To mention a few things about this article, particularly the music part. I used to be a big fan of Soulfarm and the Moshav band. It took me five years to realize that, it doesn't matter how good of musicians they are, or that they are playing music from Reb Shlomo, the concerts that they give are nothing more than an excuse for people to get together and smoke, drink and do drugs. Now I still enjoy listening to their music (particularly C. Lanzbom), I am a musician and the best way from me to become a better musician is to listen to the music of great musicians.Rabbi Eli Teitelbaum: A Kosher Alternative (”MUST READ”)
September 5, 2007
Many people are in total shock at some of the goings on in the Catskills this summer. I will not go into the details. Suffice it to say that hundreds of our teenagers - boys and girls - were enticed to engage in activities that are far from what their parents and teachers consider acceptable, and far from what we have a right to expect from Yeshiva and Bais Yaakov products. While there are many reasons for it and no easy or simple solutions, we must be very careful not to add to the problem by forbidding everything without providing a satisfactory kosher replacement.
The Yetzer Hora of today is not the one of yesterday or the one our grandparents had to deal with. Today we have television, movies, CDs, DVD’s, Internet, videos, certain type cell phones, and music that are extremely attractive and contain more filth than ever before. They are everywhere and they can easily be brought into our homes without detection. Their influence and message is so powerful and seductive that they have penetrated even the best homes. We are dealing with a mighty foe whose magnetic power of attraction is difficult to resist. Saying “No” doesn’t always work. Unless we provide our children with a kosher alternative to it all, we are asking for trouble.
While in the past, summer camps may have been considered a luxury and kids could be kept in the city, nowadays camps are a lifesaver. Most summer camps provide kids with a kosher outlet for their pent up energies with a balanced program of learning and sports. There is Color War and BOG. There are hikes and trips. Children are kept so busy that they don’t have the time or desire to look for non-kosher means of entertainment.
Many years ago, Pirchei Agudas Yisroel used to organize trips to Washington, Baltimore, and Toronto. Motzoei Shabbos there was learning along with game nights, and concerts. There was the famous Pirchei Choir that put out beautiful records and tapes that brought countless hours of delightful Jewish entertainment into thousands of homes. This was all done in order to keep children busy during their free time so they shouldn’t have to go looking elsewhere. It was important to show children at a very early age that the Torah is not just restrictions, but that Shabbos as well as the rest of the week can be a time of constructive joy and pleasure. Happy laughter and family voices in the home will keep more kids off the streets at night than the strictest curfew.
I still remember when the Pirchei Agudas Yisrael put on a play and concert more than forty years ago in Montauk Junior High School. ( The play was based on the book Family Aguilar. ) There were some who tried to convince the rabbonim to put a ban on it. Since I was the president of Pirchei at the time, Rabbi Moshe Sherer z.l, asked me to go down to the venerable gaon hador, Rabbi Moshe Fienstien z.t.l., to get his halachic opinion. Not only did he not ban it, but he gave it his blessings. He understood only too well the importance of giving the boys a kosher alternative; otherwise they would soon find their pleasures elsewhere. One must be very careful before imposing restrictions. “Restrict everything and everything becomes permitted,” is what my father z.t.l. once said. When some tried to ban the Miami Boys Choir Concert in N.Y. and tried to get Rabbi Pam z.t.l.s’ signature as well as that of the Mirer Rosh Yeshiva to ban it, they both refused to sign.
A number of years ago, Rabbi Motty Katz of JEP and I organized a Chanuka trip to Washington on the two days that yeshivas give off for Chanuka vacation. Thanks to Mr. Yisroel Lefkowitz and others who helped subsidize part of the trip, we were able to charge only $20, which included an overnight stay in a nice motel. We were only able to take along 100 boys even though many more boys wanted to come along. I received a very nasty letter in the mail from a prominent rosh yeshiva accusing me of causing bitul Torah and admonishing me for organizing the trip. I very respectfully replied that it wasn’t I who was causing any bittul Torah but rather the yeshivas that gave the kids off for two days without providing them with something positive to do. I told him that if he wanted, I would show him where some of his students are hanging out during this time. I never received a reply.
