A Talmudic Echad Mi Yodea

Life in Israel posts "An Alternative Echad Mee Yodeia video.

Chag Kasher v'sameach! A Zissen Pesach! Happy Passover!

3/29/10 Link Dump

Lipa Shmeltzer get approval to open a shul in Airmont, NY. Speaking of.... Lipa's also released a Pesach hagada!

Rokhl writes "Yiddish American Music: Camp or For Real?"

The Big City writes about Abraham Inc.

Finally, Dovid Kerner writes:

If you're planning a link dump, I'd be honored to be included ...

Hot off the presses – ‘Matza’laya’ - a new song/YouTube for Pesach!

Here’s the link Matza'laya

As you'll see/hear, the Kerner kids did the artwork, I did the pick'in.

I'd like to think that Hank would have approved.

Chag Sameach!

From the mailbag...

Catching up on older emails...

Rabbi Gil Student writes:

This book might interest you. I plan on writing about it next week.

Copyright in Jewish Law by R. Nachum Menashe Weisfish: Copyright in Jewish Law by Rabbi Nachum Menashe Weisfish | feldheim.com

That post is here: Hirhurim - Musings: Copyright in Jewish Law

Rabbi Josh Waxman emails a link to his post "Copying music, yashrus, and the new information economy." He makes more compelling arguments on some side issues, compared to my erstwhile debater, whom he gives way more credit than is due, but seems to miss the main point. (I believe I've written about some of these side issues in the past. No time to find links now.) As a side point, in his last post, my erstwhile opponent demonstrates that he can't read a teshuva properly. He wrote:

As I noted before, there are these who indeed don't allow copying. One instance is R' Moshe, (here, although he doesn't give a rationale).

I urge people to read the teshuva he links (which I'd cited earlier, incidentally) wherein Rav Moshe explicitly gives reasons for why it is prohibited. This fellow can't be trusted to accurately represent written responsa, and we're supposed to accept his word on alleged oral responsa from dead people? Nice.

Naftali writes:

While discussing the story of Purim over Purim, with the lessons learned, I could not help but think about the discussions you have been having with Yosef Greenberg.

The Jews who attended the Seudah of Achashveirosh had plenty of rationalizations of why there was nothing wrong with what they were doing. No where in the Torah does it say not to partake in any type of the entertainment or food that was being offered at that party. However, we know now that although according to the letter of the law there is nowhere that forbids it; the spirit of the law - the famous fifth shulchan orech - is something we as Jews must adhere to, and they should have known not to be a part of it.

Although the Torah might not specifically forbid copying music, one must use his common sense and understand that this is certainly not ethically right. The Torah is Diracheha darchei noam, and certainly would not want that a Yid should put his heart, soul, and money into a project so that someone (another yid!?) should copy it for free. Copying music = Achashveirosh's Seuda. Go have a party.

Abe writes:

It seems Naftali is “guilty” of the same! The Im Eshkocheich which he refers to as the Lev Tahor version is originally R’ Mottel Twersky’s.

True. That said, there's a difference between not knowing the authorship of a well-known Carlebach melody and associating a Twersky song with the group that made it famous.

Ephraim writes:

Still searching for the hebrew lyrics and translation to the song "קר במסקובה" Kar Bmoskova - "It's Cold In Moscow" as sung by Dudu Fisher on the album Elokai Neshama.

J. forwards a link to a Leonard Cohen Ohad! video clip.‬‎

Daniel (and several others) forwarded a link to "Introducing for the very first time.... Lady GaGa?"

E. forwards a link to a video for Yeshiva University Maccabeats - One Day.

Standing Up to the Bullies at at the "Vaad Mishmeres Hakodesh VehaChinuch"

Life in Israel posts: "Telling the Askanim Where to Stick It!" Say no to bullies!

The Nigun Project

The first installment of Jeremiah Lockwood's "Nigun Project" is up at the Forward. It's a "remake" of a Breslov melody.

3/8/10 Link Dump - UPDATED

Via Teruah - Jewish Music, here is the Yiddish Song of the Week website.

