"Rabbi Ovadia Z"L Told Me I Must Teach the Cantillation Marks, Not Keep the Knowledge to Myself"

When Rabbi Asaf Berachahu was a student in third grade at Talmud Torah, he became so enchanted by the lesson on cantillation marks, that at the end of the lesson, he approached his teacher and suggested a more ornate way to express the "Zarka." The teacher, who only taught the basics of the melodies to young children, appreciated his student's melodic development suggestion, pinched his cheek affectionately, and this was one of the first sparks lit in young Asaf's soul regarding his life's mission to restore the ancient tunes, helping future generations to properly pronounce the cantillation marks, enhancing the spiritual elevation of the congregation and connecting more people to the melodies of prayer.

A Piyut Happily Exiting with the Entire Community

Later, he transferred to another Talmud Torah where he studied under Rabbi Moshe Ashkenazi, who greatly influenced the incorporation of cantillation study in Bnei Brak at that time. "Rabbi Ashkenazi, who held this field in high regard, invested greatly and endeavored that the young students also know the melodies of the Haftarah, the Book of Ruth, the Book of Esther, and more."

Learning on His Own for the Bar Mitzvah Portion: "My Father Was My First Student for Cantillation Marks"

The rabbi recognized that young Asaf had a special connection to cantillation marks. He nurtured him, teaching him beyond the basic curriculum. "Even after I finished my studies at the Talmud Torah and moved on to a small yeshiva, I would receive tapes from him with recordings of his voice. In fact, I prepared my Bar Mitzvah portion by myself, and to ensure that I was indeed reading it correctly, I used my teacher's, Rabbi Moshe Ashkenazi's, tapes for listening after studying."

At the Berachahu household, Asaf's father realized his son had a special musical talent for cantillation marks, encouraged him, and pushed him to develop in the field. "My dear father was born into a religious family, observant of Torah and mitzvot, but like many at that time, after finishing high school, they continued to the army, so my father didn't grow up in a yeshiva on the tradition of cantillation marks, but he very much loved the melodies of prayer, and always aspired to know them himself. In fact, my father was my first student in cantillation."

Rabbi Asaf Berachahu Reading from the Torah

On Stage Fright: "Today I Realize I Had to Go Through It to Understand My Students"

After his Bar Mitzvah, young Asaf continued to receive support, encouragement, and empowerment at home, but he had a problem known as "fear of the public." He was shy to ascend the platform, even though he knew well how to read with the correct melody. "Such excitement causes a rapid pulse, and accompanying sensations primarily affecting the voice. The voice begins to tremble, and it's evident that the person standing before the platform is excited. This causes significant difficulty in performance on the platform. For several good years, I dealt with these challenges. Today, I understand that I had to go through it, to experience 'stage fright' first hand, so that I can, with God's help, assist some of my students who also experience similar difficulties, help them, support them, empathize with them, but at the same time – not let them off the hook, just as my father didn't let me off the hook."

Indeed, Rabbi Asaf's father made sure to continue developing his talent and encouraging him to sing before congregations and relatives.

When Listeners Passed Tissues Amongst Themselves Out of Emotion

"Once, when I was 13, relatives of ours from abroad came to our home. My father asked me to sing. As I closed my eyes and sang, I suddenly noticed they were passing tissues to each other, wiping tears of emotion. This caused a sanctification of Hashem's name, along with appreciation and closeness to Torah and mitzvot.

"On Purim, my father told my mother that from this year she no longer needed to worry about how she would fulfill her obligation to hear the Megillah. 'We have Asaf. He will prepare the Megillah and read it for you.' Out of a sense of responsibility, I thoroughly practiced the Megillah and read it to my mother.

"On Shabbat morning, my father even made sure in advance to arrange with the gabbai before I came to the synagogue, that upon reaching 'Nishmat Kol Chai,' the gabbai would seemingly of his own accord invite me to ascend the platform. It was frightening, and even a bit annoying, but today I bless it, as it helped me break the ice, and only that way could I progress."

Chazon of Nishmat Kol Chai with Audience Feedback

Now is your chance to learn in Rabbi Asaf Berachahu's beginner cantillation course: 10 sessions. Thursdays after Passover. 19:30-21:00 at Beit Hidabrut, 20 Shenkar, Petah TikvaClick here or call 073-222-1300

Rabbi Asaf, who was already a student at a small yeshiva, tried to read the Torah every Shabbat within the yeshiva, where the reading was divided among the students, but upon joining a larger yeshiva, found there were different rules. "Here, there's a graduate from the yeshiva who reads every Shabbat regularly. That's our custom, and we don't deviate from it," they told him firmly. "I felt that my soul had to be expressed, so I stood up and did something."

