Thursday, March 12, 2009

From the mailbag...

Joe Flix emails a link to his post: " A few exciting items in Jewish Music."

Eitan Katz writes:
Hello Everyone!

I am so excited to announce that my new CD titled “Boruch Hu” has been released. Every nigun was carefully selected and arranged in a way I felt would bring out the deeper meaning of the words and make your overall connection with Hashem more meaningful. Below is a picture of the cover of the CD with links for clips and purchasing.
(also, be sure to check out my newly designed website www.EitanKatz.com )

To hear clips and purchase click here here.
Anon writes:
Was just sitting and watching the very funny Geller Bus from Yoeli Lebovitz, after just hearing the new single from Shmiel Ber "Berry" Weber, produced by Naftali Schnitzler and I realized something. Not only did the attempts to ban and destory Lipa fail, they opened up the flood gates for a 100 new lipas. These guys are ALL from Lipa's school. They all know Lipa, they all work with him, and there are more of them. They are talented, smart, and ready to take it even further then Lipa has. They glorified him, they lifted him up and they turned him into an icon for all these young chaseedish guys to emulate and be inspired by.
One of these days, I intend to write about the new wave of public Chassidish creativity in music and the arts.

Hugh Mullican rants:
Frumteens.com Misstatement

The entitled website has many fine points, but its moderator deliberately mistranslates a Sha'ar haTziyun of the M"B on Hilchoth Tb"A. It states that the the ShLa"H prohibits singing non-Jewish tunes, even devoid of their words, to babies.
The actual word used in the text, though, is not "non-Jewish" but "courting." It would seem to prohibit "Bei Mir Bist Du Schein" rather than "You Ain't Nothin' But a Hound Dog" (a complaint against lashon hau-rau).
This mistranslation was called to their moderator's attention. The effort had no effect.

Ordinarily, I wouldn't give tuppence for the whole subject that everyone's excited about, but I must be concerned.
We were asked recently to sign an "oath" that was included in the registration forms. of a local BY nursery school. It included prohibition of listening to non-Jewish music and referred to a non-existent Parents' Handbook. It turned out that that was really the Student's handbook, which says nothing on the topic (and states that girls must [sic] use the internet!).

Also, I am anguished that the gedoleem who signed the kol koraeh last year expended goodwill capital and viciously attacked the livlihood of the targets on what was really a whim. What good is their word on tz'ddaukauh matters or on much anything? Also, were they not setting up a decree which the public could not withstand?

Now, this year, some of these same individual g'doleem ask us to contribute money to help save the three poor souls who are held in harsh conditions in Japan. The arguments presented in the material beg a lot of questions: If they didn't think that they were smuggling drugs, did they think that it was OK to smuggle other items, like their sender asked them to? Didn't they speak to parents and advisers, who would have asked them how they planned to pay for their trip? Is it OK to ignore the laws of any national and international entity?
So we're told that money has to be spread around, both in Japan to hire counsel and in Israel (for what?). I smell a further xilul H' (R"l) brewing in their pots! I think the Keystone Cops are running the show, and I wish I could make myself known to the folks in charge.
Of course, I'll send in something as they asked, but PLEASE! We're asked to admit that these poor boys are not exposed to outside news, and that's why it was easy for them to be victimized. (We're to believe that they never heard of drugs or smuggling. The PR people are out of their minds!)
Maybe the g'doleem ought to make sure that unexpurgated outside news reaches these communities! I'm reminded of my schoolmate, whose father received Time mag. in Mir, Poland. He was ridiculed for reading "timmeh," but their prediction that H., ymax sh'mo, would invade helped save his life by allowing him to flee back to these shores.

I'm sorry. I was supposed to be talking about L'Affaire Lipa!