| A while back I was driving along the Jerusalem | | | | were completely in the style of the German |
| highway scanning the radio stations. On one frequency, | | | | composers of the age, such as Schubert and |
| a very intense dance beat was exploding out of the | | | | Mendelssohn (he needs an asterisk because he was |
| speakers. I was about to move the dial some more in | | | | halakhically Jewish)? So maybe I should not only calm |
| search of a Jewish tune when the vocalist started in. | | | | down, I should applaud this phenomenon.Hold on. We're |
| Shock of shocks, he was a heavily Hassidic singer, | | | | both right, I believe. Here's how I reconcile the |
| complete with eastern European pronunciation. And | | | | difference, and my earnest appeal to all who create |
| what was he singing? "Kumee oy'ree ki va oy-reich.." | | | | Jewish music. The most important thing is to ask, "To |
| from 16th century Rabbi Shlomo Alkavetz' classic | | | | be or not to be?" That is the question.Every song has |
| Sabbath poem, L'cha Dodi. Before he had began his | | | | a purpose, a message. It can be joy, faith, pensiveness, |
| rendition I had been expecting something like "Oh baby, | | | | determination, anything. The message is in the melody |
| the way you move with me ..."!I had to ask the old | | | | and rhythm, which create the atmosphere. It's in the |
| question, "Is this good for the Jews?" And I had to give | | | | text, which gives articulation to the message. And it's in |
| the old answer, "Does hair grow on the palm of your | | | | the performance, which makes the message personal |
| hand?"Of course it's not good for the Jews, I felt. Poor, | | | | between the performer and the listener. If the |
| unfortunate L'cha Dodi, dragged from the fields of | | | | message is congruent, if the music and the lyrics are a |
| Tsfat on the Sabbath eve and infected with Saturday | | | | perfect union that inspires the performer, then you |
| Night Fever! Lovingly done by a Hassid, no | | | | have a great piece of music. If the message is mixed, |
| less!Speaking of Tsfat, I recall meandering about their | | | | if there's a battle going on between the rhythm and |
| Klezmer festival once and hearing a contemporary | | | | the words, then we are troubled. That was why that |
| setting of Psalm 126. It was to a funk rhythm, and the | | | | "kumee oy'ree" was so absolutely awful. It was a |
| words did not fit. The singer had to split words in two, | | | | mixed message of licentious music with holy texts.We |
| which rendered them more or less meaningless. Good | | | | love to set verses from the liturgy to music, and that's |
| for the Jews? Nah.What bothered me about this | | | | wonderful. Composers have a special responsibility to |
| so-called Jewish music? To put it briefly, besides the | | | | make sure that the music conveys the message and |
| words, it just wasn't. It was dance, trance, shmantz. It | | | | colors the words with deeper meanings. Do that, and |
| was hip, driving, suggestive. If this music was asked | | | | I'm fascinated, I'm inspired, even if it's a contemporary |
| where it wanted to play, the synagogue or the sin-skin | | | | style.But be very, very careful with verses. We tend to |
| club, the answer was clear. If Jewish music is to be | | | | ask, "Do you think Adon Olam goes to this?", when we |
| defined as such, it must have authentic Jewish roots. | | | | would do better to ask, "What is this melody saying?". |
| And so much contemporary music simply does not. | | | | If it says Adon Olam, good. If it does not, then WRITE |
| Where was the source of this tradition? Nowhere. | | | | YOUR OWN WORDS. To keep with the idea of |
| That's what bothered me.But, as Tevye reminds us, | | | | message, if you have a great tune that can say |
| there's another hand. After all, go listen to classic | | | | something worthwhile (something human and real, not |
| Hassidic nigunim (melodies). Then go listen to Russian | | | | negative or immodest), say it your way. That |
| folk songs. Eerie, no? Weren't those folk songs the | | | | satisfies.The foundation of Jewish music has always |
| "dance" of their day?Even stronger, go watch the | | | | been expressing what's in our hearts as a prayer to |
| religious kids. They love contemporary popular music | | | | God. That expression must be congruent, pure, sincere. |
| and all its villains. What these new Jewish groups do is | | | | There is room in the Jewish music world for great |
| take what's hip and put Jewish content into it. Isn't that | | | | innovation, if it comes from our hearts, not from the |
| what the original Hassidic nigunim were all about? If we | | | | charts.Seth Yisra'el Lutnick is a singer and composer |
| don't want to lose our young people in the culture war, | | | | who has performed on stage and screen. His CD is |
| we have to compete. Didn't Rabbi Samson Raphael | | | | called Gesharim, and he is also a trained cantor. Visit |
| Hirsch bring the choral works of Lewandowsky and | | | | his website, for music and more. |
| Japhet in to the synagogue service, even though they | | | | |