Country Two-Step
(Source Unknown)
“The first step is the two-step,” sang the incomparable country musician Tracy Byrd. But Country music has nothing on the Turkish Two-Step (as I have dubbed it) and its apparent incorporation into Karaite poetry.
As I was reviewing some poetry for an upcoming birkon, I noticed that many poems printed in Karaite siddurim repeated the first two syllables of the chorus. As I was investigating why, I recalled the time I totally choked on singing the Karaite melody of Ki Eshmera Shabbat.
I know. I know. It’s not even Shavuot and here I am talking about lamentations for the month of Av. But I can’t stop listening to these snippets I received from Hazzan Rotem Cohen. He recorded the introductory words of a well-known Karaite lamentation for me in two renditions: once with the Egyptian tune and once with the Crimean tune. Today, I want to see if you can identify which is which.
This year, I have compiled some of my favorite Passover resources in one place. Before I get to that though, I wanted to share a story about a speaking engagement I did last weekend at a synagogue in Sacramento. I was explaining that the Egyptian Karaites refrain from eating fermented foods (including wine) on Hag Hamatzot (“Passover”). I explained that we believe that hametz refers to fermentation (not just leavening). And out of nowhere a woman from Iran says that she also refrained from eating fermented foods (but did drink wine). And a man from Baghdad said the same thing.
