Programme

Judaic music varies as much as the cultural expressions that are manifested within its imprint. Their heterogeneity can be traced back to exile, liturgical practices and the observance of rabbinical precepts, and may be explained by the hybridisation of their practices with those of the non-Jewish host communities. Therefore, the musical traditions of Judaism represent the music of the diaspora or galut whose wealth, which stems from an accumulation of complex historical processes, underpins Jewish identity.

This time, the Jewish Community of Barcelona opens its synagogue doors to share songs of celebration of Hanukkah or the Festival of Lights. This was the first synagogue opened in the country after the expulsion of the Jews from the Iberian Peninsula at the end of the 15th century.  As one of the most significant dates in the Jewish calendar, the ritual lighting of candles commemorates the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem and the rebellion of the Maccabees against the Seleucid empire and its Hellenistic rule.

A collaborative liturgical service with the Religious Affairs Office of Barcelona City Council and the Jewish Community of Barcelona.