Jewish Cantillation

Jewish Cantillation

Presenter: Yanky Fachler

Chair: Dr Hannah Fahey

This seminar offers an introduction to the fascinating history and contemporary practice of Jewish cantillation, the ritual chanting of Biblical readings based on Ta’amei HaMikra, a system of notational symbols developed in the tenth century to designate tune, punctuation, and accentuation. The Jewish custom of chanting, or “leining,” encompasses a diverse array of musical styles that communities around the world have passed down orally through the centuries. In this seminar we will learn about the grammatical foundation embedded in this ancient trope, and we will hear live examples of different Hebrew texts sung by Yanky Fachler.

Yanky Fachler is a motivational speaker, historian, writer and cantor. Born in the UK to Holocaust survivors, he lived in Israel for thirty years before moving to Ireland in 1998. He is the founder and chair of the Jewish Historical Society of Ireland, and has addressed audiences and conferences in Ireland, the UK, Israel, the USA, Canada, Poland, the Czech Republic, Australia and South Africa. He is the author of a dozen books on Zionist history and the history of the Irish Jewish community. Yanky was trained in Jewish cantillation at the age of nine and regularly chants from the Torah in synagogue.