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I understand that for many people, this is almost impossible to do - as long as you go shopping anywhere outside a Jewish neighborhood, or if you turn on the television, you will be exposed to Christmas music. Similarly, if you work in an office and someone puts on the easy listening station for people to listen to, you will be exposed to a LOT of Christmas music.

Assuming you're able to avoid actively seeking out such music (for example, not shopping at Macy's Department Store during this time of the year), are there any other halachic things a person should be aware of if there is the potential for being exposed to Christmas music? For example, are we enjoined not to watch a television show if there is the possibility of some Christmas music being featured?

Isaac Moses
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Barry Hammer
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  • I cannot vouch for the accuracy of this document's content or anything else about the Web site it's on, but http://www.torahleadership.org/categories/04pamphlet_1.doc (MS Word format) discusses the permissibility of listening to such music, so tracking down the sources it cites may be worthwhile. – msh210 Dec 02 '11 at 15:20
  • kind of related: http://judaism.stackexchange.com/questions/2151/enjoying-music-during-the-3-weeks-9days – Menachem Dec 02 '11 at 15:24
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    Not sure if this is relevant, but almost all of the popular Christmas music was composed by Jews. (Seriously.) See http://www.tabletmag.com/arts-and-culture/music/22910/have-yourself-a-jewish-little-christmas/ and http://www.interfaithfamily.com/arts_and_entertainment/popular_culture/The_Jews_Who_Wrote_Christmas_Songs.shtml – Shmuel Dec 04 '11 at 09:36
  • This question could (should?) be abstracted to all non-Jewish music with religious content\overtones. Which makes it a possible duplicate: Sources For Listening To/Not Listening to Non-Jewish Music – Shmuel Dec 04 '11 at 10:10
  • Related: Going to Non-Jewish Concert – Shmuel Dec 04 '11 at 10:33
  • On a similar note to my first comment, composing secular songs and poetry is a long-standing Jewish tradition, dating back at least to Shmuel haNagid. See http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/12223-poetry#anchor25 and http://www.jstor.org/pss/1486312 for details. – Shmuel Dec 04 '11 at 11:13
  • @ShmuelL, this is sort of an extention of listening to non-Jewish music. Because Christmas music is so prevelant in Western culture (unlike other Christian holidays - you don't usually hear any Candelmaas music unless you're in a church setting), this is unique - you're not actively looking to listen to non-Jewish music when you watch television, for example, and more than half of a TV show's soundtrack is just background music. Christmas music is the big exception. – Barry Hammer Dec 05 '11 at 15:02
  • I think you should reconsider your assumption that one is allowed to watch tv in the first place - Yechave Da'at 4:7 – AEML Feb 03 '13 at 06:08
  • Neil Diamond and I think also Irving Berlin used a "loophole" or chokhmah in their voluminous Christmas music composition and performance and that loophole is I think they never mentioned Jesus by name, only Christ, Messiah, etc. appear in their texts. – Nissim Nanach Dec 19 '23 at 06:42

2 Answers2

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Rabbi Moshe Feinstein in Igrot Moshe Yore Deah vol 2 no 111 states:

  1. Music (with or without words) performed to honor a religious diety is prohibited.
  2. Music with words of religous praise are prohibited even when performed in a secular setting. No distinction is made regarding language or comprehension.
  3. Religious music without words of praise in a secular setting (aside from any problems associated with music in general) is permitted but R. Feinstein calls it a "davar mechuar" - an ugly/disgusting thing. The instruments used cannot be instruments generally used for religious purposes.

In addition, in responsa #56, R' Feinstein prohibits listening to Christian religious music.

(Source: http://ottmall.com/mj_ht_arch/v9/mj_v9i98.html#CWQ )

The Mishnah Berurah (53 s.k. 82), based on the Bach (Shu"t Bach haYeshanim 127), says it is permissible to listen to the song unless it was composed for\is primarily sung in Christian religious services.

Please see the responsa inside for details, and ask your LOR for an actual p'sak.

With regards to the possible influence this music could have if you're exposed to it, a writer on Chabad.org states that

On a more Kabbalistic plane, the fifth Lubavitcher Rebbe explains that a composer of music invests his or her very self into the work. The music is an expression of the composer's soul, and listening to music connects the listener's soul to that of the composer.

Another website quotes the Mishna Berura (560 note 25 in Shaar HaTziyun, Laws of Tisha b'Av), who says in the name of the Shelah that non-Jewish tunes can have a negative influence on one's neshama, even if they don't understand the words. (This idea is also mentioned on AskMoses.com and on Ohr Sameach's website.)

The Chabad article continues

In light of this, do you really want to give yourself a soul-connection to just anyone? Especially if the composer is an individual whose spirituality and values are suspect at best?

(However, this sentiment should be tempered by the fact that almost all of the popular Christmas music was composed by Jews. See these articles for details.)

See also:

Halachipedia - Listening to Music (especially the "links" section) for the Halachot of listening to music in general.

Rambam's Commentary on the Mishna, Avot 1:17. Loosely translated and explicated here: http://www.torah.org/learning/pirkei-avos/chapter1-17.html

[The Halakhic portion of this answer is cross posted here.]

Binyomin
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Shmuel
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  • I have not confirmed these sources (yet). I highly recommend that you look up the originals instead of relying on my comments. – Shmuel Dec 05 '11 at 00:22
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Since exposure to Christmas music is just-about unavoidable, I’ve made sure to learn parodies of the more overtly-religious songs; what goes through my mind when I hear the melody is then letzeinusa d’avodah zarah and would presumably therefore be permitted. (Fans of the H. P. Lovecraft monster stories are a particularly good source of such parodies.)

J. C. Salomon
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