The Exiled Voice Cries Out: Evolution of the Nigun and Spiritual Accessibility for the Jews of Rikers Island

Within carceral spaces, the use of Hasidic wordless melody-based prayer (nigunim) offers an innovative and accessible way to welcome incarcerated Jews into deeper spiritual connection. Nigunim have simultaneously been intentionally designed to transcend the barrier of language in religious experience while also being historically inaccessible to those outside the Hasidic movement or who have been otherwise exiled from normative Jewish space. My research documents the deployment of this alternative modality of prayer for services held at Rikers Island and in the process meditates on the powerful potential for its adaptability to meet the spiritual needs of incarcerated people and otherwise marginalized Jewish communities.