President Yitzhak Navon promised the President’s Award to anyone who would find the original tune of the psalms, as they were sung by the Levites in the Temple in Biblical times.
Speaking to participants attending the national convention of Jewish musicians at the Presidential residence, Navon told those who doubted the possibility of tracing the Biblical tune “A man of Israel who does not believe in miracles–is no realist. I believe in miracles–therefore I promised the award.”
The convention, which hosts some 600 Jewish musicians from throughout the world, ends this weekend. The main theme of the convention is “Tradition and Musical Creativity in the Culture of the Jewish People in the East and West.”
The President also received this week the 450 members of the Christian movement, “Beit Shalom” (“The House of Peace”), a pro-Israeli organization which operates in Switzerland, Germany and France and held here its international convention on the occasion of Israel’s 30th anniversary.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
