Description: Rinah 16
She’arim BiTefillah
Rinah 16
The difference between Shirah and Zimrah is, Shirah refers to praising Hashem with words, as we find by Az Yashir, and the Shirah of Chanah and Devorah. Zimrah means expressing praise of Hashem through song and music, just as the Leviim did in the Beis Hamikdash. It is known that the Vilna Gaon said, that there are great secrets of the Torah hidden in the art of music.
Saying Hallel, which doesn’t specify details of any particular miracle, just is an expression of overall praise, Hodu Lashem Ki Tov, also fits into the category of zimrah. Why?
How is music a form of praising Hashem? Music and song are utilized when words aren’t sufficient to convey the emotion. When a person becomes so passionate about the praise he is trying to express, when their emotions overtake them and they can’t put it into words, they break out into song.
In Tehillim, we find that these two terms are used together, Shirah and Zimrah, but sometimes Shirah comes first, like Shir Mizmor Livnei Korach, and sometimes Zimrah comes first like Mizmor Shir li’Yom Ha’Shabbos. The reason is because sometimes a person starts off with Shirah, and the more they get inspired with the words they are saying, the more passionate they become, and the more they focus and get engrossed, they lose the ability to express it with words, and begin to sing. This is Shir Mizmor. Other times, something amazing happens to a person – and in the moment they are so overcome that all they can do is sing in joy and praise. Then, after a few minutes they calm down, and can start to put their emotions into words. This is Mizmor Shir.
These two forms of praise, with words and without words, are reflected in tefillah to Hashem as well, Sha’avah and Tze’akah, with Sha’avah meaning calling out to Hashem through words, and Tze’akah meaning calling out to Hashem without words, simply pure emotion, beseeching Hashem to answer us.
We know that in Torah She’biksav, which is written, there are three components. There is the actual letter, the nekudos which are the equivalent of vowels, and the taamim, which we call the trop or the cantillations. The letters are what is clear and openly displayed about the Torah. The nekudos give life to those letters, and allow us to form words out of them, and they have meaning. The taamim on the other hand, teach us the secrets of the Torah. The word ‘taam’ itself has three different meanings, but they all come to the same thing. Taam can mean taste, it can mean explanation, or it can mean a tune. But the point is, it reveals a hidden inner aspect of something. Think of a piece of cake. You see the cake, you now know something about it, it’s shape, color and size. You smell it, you know some more. But when you taste it, the taste reveals what’s really hiding in that cake, how much flour, cocoa, sugar and eggs! Likewise, the taamim of the letters are there to reveal to us the hidden inner secrets of the letters and words – their taste, and their tune.
We see that the trop symbols in the Torah do reveal information about the whole sentence – where to stop, which words go together, and what kind of word it is. This is the nature of a tune, it reveals the inner energy of things, which can’t be expressed with words.
She’arim BiTefillah
Rinah 16
The difference between Shirah and Zimrah is, Shirah refers to praising Hashem with words, as we find by Az Yashir, and the Shirah of Chanah and Devorah. Zimrah means expressing praise of Hashem through song and music, just as the Leviim did in the Beis Hamikdash. It is known that the Vilna Gaon said, that there are great secrets of the Torah hidden in the art of music.
Saying Hallel, which doesn’t specify details of any particular miracle, just is an expression of overall praise, Hodu Lashem Ki Tov, also fits into the category of zimrah. Why?
How is music a form of praising Hashem? Music and song are utilized when words aren’t sufficient to convey the emotion. When a person becomes so passionate about the praise he is trying to express, when their emotions overtake them and they can’t put it into words, they break out into song.
In Tehillim, we find that these two terms are used together, Shirah and Zimrah, but sometimes Shirah comes first, like Shir Mizmor Livnei Korach, and sometimes Zimrah comes first like Mizmor Shir li’Yom Ha’Shabbos. The reason is because sometimes a person starts off with Shirah, and the more they get inspired with the words they are saying, the more passionate they become, and the more they focus and get engrossed, they lose the ability to express it with words, and begin to sing. This is Shir Mizmor. Other times, something amazing happens to a person – and in the moment they are so overcome that all they can do is sing in joy and praise. Then, after a few minutes they calm down, and can start to put their emotions into words. This is Mizmor Shir.
These two forms of praise, with words and without words, are reflected in tefillah to Hashem as well, Sha’avah and Tze’akah, with Sha’avah meaning calling out to Hashem through words, and Tze’akah meaning calling out to Hashem without words, simply pure emotion, beseeching Hashem to answer us.
We know that in Torah She’biksav, which is written, there are three components. There is the actual letter, the nekudos which are the equivalent of vowels, and the taamim, which we call the trop or the cantillations. The letters are what is clear and openly displayed about the Torah. The nekudos give life to those letters, and allow us to form words out of them, and they have meaning. The taamim on the other hand, teach us the secrets of the Torah. The word ‘taam’ itself has three different meanings, but they all come to the same thing. Taam can mean taste, it can mean explanation, or it can mean a tune. But the point is, it reveals a hidden inner aspect of something. Think of a piece of cake. You see the cake, you now know something about it, it’s shape, color and size. You smell it, you know some more. But when you taste it, the taste reveals what’s really hiding in that cake, how much flour, cocoa, sugar and eggs! Likewise, the taamim of the letters are there to reveal to us the hidden inner secrets of the letters and words – their taste, and their tune.
We see that the trop symbols in the Torah do reveal information about the whole sentence – where to stop, which words go together, and what kind of word it is. This is the nature of a tune, it reveals the inner energy of things, which can’t be expressed with words.