I give great credit to the Mirer Yeshivah in Yerushalayim that has realized the great problem of what happens when their bocurim have nothing to do during bein hazmanim. The yeshiva organizes trips at subsidized prices which take their talmidim around Eretz Yisroel. If only other yeshivas would follow their example, many tragedies would be avoided.
When sports and concerts are forbidden, and all forms of kosher entertainment are off limits, we are asking for trouble. If our kids can’t find a place to vent their energy within a kosher environment, then they will find it elsewhere. In a time of war even the Torah itself permitted one to marry a captive non-Jewish girl under certain conditions. Chazal explain the logic behind this law. The Torah understood that a person is only human and therefore in this instance, while fighting a war, it gave him some leeway. The Gemora tells us that for everything the Torah forbade it gave us something similar that was permitted. Today’s war with the Yetzer Horah is far greater than ever before.
But in every generation we have the likes of Doeg and Achitofel who misled great people such as Shaul and Avshalom with falsehoods and lies that caused them to try to kill Dovid. Doeg even succeeded in getting Shaul to kill all the Kohanim in the city of Nov. This shows how falsehoods can be spread, how easily they are believed, and the terrible damage that can result. Even the greatest of the great are vulnerable to such camouflaged slander and can be misled by advisors they trust. Just turn to Shmuel II chapter 16 and read the story of how Dovid who knew better than anyone else of the great dangers of an evil tongue was himself taken in by Tziva who fabricated a false story about Mefiboshes. If even the greatest of the great can be misled, then we’d all better be very careful and constantly on our guard least we too fall into the same trap.
Things haven’t changed much since ancient times. Today, too, we have self proclaimed agitators and charlatans who have nothing to do with their time but to go around to our leading Torah sages and try to convince them that separate-seating concerts are a threat to our Yiddishkeit and to ban them. They falsely claim that there is pritzus in the hallways plus other fabrications. Exaggeration is a blood relative to falsehood, and almost as bad. A gossip is one who can give you all the details without knowing all the facts. Unfortunately, they often succeed in their mission. All it took was one Korach to convince the 250 heads of Sanhedrin of the holiness and purity of his mission.
Some have organized special activities and places for these “at risk kids” to get together under proper supervision, but this is not the real solution. The problem must be addressed long before young people reach the “at risk” stage. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. If the money we spent on rehabilitation where to be spent on prevention, we’d get far more for our money, and fewer people who need intensive intervention
It must be clearly noted that despite all that was said, one is required to follow the ruling of our sages even when they say “Right is left and left is right.” Nowadays when there is no Sanhedrin, one must seek a leading posek and follow his ruling on all matters and not go “posek hopping.” This applies not only in the above case but in all other areas as well. There are some disagreements among our leading poskim in Hilchos Shabbos which can be an isur sekilah. One can’t pick and choose stringencies from one or leniencies from another. (Gemora ) The Agudas Yisroel follows the ruling of the Moetzes Gedolai HaTorah. Others can decide on their posek whom they wish to follow. But whoever it is, the p’sak must be followed even if it hurts.
Yes, there are legitimate concerns that must be addressed in order to make sure that concerts are conducted in a true Yiddish atmosphere and flavor. Performers should not be Jewish rock or rap singers and the music should not imitate today’s street hip-hop culture as some performers unfortunately do. Sadly, I’ve gone to frum weddings where the music and dancing felt like one was in a discothèque with only the flashing lights missing. Roshei yeshivas and rabbonim danced in the middle of the circle having no idea as what type of music they were dancing to. I hope no one is going to ban music at weddings because of this, but rather the m’sader kidushin or rabbonim should meet with the band leaders as well as the mechutonim to rectify this outrage. Serious concerns must be discussed between the concert organizers and rabbonim beforehand. Instead of seeking to ban these concerts, we must make sure that they are a kiddush Shem Shomayim. Music has a powerful effect upon the listener and we must ensure that it follows in the footsteps and style of Dovid Hamelech the “n’im zemiros Yisroel,” to whose words our music is often put.
We definitely need our gedolim to guide us, and if we come to them with sincere requests to teach us to run activities al pi Torah, they would respond wisely and constructively. We should no longer leave the field open to those few agitators and connivers who choose to deprive our young people of positive outlets. For if we close the doors to that which is permitted, they’ll unfortunately, soon find other places to fill the void!
But wouldn't it be better to see them live?
