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Handel’s Messiah
A Torah scroll. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.
Handel’s “Messiah” is one of the great pieces of Baroque oratorial music. George Handel, though born in Germany, became a favorite with British audiences in the 18th century. “The Messiah,” performed first in Dublin, is one of the most popular pieces of Church music of all time. It is a lengthy religious, ideological tour de force. Written initially by Handel as sacred music alone, it was set to words from both the “Old” and the “New” Testaments by Charles Jennen. Over time, it went through several musical changes until its final form entered the musical and theological canon.
What music lover doesn’t recognize the “Hallelujah chorus”? Hallelujah itself is a pure Hebrew word that means simply, “Praise God,” just like Amen has no theological implication other than “I agree.”
At its London performance, King George II rose in appreciation, and of course the rest of the audience followed suit. Even Mozart wrote his own adaptation of “The Messiah” in German. And traditionally, it is still performed every year in many Christian countries at Christmas time.
Another example of Baroque Biblical oratorio is Haydn’s “The Creation.” Written in 1797 and 1798, it depicts and celebrates the creation of the world as found in Bereishit. Haydn was an overlapping contemporary of Handel, and the piece is similar in musical style though not as spiritual.
If you don’t like the Baroque style, I suggest you listen to Verdi’s “Requiem” (which is often referred to as his greatest opera). As a child, I got hooked on Requiems — notably those of Mozart, Saint Saens, Bruckner, and Faure. I loved the music. But I had enormous trouble with the lyrics. They were a combination of a Christian theology that was totally alien to me. Biblical texts that purported to predict Jesus as the Messiah were completely distorted, mistranslated, and anachronistic. Of course, every religion is entitled, as we are, to have their fixed ideas, and see things and interpret them their way.
So while one part of my brain was delighting in the music, another was getting vexed by the mistranslations, interpretations, and theological paradoxes. Can one reconcile these two very different facets of such musical treats? Is one giving one’s assent to another set of religious values and ideas if one is only interested in the sounds, not the words?
Indeed, like admiring architecture, can one not enjoy music without identifying theologically? Isn’t it one of the Hassidic principles that music is neutral and cannot contaminate — which explains why so many Hassidic songs were adopted from non-Jewish tunes.
Another argument I could make is that the Talmud (Brachot 58b) tells us to make a blessing when we see a beautiful person, even if he or she may be either pagan or of questionable morality. In fact, there are different opinions within Jewish law going back to Medieval times as to what constitutes heresy or paganism. In the end, one follows one’s specific authority or custom. We will just have to face the consequences when we face the Divine Tribunal!
The author is a rabbi and writer based in New York.
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UK PM Starmer Says There Could Be New Powers to Ban Pro-Palestinian Marches
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer gives a media statement at Downing Street in London, Britain, April 30, 2026. Photo: REUTERS/Jack Taylor/File photo
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the government could ban pro-Palestinian marches in some circumstances because of the “cumulative effect” the demonstrations had on the Jewish community after two Jewish men were stabbed in London on Wednesday.
Starmer told the BBC that he would always defend freedom of expression and peaceful protest, but chants like “Globalize the Intifada” during demonstrations were “completely off limits” and those voicing them should be prosecuted.
Pro-Palestinian marches have become a regular feature in London since the October 2023 attack by Hamas on Israel that triggered the Gaza war. Critics say the demonstrations have generated hostility and become a focus for antisemitism.
Protesters have argued they are exercising their democratic right to spotlight ongoing human rights and political issues related to the situation in Gaza.
Starmer said he was not denying there were “very strong legitimate views about the Middle East, about Gaza,” but many people in the Jewish community had told him they were concerned about the repeat nature of the marches.
Asked if the tougher response should focus on chants and banners, or whether the protests should be stopped altogether, Starmer said: “I think certainly the first, and I think there are instances for the latter.”
“I think it’s time to look across the board at protests and the cumulative effect,” he said, adding that the government needed to look at what further powers it could take.
Britain raised its terrorism threat level to “severe” on Thursday amid mounting security concerns that foreign states were helping fuel violence, including against the Jewish community.
“We are seeing an elevated threat to Jewish and Israeli individuals and institutions in the UK,” the head of counter-terrorism policing, Laurence Taylor, said in a statement, adding that police were also working “against an unpredictable global situation that has consequences closer to home, including physical threats by state-linked actors.”
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War Likely to Resume After Trump’s Rejection of Latest Proposal, Says IRGC General
Iranians carry a model of a missile during a celebration following an IRGC attack on Israel, in Tehran, Iran, April 15, 2024. Photo: Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
i24 News – A senior Iranian military figure said that fighting with the US was “likely” to resume after President Donald Trump stated he was dissatisfied with Tehran’s latest proposal, regime media reported on Saturday.
The comments of General Mohammad Jafar Asadi, one of the top Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commanders, were relayed by the Fars news agency, considered as a mouthpiece of the the powerful paramilitary body.
“Evidence has shown that the Americans do not not adhere to any commitments,” Asadi was quoted as saying.
He further added that Washington’s decision-making was “primarily media-driven aimed first at preventing a drop in oil prices and second at extricating themselves from the mess they have created.”
Iranian armed forces are ready “for any new adventures or foolishness from the Americans,” he said, going to assert that the Iran war would prove for the US a tragedy comparable with what was for Israel the October 7 massacre.
“Just as our martyred Leader said that the Zionist regime will never be the same as before the Al‑Aqsa Storm operation [the name chosen by Hamas leadership for the October 7, 2023 massacre in southern Israel], the United States will also never return to what it was before its attack on Iran,” he said. “The world has understood the true nature of America, and no matter how much malice it shows now, it is no longer the America that many once feared.”
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Trump Says US Navy Acting ‘Like Pirates’ to Carry Out Naval Blockade of Iranian Ports
A view of Iranian-flagged cargo ship M/V Touska as the US Navy Arleigh Burke-class Aegis guided missile destroyer USS Spruance conducts its interception in a location given as the north Arabian Sea, in this screen capture from a video released April 19, 2026. Photo: CENTCOM/Handout via REUTERS
President Donald Trump said on Friday the US Navy was acting “like pirates” in carrying out Washington’s naval blockade of Iranian ports during the US and Israel’s war against Iran.
Trump made the comments while describing the seizure by US forces of a ship a few days ago.
“We took over the ship, we took over the cargo, we took over the oil. It’s a very profitable business,” Trump said in remarks on Friday evening. “We’re like pirates. We’re sort of like pirates but we are not playing games.”
Some of Tehran’s vessels have been seized by the US after leaving Iranian ports, along with sanctioned container ships and Iranian tankers in Asian waters.
Iran has blocked nearly all ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz apart from its own since the start of the war. Trump has imposed a separate blockade of Iranian ports.
The US and Israel attacked Iran on February 28. Iran responded with its own strikes on Israel and Gulf states that host US bases. US-Israeli strikes on Iran and Israeli attacks in Lebanon have killed thousands and displaced millions.
The war has raised oil prices and led to the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint for about 20 percent of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments.
Trump, who has offered shifting timelines and goals for the war that remains unpopular in the US, has faced widespread condemnation over his comments on the conflict, including when he threatened to destroy Iran’s entire civilization last month.
Many US experts said last month that American strikes on Iran may amount to war crimes after Trump threatened to target civilian infrastructure.