Jerusalem, Israel – Hassidic music stars Avraham Fried and Yaakov Shwekey are to perform in Jerusalem before over 10,000 Thursday night – but Rabbis say it's forbidden to participate or attend events of that nature.
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Flashy posters all over Jerusalem and elsewhere advertise a high-powered Hassidic music concert scheduled for Thursday evening at Teddy Stadium. It features Fried and Shwekey, as well as guest appearances by Aharon Razel and Elad Shaar.
Called "L'Chaim in Jerusalem," the event commemorates the 40th anniversary of the reunification of Jerusalem, and will feature an extra-large orchestra.
But a damper was placed on the event, in the form of a grave rabbinic ban appearing in the hareidi-religious press. The ban is signed by leading rabbis including Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, the Gerrer and Bezler Rabbis, Rabbi Aharon Leib Shteinman, Rabbi Shmuel HaLevy Vozner, Rabbi Chaim Pinchas Sheinberg, and more.
The ads state: "We trembled at hearing about the terrible breach in our camp of 'music evenings' and 'concerts' in which musicians sing before men and women sitting together, Heaven forefend, and even not together. All Torah leaders have in the past clearly forbidden these events, even when men and women are separate."
The rabbis say the ban applies to men, women and children and of course the performers. Newspapers are not permitted to advertise these events, according to the ad, and musicians who sing "in front of men and women together" must not be invited to sing at other events.
Producer Moshe Ben-Zimra told the NRG website in response: "Men and women will be totally separated at the event, including separate entrances, and everything is taking place under the supervision of great rabbis. I greatly respect the rabbis who signed the ban, but they were misled by their underlings whose purpose is simply to liquidate Hassidic music in Israel. The rabbis don't realize that this event is kosher and maintains the laws of modesty. Over 10,000 people have already bought tickets, and they can rely upon the Torah rabbis who support separate and modest events of this nature." [Arutz Sheva]
How has it come to this? concerts? BBQ’S? nature hikes? How can it be?
I just want to point out that the Rabonim placing this ban are Haradim in Eretz Yisroel for an event in Yerushalim. Anyone taking a quick look at the Haradi society there can see that such an event is out of place for their standards. Right or wrong, this is not the way that they live and they do not want such an event happening in their jurisdiction.
I don’t believe that we, as Americans from the outside have the right to lambaste and criticize the life-style they would like to lead.
Are there problems in the Haradi community in Eretz Yisroel? Of course! However, there are problems in the states within communities that are very accepting of these kinds of concerts and behaviors as well. Who is living the fully proper “Torah Way”? That is a very difficult question to answer.
Like most things in life, probably neither one of us has it just perfect.
I don’t think anyone can full heartedly say that there aren’t any benefits in the Haradi way of life. Therefore, I think it is disrespectful and immature to brand them a completely illegitimate opinion and justify calling them names. Just because they don’t see it your way doesn’t warrant making cynical comments. Even if you feel such a ban is detrimental in certain ways, can you claim that your views will completely and perfectly fix world Judaism?
Looking at the way many Seforim talk about mixed gatherings, it seems to difficult to say the Rabbonims views have absolutely no basis. Could it be times have changed? Yes! However I don’t think it is so absurd to say that, at least for the Haradim in Eretz Yisroel, they haven’t. It at least does not warrant calling the ban ignorant and silly.
I would also point out that they have not banned concerts, but mixed seating.
ok. now i have heard it all. someone comes out that we should never have any concerts ever again. i guess all those pirchei concerts that we went to years ago and sat as a family together were the ultimate sin! Listen you rabbis, if you want to live a seperate life from your women, go ahead. but don’t assur the rest of us and intefere with a person’s parnossah just because we have a different outlook on enjoying life. now i hear that if you go to these concerts you will be thrown out of yeshiva. you rabbis will answer on yom hadin for the jews that lost respect for rabbis and went off the derech.
b”h evryone came out alive!!
they did it
but i heard that MBD cancled two perfomings this coming week b”h, we hope to hear from the rest.
Well, did they have the concert?
that means that your saying these gedolim don’t have das torah.
To TMZ: You haven’t responded to anything the previous guy said, except for shouting slogans.
At any rate the Gush Katif bribe was clearly against the Torah and surely not respect for the Shulchan Aruch!
if you respect torah then you respect thier psakim, if you don’t respect torah then you don’t respt thier psakim.
Some of these Rabbonim are the same ones that supported Sharon in the Gush Katif incident at the expense of Halacha (See Hilchos Shabbos Siman 328) and Jewish blood for a bribe of $60 million claiming that the money is going to support Torah learning.
These are the same ones that banned the sheitlach without proper investigation causing an estimated loss of at least $1 billion of Jewish money. This being so despite the fact that they have an agenda against sheitlach.
These are the same Rabbonim that outwardly desplay Sinas Chinom towards other Jews. One of the reasons they banned the concert is because Avraham Fried is a Chabad Chosid. This is not the first time they have displayed Sinah toward Chabad.