No if to become a better musician I have to sacrifice what I believe in, it's not worth it.
I mentioned in a post a few weeks ago that I had gone to a wedding of a cousin of mine. Now these relatives were not what I would call frum, and the tziut level of a wedding can usually be decided by what kind of music is being played.
I'll admit I was impressed with the band they had, they could play (and did play) every kind of music conceivable. From rock, to jazz, to instrumental Carlebach.
But try as you might, it was a wedding with Jews, it wasn't a Jewish wedding. I had a friend who got married at the end of July and after attending my relatives wedding, I could appreciate the incredible level of Tziut at that wedding. And even though it was tzniut, it didn't compromise on the fun level of it.
Now there were guys drinking, which I find unacceptable. As one person I know put it "If you can't reach a spiritual high without drinking, you have a lot of work to do."
Just on a side note, my first year in Yeshiva we had a Shabbaton in the Old City, and during our Friday night tisch, one of the waiters went over to one of my Rabbi's and said, "This is weird, everyone here's is so happy and loose, and no one's had anything to drink!"
My yeshiva had a zero tolerance from foreign substance abuse, that's one of the reason I picked it. A guy has to find out how to have a good time outside of a bottle.
Anyways back to the subject at hand, I saw an interesting comment on a blog the other day, talking about the hypocrisy of the Orthodox, and particularly the Yeshivish, world, who say not to listen to Non-Jewish music, yet when you go to weddings you hear it all the time.
I was at a wedding back in February that had Eitan Katz playing. Now Eitan is awesome, and it was a very lively and ruach-filled wedding. But during the meal the band was playing an instrumental of a non-Jewish song. I remember this mostly because it was a song that I happened to really hate.
Anyways the point is that there are now plenty of kosher things that have been taken out of the non-Jewish world. For example Matisyahu, who's music I actually like, even though I don't really like reggae, I don't listen to it for the music style, I listen to it because he as an incredibly great message. And if people are going to be listening to reggae, or rap, or hip hop, wouldn't it be better that they're humming songs about the Beit Hamikdash, instead of the other garbage that is normally put in its place?
Of course there are bands who take the non-Jewish guise and put it in a Jewish setting that's not kosher, Blue Fringe for example. BF are a bunch of very talented musicians, but they're purpose is not the same as Matisyahu's, who wants to spread the light of G-d to the world. BF is solely in it for the money.
Now Mordechai Ben David being unkosher is kinda laughable. Shwekey? Chaim David? Shlomo Katz? I was at a Simply Tzfat concert last week, and it was an incredibly uplifting experience because the people making the music were G-d fearing Jews who were teaching Torah, and that's why they were there, not to make money, but the bring an uplifting environment to the people in attendence, and experience that was based in holiness, not sexuality.
Because that's the main concern for all these bans, sexuality. We are bombarded with it all day (and yes, I know that it happens in Israel also) and the response it to shut it out as much as possible, which is a good thing, but offer a constructive alternative. The fact that secular culture has taken one of the most private, beautiful things, and turned it into one of the most public things is a disgusting shame. It shows how these 'progressives' are trying to bring equality and openness to the everyone, and that everything is exceptable because (sarcasm alert) "we don't want to offend anyone! Nooo!
A major item in the news now for the good part of the past 2 years has been whether to legalize gay marriages or not. I mean we can't offend gay people can we?
But when you try to raise yourself by listening to your body, your not progressing, you're regressing back into an animal state, where you are no longer in control of your body, it's your body that controls you.
Judaism believes that the reason we humans have intellect is because we are not animals, we have a potential that differs from person to person, where every single animal only has the level to reach of every other animal. We're in the most technologically advanced time in human history, yet people want to live like animals.
During one of the times in Jewish history when some Jews decided they wanted to join the 'enlightenment movement,' they approached the Rabbi of the generation and started mocking him because he was still following this ancient religion. Why didn't he join them in they're progressive ways?
He said "you have it backwards. You think that by throwing off the Torah you are free from such burdens, but your not. You've simply replaced the burden of Torah with the burdan of your animal instincts. If you let you animal instincts take over, you have no way of combating them, Torah is a guidebook to not only fight the animal inside you, but also to grow and reach your true, unique human potential.
That's all for tonight.
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