Nigun

A nigun (Hebrew: ניגון, 'tune' or 'melody'; pl. nigunim) or niggun (pl. niggunim) is a form of Ashkenazi Jewish vocal music sung in group settings. Nigunim are melodic tunes, often using repetitive non-lexical vocables such as "bim-bim-bam", "lai-lai-lai", "yai-yai-yai", or "ai-ai-ai" rather than with formal lyrics. Sometimes, a nigun is expressed as a mystical musical form of Jewish prayer or glossolalia.^[1] Hebrew Biblical verses or quotes from other classical Jewish texts are sometimes sung repetitively to form a nigun. Some nigunim are sung as prayers of lament, while others may be joyous or victorious in theme.^[2]^[3]

^ "The Nigun". My Jewish Learning. Retrieved 2024-10-23.
^ Haida Archived 1999-10-07 at the Wayback Machine Touchstone Sacred Dance Library, Accessed February 2014.
^ Music In Kaballah, The Nigun's Influence on the Soul From the book Shirat HaLev (The Song of the Heart) by Shmuel Stern – Translated by Gita Levi. Accessed February 2014.

[1] "The Nigun". My Jewish Learning. Retrieved 2024-10-23.

[2] Haida Archived 1999-10-07 at the Wayback Machine Touchstone Sacred Dance Library, Accessed February 2014.

[3] Music In Kaballah, The Nigun's Influence on the Soul From the book Shirat HaLev (The Song of the Heart) by Shmuel Stern – Translated by Gita Levi. Accessed February 2014.

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