This initiative is part of a larger effort by the AJFRP to revitalize traditional Yiddish folksinging performance and research on the subject. To that end, this website will emphasize field recordings of traditional Yiddish folksingers from around the world contributed by folklorists, ethnomusicologists, musicians, singers and collectors.

Each Yiddish song will be presented with Yiddish words and translation, along with commentary from the contributor. Since the website is a blog, we hope that each song contribution will elicit comments from others on the song itself, or on the singing style of the singer. Perhaps others will contribute a variant of the song from their recordings, etc.

The following could be interesting. (It could also just be marketing for specific Jewish artists.)

Lishmoa is an innovative new educational curriculum using Jewish music to teach text study, values & ethics, Hebrew, and social justice within a Judaic framework. Lishmoa seeks to transform Jewish education through the power and spirit of Jewish music while promoting the purveyors of Jewish music from around the world.

Lishmoa presents a synergistic approach to Jewish education utilizing music, videos and the internet– conveying the traditions and history within Jewish music blended with the future of technology and innovation.

UPDATE:
Lishmoa's Will Samuels writes:

Thank you very much for including Lishmoa in today's "Link Dump." Just to clarify- our goal is to include a wide variety of established and upcoming Jewish music practitioners within the curriculum. We hope to be able to expose folks to the vast array of talent that is out there within the many varieties of Jewish music. Through the Jewish music companies (such as oysongs, Shemspeed, and Jdub) and blogs (such as yours and Teruah), we have been able to discover some great new talent, and we look forward to incorporating their work into the curriculum.

[/Update]

Punk Rock prejuidice?

Hirhurim comments on the demise of the Life Of Rubin blog.

Another outgrowth of the Lipa ban...

Now he's published a Hagadah!

in this wedding clip, the groom walks down the aisle to the theme from Sesame Street.

This is aggravating!

My sister-in-law, a very fine Bais Yaakov girl, from Lakewood, who I am very proud to be affiliated with, is involved in a youth tznius organization. She not involved in terms of ideology necessarily, but does a lot of work for them. In any case, she recruited me to sing on CD they were sending out in a mass-mailing. (My brother wanted to hear the cd, but he can’t listen to any of the other girls singing, so having me, his sister, accompany her was the perfect solution).

I had a great time recording. It was my first time ever and I enjoyed the experience. Me Geit Veiyter.

I was by my parents for Shabbos and I don’t recall how it came up, but my mother ending up slipping to me, that the tznius organization wasn’t going to be using any of the tracks that I sang on. They loved my voice, it’s beautiful, don’t get them wrong. However, in comparison to my sister-in-laws voice (which is quite nice) mine is much more trained, and since the purpose of the organization is to promote tznius, they didn’t think it was a good idea to have a voice like mine on their cd.

Read the whole thing!

Here's Forest Hills State of Mind with Billy Eichner and Rachel Dratch. It has an explicit content warning.

BD"E Rabbi Moshe Goldman Z"L

Rabbi Moshe Goldman, well-known for his original Chssidic compositions has died.

Jewish Music from Music from Putti, Uganda

Mike Cohen writes:

As many of you know, I traveled to Uganda last year to do a recording with the Jewish village of Putti. They are an amazing village that are struggling with the problems that plague many people in poor countries throughout the world- poverty, health and basic survival. Being Orthodox Jews adds a whole other component to their struggle. For more information, I urge you to read more at The Committee To Save Ugandan Jewry - The Abayudaya

This has been a tough year in the world. Yesterday [last Wed. ed.] in Uganda there were torrential rains and landslides. Fortunately for Putti, no one was hurt. unfortunately, according to their Rabbi, Enosh keki Mainah, there was severe damage to the village. Crops were destroyed, houses were ruined and thousands of bricks that had been made for the construction of a new synogogue were destroyed. This has been a devastating blow to a village that has been struggling to begin with.

An easy way to help is to purchase the CD we recorded. All proceeds go directly to the village. You can purchase it at Music From Putti | When I Wake Up | CD Baby or by going to Itunes and purchasing "When I Wake Up , Music from Putti" there. Once again all proceeds go to Putti. Please pass this on to anyone you think may be able to help.

I'll have a review of this disc in a forthcoming roundup.