All the above has one common denominator. Kanous Shlo Bimkomo which leads to all sorts of terrible things as it did with the Gush Katif episode. Despite whatever Torah and Maasim Tovim they may have, it’s very hard to respect their “psakim”.
There are gezairos Rabbonim make for a good reason (e.g. forbidding internet in the home), there are gezairos they should make but unfortunately cannot enforce (e.g. overspending on chasunas-been there, done that and was a total flop) and then there are gezairos (or just plain noise) they make for events that while there is nothing wrong with them, and indeed can serve a good purpose, since they’re new, unconventional and not “yeshivish”, they put a damper on them (e.g. chol hamoed circus). However, this concert most likely fits into the first category. So while the first Anon. thinks it’s a harmless event (which very well may be compared to these youths’ alternatives), it’s very not simple to call these massive gedolim like Reb Elyashiv and Reb Aron Leib Shteinman “ignorant rabbis”.
The article very clearly says that these rabbonim forbade this concert REGARDLESS of the fact that it’s separate seating. Public concerts with singing and instruments is forbidden. Check out Igros Moshe, Orach Chaim, first cheilek, teshuva 166 where it speaks about it at length, and in the last few lines he says POSSIBLY there is to allow it if it’s for tzedaka (I guess that explains the allowance for HASC concerts as long as it’s separate.)But if this concert is to just line the singers’ and producer’s pockets, there is seemingly no heter, as these gedolim are saying.
How surprising it is that the producer acts as if the only problem is the mixed seating factor, and continually harps on that issue, and he assures us is not a problem. When money is at stake, it’s easy to not see the other issurim a mechitza won’t help for. And if the biggest poskim on the planet assur it, who are the “great rabbis” supervising this event he speaks of and of the “Torah Rabbis” who have the ability to go against all these gedolim who are against it?
(To the editor: Can you please capitalize the D in the first letter of my name when you post this? Improper punctuation, grammar, and spelling drive me crazy. Thanks!)
HEY THERE
What’s wrong with BBQ’s?
Keeps the kitchen clean, the wife is happy, kids love the taste, and I invite guests to join us, we say dverai torah, schmooze and then bench.. Maybe you scared of fire!!
i think you should charge for evry comment’ then people will think twice
IT’S NOT A GZAYRA IT’S DAS TORAH PERIOD!!
The whole isn’t chal according to halacha being that the Roiv Hazibbur are clearly ridiculing it. A gzeira isn’t chal unless the majority of the tzibbur are able to keep it.
How come the hamodia advertises concerts here in ny?
I hate all u heimishe twerps that use the” well why are u on the internet, didn’t rabbonim assur that too??”, that is probably the biggest kop-out.
the rabonim didn’t assur INTERNET if you need it for work, and just to look in the VOS IS NIAS is just like looking in a hemishe newspaper in your house.
people that leave the internet open for thier kids, those kids may end up in who knows where r’l.
…..There is no Heter for a man to close his sefer and goto a concert…..
LEO… nor go on the Internet, as you apparently are.
Shabbos zmiros -> laitzonus -> Uncle Moishy concerts -> Avrohom Fried concerts -> Mordechai ben David (r”l) concerts-> Shwecky concerts -> Piamenta concerts -> Grateful Dead & Beastie Boys concerts -> Fallsburg pot bust. Yep, it’s all beginning to make sense.
if you don’t listen to the gedolim and you don’t go b’derech hatorah, then your kids could r”l end up like those fallsberg kids, read story on home pg.
I agree to the gedolim even thogh I don’t understand, that’s what I was taught in cheder, in yeshiva, and in my house.
Leo said…
There is no Heter for a man to close his sefer and goto a concert.
V’ehgiso bo Yomam V’layloh
(i’m talking to myself too)
August 1, 2007 12:09 PM
You need alot of help you definitly talk to yourself
THESE RABONIM SHOULD GO ONE STEP FURTHER , PUT A LIMIT ON THE BLASTING MUSIC AT ALL CHASUNAS.IT IS EMULATING THE GOYIM IN TRYING TO MAKE A ‘DISCO’….HEADACHE, CHAIM
well maybe he has kosher net
Unfortunatly the word “chassidic” when it comes to music is an incorrect word but nonetheless used. Call it nice songs sung by a frum person.
Why are some of you calling the Rabbis ignorant. What makes you think you know better than those who study Torah in great depth and really know what is right or wrong according to halacha. I heard that one really should not listen to music at all since the Bais Hamikdosh was destroyed, so there is something right about this ban on concerts. Nowadays people don’t even realize we are in golus and we have to do our part to merit the geula. They are just looking to have a good time and don’t even know what our purpose is here in this world.They want to have a life like the goyim, with a “hechsher” of course. The goyim have concerts, and barbecues,latest style clothing (not Jewish style clothing)and videos, etc. and they want “kosher” ones.
=================================
YOU ARE A 1ST CLASS HYPOCRITE.
