<\/p>\n
The status of women in the Jewish tradition is often source of controversy. The halakha<\/em> – the Jewish law – generally puts the woman in the role of the housekeeper and educator of her children. But it has not always been like that.<\/strong><\/p>\n When we look back at the Book of Judges that tells us the story of the Hebrews, between the conquest of Canaan and the arrival of royalty, one woman has a special place. It\u2019s Deborah, 4th judge of Israel, prophetess and military chief. In the 13th century before J.C., she convokes a warrior named Barak so that he builds an army among the tribes of Naphtali and Zebulun to defeat the Canaanite army of Sisera who serves king Jabin. After a ferocious fight, Sisera is killed by another woman, Jael. And this victory leads to the final defeat of canaanite king Jabin. Deborah sings then with Barack a hymn, a victory song that echoes like a warning to foreign princes and kings that can be a menace to the Hebrews.<\/p>\n Through this Biblical tale is the image of a freed and liberator woman, equal to man, who doesn\u2019t hesitate to sing with him. Another reference to the singing of woman is found in the Bible after the crossing of the Red Sea. As the waves swallow Pharaoh’s army, saving the Hebrews in their flight, the men sing a hymn to the Lord (chirat hayam<\/em>), then Moses’ sister Miriam and all the women dance and sing to the sound of the tambourine (Exodus, XV, 20-21). At that moment, men and women are symbolically unified by singing.<\/p>\n These biblical references did not prevent rabbinic authorities centuries later from declaring the singing of woman impure. Because the voice expresses nudity, halakha dictates that a woman may not sing in the presence of men, in order not to distract them from prayer and study.<\/p>\n That’s why, for a very long time, domestic songs were reserved for women. They were lullabies, wedding songs, songs of mourning or lamentation, all the events that mark the cycle of life. In fact, while the men’s repertoire is generally dedicated to the liturgical cycle of the year, the women’s repertoire is more linked to daily life and material concerns. The songs are often in the vernacular (Arabic, Yiddish, Judeo-Spanish, Yemeni, etc.). The mother cradles the child, hoping for him a bright future (Durme querido hijico<\/em>). She sometimes laments the absence of her unfaithful husband. In some Judeo-Spanish songs, it is the wife who is unfaithful. The mother also gives valuable advice to her daughter who is about to get married. The mother-in-law scolds her daughter-in-law for stealing her son. Finally, “professional” mourners still exist in some traditional Jewish communities.<\/p>\n There were exceptions to this rule, however. Jewish female musicians are mentioned in medieval Spain[1]<\/sup><\/a>Cf. Judith Cohen, \u00ab Le r\u00f4le des femmes-musiciennes dans l’Espagne m\u00e9di\u00e9vale au sein des communaut\u00e9s chr\u00e9tienne, juive et musulmane \u00bb, th\u00e8se de master, universit\u00e9 de Montr\u00e9al, 1980.<\/span><\/span>