It's Called Jewish Music, But Is It Really Jewish?Written by Seth Yisra'el Lutnick
A while back I was driving along Jerusalem highway scanning radio stations. On one frequency, a very intense dance beat was exploding out of speakers. I was about to move dial some more in search of a Jewish tune when vocalist started in. Shock of shocks, he was a heavily Hassidic singer, complete with eastern European pronunciation. And what was he singing? "Kumee oy'ree ki va oy-reich.." from 16th century Rabbi Shlomo Alkavetz' classic Sabbath poem, L'cha Dodi. Before he had began his rendition I had been expecting something like "Oh baby, way you move with me ..."!I had to ask old question, "Is this good for Jews?" And I had to give old answer, "Does hair grow on palm of your hand?" Of course it's not good for Jews, I felt. Poor, unfortunate L'cha Dodi, dragged from fields of Tsfat on Sabbath eve and infected with Saturday Night Fever! Lovingly done by a Hassid, no less! Speaking of Tsfat, I recall meandering about their Klezmer festival once and hearing a contemporary setting of Psalm 126. It was to a funk rhythm, and words did not fit. The singer had to split words in two, which rendered them more or less meaningless. Good for Jews? Nah. What bothered me about this so-called Jewish music? To put it briefly, besides words, it just wasn't. It was dance, trance, shmantz. It was hip, driving, suggestive. If this music was asked where it wanted to play, synagogue or sin-skin club, answer was clear. If Jewish music is to be defined as such, it must have authentic Jewish roots. And so much contemporary music simply does not. Where was source of this tradition? Nowhere. That's what bothered me. But, as Tevye reminds us, there's another hand. After all, go listen to classic Hassidic nigunim (melodies). Then go listen to Russian folk songs. Eerie, no? Weren't those folk songs "dance" of their day? Even stronger, go watch religious kids. They love contemporary popular music and all its villains. What these new Jewish groups do is take what's hip and put Jewish content into it. Isn't that what original Hassidic nigunim were all about? If we don't want to lose our young people in culture war, we have to compete. Didn't Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch bring choral works of Lewandowsky and Japhet in to synagogue service, even though they were completely in style of German composers of age, such as Schubert and Mendelssohn (he needs an asterisk because he was halakhically Jewish)? So maybe I should not only calm down, I should applaud this phenomenon.
| | A little Salt and a little LightWritten by Terry Dashner
A little Salt and a little LightTerry Dashner The Bible says that you are light and salt of world. I find it interesting that it uses these two metaphors. Why do I say that? For one, just a pinch of salt goes a long way. It takes just a little to enrich taste of food. Without it, food is too bland. With too much, it ruins taste. A little salt is just right. Stop and think about this. You are one person against world. By your own strength and might world can be overwhelming to you. But, with strength of Christ in you, you become like salt to world. You and your faith in Christ are just enough to change world for better. The Bible says that faith as small as a mustard seed is all you need to move aside mountains in your life. In regards to light, consider this. An aged and prosperous businessman worried about who would carry on after his death. His only relatives were three young nephews. So he called them in and said that one of them would be his successor. “But I have a problem. And one who solves it shall inherit my business,” he said. “I have here a large room, which I want to fill as soon as possible. Here is a small coin for each of you. Go now, but return at sunset, and see what you can buy with this coin to fill room.”
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