These same Rabbonim whom u are so concerned about that we do NOT mock them are the same Rabbonim that Assered the INTERNET. How can u be so 2 faced and tell us what to do when u yourself are going behind the backs of these same rabbonim and playing on your computer.??
Does anyone know which great rabbis Moshe Ben Zimra has?
Reform?? Conservative?? modern Orthodox??
Why doesn’t he say??
Is he lying??
There is no Heter for a man to close his sefer and goto a concert.
V’ehgiso bo Yomam V’layloh
(i’m talking to myself too)
“… they were misled by their underlings.”
Methinks that such types of misinformation (or, perhaps, disinformation) can be found behind some of the other crazy issurim that have come from these esteemed rabbis of late.
[And, by the way, this isn’t just a rabbi thing. It happens every day in the corporate world.]
What is so Hassidic about Yaakov Shwekey? Don’t get me wrong, he probably is a Chusheve Yid, but come on, some of his and Avraham Fried’s music are definitely not Hassidic. Unless Jazz music is Hassidic….
Bigdei cohen gadol and kisoness pasim for all! A m’eel, choshen mishpat and tzits in every closet. Musical accompaniment from the Leveyim will just have to wait. Until then, no music and no fashion. Certainly no zemiros at the Shabbos table if the women are in the kitchen, and k’al v’chomer no lecha dodi tunes if women are in the ezras nashim. Better yet, no women allowed in the ezras nashim on Friday night! We all have to do our part to bring on the geulah. Sacrifices will have to made. No, not those kinds of sacrifices. Those will have to wait till you-know-who :>)
Aside from yarmulkas and tzitzis, what constitutes Jewish style clothing? Chasidim wear 200-year-old Polish caftans and fur hats, Yeshivish wear North American-style business suits, and the Modern Orthodox dress in sportswear. How can we claim that any of our l’vush is uniquely “Jewish” when Arabs wear robes and keffiyehs; Iranians have collarless shirts and no ties, and Tibetan monks wear togas / saris. Time for Jewish clothing, I say. And no live music, of course
Why are some of you calling the Rabbis ignorant. What makes you think you know better than those who study Torah in great depth and really know what is right or wrong according to halacha. I heard that one really should not listen to music at all since the Bais Hamikdosh was destroyed, so there is something right about this ban on concerts. Nowadays people don’t even realize we are in golus and we have to do our part to merit the geula. They are just looking to have a good time and don’t even know what our purpose is here in this world.They want to have a life like the goyim, with a “hechsher” of course. The goyim have concerts, and barbecues,latest style clothing (not Jewish style clothing)and videos, etc. and they want “kosher” ones.
listen to what the rabbnim say they have das torah and not you!!
v’syog l’chachma shtika!
I am very happy to see the rabbonim come out with this. I have been to a mixed concert once in my life and had a pit in my stomach the entire time I was there. I knew I was wrong and sitting in such a loose atmosphere was definitely not conducive to yiras shmayim. I don’t think concerts are the only release for teens, there are plenty other things they can do to let off steam like boating and road trips with mature friends.
Actually the organizer are for the money, this type of gathering brings only temporary release, from here they go to drinking, drugs and prostitution or be megale araeeos, the rabbonim know better, this people are empty, instead of looking for life=Torah, they go elsewhere, get a life!!! if you focus to be a jew, do the mitzvos, you will not sin, but if you got to much Hefkairous, to much money, and nothing to do then, Vayishma Yeshurun, Vayishman, Vayivot.
The P.R. response from the event producer at the bottom of the article was absolutely great. I am impressed!
All he needs now is to list the names of the Rabbonim who are “Matir” seperate-seating concerts.
At the end of the day, in any case, one should always consult with his/her local Orthodox Rabbi for guidance which will clarify matters greatly.
What of someone eats strawberries while hiking to a concert?
Seriously, the system is broken. Is there a rationale for the ban? Does anyone know why this is banned?
Every time the Rabbonim ban something so silly, they decrease the respect people have for daas Torah. Perhaps, instead of banning things, they could educate people instead.
Does anyone think that R’ Moshe Feinstein would have banned hiking after the two tragedies in E”Y? Or do you think he would have said “make sure you know what you’re doing before you go hiking, and take water with you?” Do you think he would have banned concerts?
This is crazy.
Hard not to agree with anon August 1, 2007 9:27 AM . They have been doing these bans for years – they are almost always ignored – perhaps they are giving the ok with a wink – do it but we must be against it
Perhaps they’re afraid that if the concert goes on it might lead to hiking.
I blame all these ignorant rabbis for the tragedy in south fallsburg (see story of jewish teens arrested for wild partying in house). Our teens need some fun in their lives, rabbosai! It is in their human nature. If they go to a hassidic concert to have some fun and let off some steam, so be it. it is far better than getting hooked on drugs and listening to goyish music. unfortunately we will be seeing more teens going off the derech if these rabbis don’t face realy and accept the fact that even though a boy does not want to sit and learn from 5am to midnight every day does not make him less of a yiddishe neshama that we as a community have to treasure.