach Sefard, used by Chabad Hasidim.

Sephardi and Mizrachi Nuschaot

There isn't one generally recognized uniform nusach for Sephardi and Mizrahi Jews. Instead, Sephardim and Mizrahim follow several slightly different but closely related nusachim.
The nearest approach to a standard text is found in the siddurim printed in Livorno from the 1840s until the early 20th century. These (and later versions printed in Vienna) were widely used throughout the Sephardic and Mizrahi world. Another popular variant was the text known as Nusach ha-Hida, named after Rabbi Chaim Joseph David Azulai. Both these versions were particularly influential in Greece, Turkey and North Africa. However, most communities also had unwritten customs which they'd observe, rather than following the printed siddurim exactly: it's easy, from the printed materials, to get the impression that usage in the Ottoman Empire around 1900 was more uniform than it really was.
Other variants include:

Nusach Edot Hamizrach, originating among Iraqi Jews but now popular in many other communities. These are based on the opinions of the Ben Ish Chai and have a strong Kabbalistic flavour.
Nusach Aram Soba, closely based on the Livorno prints and used by Syrian Jews.
the Moroccan rite, also related to the text of the Livorno prints but with a strong local flavour. This subdivides into the customs of the Spanish-speaking northern strip and the Arabic-speaking interior of the country.
the customs of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews, based on an older form of the Castilian rite, with some influence from the customs both of Italian Jews and of Northern Morocco. This version is distinguished by the near-absence of Kabbalistic elements.

Under the influence of the former Sephardi Chief Rabbi, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, a common nusach appears to be emerging among Israeli Sephardim, based largely on the Nusach Edot Hamizrach but omitting some of the Kabbalistic additions.

Other Nuschaot

In addition, there are other nuschaot.

There is a generally recognized "Italki" rite from continental Italy.

Closely related to this is the "Romaniote" rite from Greece where there was an ancient, pre-Diaspora Jewish community. This is now found only in Ioannina and in one synagogue in New York, though there were formerly Romaniote synagogues in Istanbul and Jerusalem. (The customs of Corfu are a blend between the Romaniote and Sephardic rites.)

A "Temani" nusach was the standard among the Jews of Yemen. This is divided into the Baladi (purely Yemenite) and Shami (Sephardified) versions.

Distinct Persian and Provençal nusachim also existed before being gradually replaced by the Edot Hamizrach and Spanish and Portuguese nusachim respectively.

There was once a French nusach, closely related to the Ashkenazi, which is now used only in certain towns in Northern Italy. It is said among some mystics that an as-yet undisclosed nusach will be revealed after the coming of Mashiach, the Jewish Messiah. Others say that the differences in nusach are derived from differences between the twelve tribes of Israel, and that in Messianic times each tribe will have its proper nusach.

Musical nusach

The whole musical style or tradition of a community is sometimes referred to as its nusach, but this term is most often used in connection with the chants used for recitative passages, in particular the Amidah.
Many of the passages in the prayer book, such as the Amidah and the Psalms, are chanted in a recitative rather than either read in normal speech or sung to a rhythmical tune. The recitatives follow a system of musical modes, somewhat like the maqamat of Arabic music. For example, Ashkenazi cantorial practice distinguishes a number of steiger (scales) named after the prayers in which they're most frequently used, such as the Adonoi moloch steiger and the Ahavoh rabboh steiger. Mizrahi communities such as the Syrian Jews use the full maqam system.
The scales used may vary both with the particular prayer and with the season. For examples, there are often special modes for the High Holy Days, and in Syrian practice the scale used depends on the Torah reading for the week (see The Weekly Maqam). In some cases the actual melodies are fixed, while in others the reader has freedom of improvisation.

Further Information

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