Cantillation Course Saved Students from Dropping Out of Yeshivas

Rabbi Asaf was then about 17 years old. He proactively went to a small synagogue of about 15 local members, some elderly worshipers, who would serve as a welcoming audience, and asked if he could lead the service. The synagogue members replied that they were missing someone to read the afternoon service on Shabbat. "I felt good about it. I had an internal urge to give and teach what was within me. I would leave yeshiva during dinner time and, in between, organize a small group for the children of those local members who came to the synagogue after finishing their school day. Additionally, I spent my money on candies and surprises for the Psalms on Shabbat, where towards the end of the Psalms, I would teach the children cantillation marks. I felt greatly satisfied knowing the necessity and importance of this."

As his life progressed, Rabbi Asaf encountered an interesting phenomenon. "There are certain students who, for some reason, do not succeed in Gemara lessons, to the point where at some point, when they don't feel connected to the subject being studied in class or in yeshiva, it causes them to decline and feel a lack of self-worth. But those who had a slight inclination and ability for Torah reading or cantillation marks, and were good at it, those things reconnected them, as they already felt they had value and connections, and they later succeeded in progressing also in Gemara lessons. I know many such people who, thanks to this, remained in the Torah world, and are now scholars and enlighteners of the masses.

For the God Who Rested – a Chazon Piece

In the Talmud Torah where I teach cantillation marks, I sometimes meet boys who studied there, who are now about to get married or are married young men, who say to me: 'Rabbi, everything I know today about reading the Torah with cantillation is all thanks to the rabbi.' It is encouraging and motivates me to continue."

Rabbi Zamir Cohen mentions in one of his lessons that kabbalists say something very interesting: The human soul comes to this world from a high spiritual chamber, where before descending into the world, the soul was used to hearing the song of angels. "Therefore, sometimes you will find a person sitting and listening to a melody, becoming emotional, moved, and even shedding a tear. The explanation is that their soul remembers the melodies to which it was accustomed in the 'Heavenly Father’s Home,' and it awakens longing and yearning in them, making them long to ascend upwards."

Rabbi Asaf recalls the great importance given by Maran Rabbi Ovadia Yosef Z"L to teaching children the art of cantillation.

"One person told me how, as a child, he remembers Rabbi Ovadia coming once a year to the school where he studied in Tel Aviv, sitting attentively and listening to each student take turns to hear how they prepared the portion."

After Meeting Rabbi Ovadia Z"L: "I Vowed in My Heart to Continue the Mission"

"Thus, patiently, he would sit and listen, encourage, and embrace. This was the leader of the generation, constantly engaged in matters of profound global importance, making critical decisions, dealing with issues of royalty and statesmen, and on what would he spend his time? Encouraging children to read correctly with the cantillation." Rabbi Asaf adds about his encounter with Rabbi Ovadia Z"L: "On one occasion, I was with Rabbi Ovadia himself, and he told me: 'You must teach. Do not keep your knowledge only to yourself, because a person is born to toil, which stands for to learn for the purpose of teaching. Only you will know? Make it so that others will know, too.' I left there, and vowed in my heart to further intensify my mission."

Rabbi Asaf now launches a special course by Hidabrut for beginners in cantillation. The target audience is yeshiva boys in their teens who did not receive follow-up frameworks in their previous studies of cantillation marks. Also, baalei teshuva and traditionalists, who did not grow up in yeshivas and want to go up to the platform, can find in the course a warm home for learning the material from the start and in a good atmosphere.

"Your Testimonies Are Very Sure" in Magam Siga

When the Local Rabbi Approached Embarrassed: "I Don't Know Cantillation Marks"

One of those who once learned from Rabbi Asaf and is now a well-known rabbi from a family of rabbis, a scholar many come to for advice. He himself is a halachic decisor, and this rabbi would pray with Rabbi Asaf in the synagogue. One day he approached him and related that during last year’s High Holidays, a congregant at the synagogue purchased the aliyah for Maftir at a considerable price, seeing it as a great honor to honor the rabbi to go up and read. However, the rabbi, who had studied in his youth in Ashkenazi institutions, not according to his ancestral tradition, felt embarrassed and perhaps even a desecration of G-d's name for not knowing the Haftarah with cantillation. Rabbi Asaf tried to provide him with a good feeling, and so they met several times until finally, the rabbi knew well how to read correctly and melodically according to the cantillation the Haftarot.

"According to halacha, as brought in the Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim Siman 61), one needs to recite the Shema in the morning and evening with the cantillation marks. It's also brought in the same section of the Shulchan Aruch that distinguishing between sheva na and sheva nach is mandatory. Likewise, emphasis should be placed on distinguished words from those that are not emphasized. For example, when saying 'respond to us' – it’s from the form 'answer us' to our requests, but if we emphasize the 'n', we receive a completely different meaning, which is from the form 'affliction.' A significant portion of the lessons aims to correct linguistic distortions we have become accustomed to."

In conclusion, Rabbi Asaf says: "We have come to tell each person that it is not in the heavens, nor is it too far from you. With divine assistance, in a simple and easy way – you too can!"

Now is your chance to learn in Rabbi Asaf Berachahu's beginner cantillation course: 10 sessions. Thursdays after Passover. 19:30-21:00 at Beit Hidabrut, 20 Shenkar, Petah TikvaClick here or call 073-222-1300