Maqam of The Week
Each week in the Hebrew calendar is associated with a particular maqam, usually governed by the Torah portion for that week. There are also maqamat associated with the Jewish festivals.
Certain maqamat are associated with certain themes. Therefore, the cantor must be aware of the themes in the weekly Torah portion in order to apply the proper maqam on that Shabbat. The choice of maqam for a given Shabbat is determined by the subject matter of the Torah portion and is set forth in an index of the pizmonim book. Numerous lists have been compiled over the last one hundred and fifty years designating the maqam for each parasha. Occasionally the lists conflict with each other (for example, when two portions are read on the same Sabbath), but most of the time the underlying pattern is evident.
Read more about this topic: Syrian Cantors
Famous quotes containing the word week:
“Some days your hat’s off to the full-time mothers for being able to endure the relentless routine and incessant policing seven days a week instead of two. But on other days, merely the image of this woman crafting a brontosaurus out of sugar paste and sheet cake for her two-year-old’s birthday drives a stake through your heart.”
—Melinda M. Marshall (20th century)