By Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal
Tifereth Israel Synagogue, San Diego

One of my favorite Seder songs is based on the second plague which is recounted in Parshat Vaera:

One morning when Pharaoh awoke in his bed
There were frogs in his bed, and frogs on his head
Frogs on his nose and frogs on his toes
Frogs here, frogs there
Frogs were jumping everywhere

This is, perhaps, the favorite Passover song of our Silverman Preschool students as well. They usually memorize it before they memorize the Four Questions or dayeinu.

But is the "Frog Song" a  "Jewish" song?

I asked myself this same question last Sunday when I attended "Limmud, A Community Day of Learning" that was sponsored by the Agency of Jewish Education at the Lawrence Family J.C.C. All who attended the many classes and workshops agreed that Limmud was a huge success. We learned a lot and were exposed to a wide variety of Jewish activities and scholarship.

The day culminated in a festive concert that was attended by the over 800 participants. The concert featured Joshua Nelson, the self-proclaimed "Prince of Kosher Gospel." Nelson, a Jewish African American, who grew up as a member of Black Hebrew Congregation in New York, is currently the music director of a Baptist church, teaches Hebrew School at a Reform temple in New Jersey, and tours the country with the Kosher Gospel Singers performing in a variety of venues. (www.joshuanelson.com)

While Nelson does perform pieces written by other composers (including, in the local concert, Shalom Rav and Oseh Shalom), his original music includes settings of traditional Hebrew prayers and Jewish themed lyrics set to the kind of gospel melodies typically associated with African American churches.

While most of the crowd was immediately on its feet, I must admit it took me a while to get into it. The lyrics were as "Kosher" as could be, but I found the music jarring. It did not "sound" Jewish. It sounded Christian.

I found my own reaction quite ironic, as I had just taught several sessions on "What is Jewish music?" In my presentation I played several tracks of Jewish music that did not "sound" Jewish, including compositions by Jews who lived in Spain, Morocco, Israel, and Los Angeles. The culmination was a recent tune by the Chassidic reggae singer Matisyahu (www.hasidicreggae.com) who has been featured on national television and performed twice to sold out audiences at Solana Beach’s Belly-Up Tavern, most recently on New Year’s eve.

I pointed out that what defines Jewish music is not so much the melody or musical setting, but rather the lyrics and the sentiments they reflect. If you heard the melody of Craig Taubman’s Lecha Dodi without the words, for example, it would sound like a catchy Dixieland tune, not part of a religious service. But add the well known words of a favorite Kabbalat Shabbat hymn, and it becomes a Jewish prayer.

The same must be said for Joshua Nelson’s music. The melody and beat may be gospel tinged, but the words reflect a Jewish prayer and world experience. Jarring as it was to me at first, I eventually joined all the others on their feet.

Would we ever use such music in the synagogue? Why not? If we can sing Adon Olam to a melody derived from a German beer hall folk song, why can’t we sing Hinei Ma-Tov to an African American beat?!