is there any halachic or hashkafic problem with listening to secular music in general? and does the genre matter, meaning is rap with explicit or violent lyrics judged differently from neutral music, or is music just music?
is there any halachic or hashkafic problem with listening to secular music, and does the genre matter
by moi613 | Sep 1, 2026 | Hashkafa | 2 comments
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Thank you Rabbi, thank you very much.
There is no general Halachah that says secular music is prohibited simply because it is secular.
There is a separate discussion in Halachah about music after the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash, in Orach Chaim 560, but that is a different subject. It does not create a rule that “Jewish music is permitted and secular music is forbidden.” (O.C. 560:3.)
The source I think you are referring to is Chagigah 15b. The Gemara says about Acher:
זמר יווני לא פסק מפומיה
Greek songs never ceased from his mouth. The Maharsha makes an important point. He says the problem could not simply have been that the music was Greek. Rather, he understands that there was מינות, heretical content, in the songs themselves. In other words, the music was pulling him toward beliefs and a culture that were destructive to his Judaism.
That is the more useful way to look at music generally.
Rap is not assur because it is rap. Rock is not assur because it is rock. Classical music is not automatically holy because there are violins.
Look at what you are listening to and what it does to you.
If a song contains actual avodah zarah, heretical religious messages, or material that is pulling you away from your basic Torah beliefs, obviously that is a problem.
Beyond that, use judgment. If you spend hours listening to music whose entire message glorifies violence, degrading women, drugs, uncontrolled sexuality, or other behavior that you are supposed to be working against, eventually it may affect you. Human beings are influenced by what they repeatedly put into their heads.
That does not mean every song containing one bad word suddenly becomes an issur. Don’t become ridiculous about it.
The question is whether the music is interfering with the person you are trying to become.
If you listen to ordinary secular music because you enjoy the melody, the beat, the voice, or the lyrics, and it is not taking you somewhere spiritually or morally unhealthy, I do not see a problem simply because the singer is not Jewish or the music is called secular.
And if you know that a particular kind of music does affect you badly, then you have to know yourself and stay away from it. That is no different from many other areas of life. We are responsible for our own character and our own kedushah.
So the genre is not the test.
The content and its effect on you are.