Rappin' Breslov

Some About Shlomo

Over at the Seforim Blog...  "Who was Reb Shlomo?"

To find out more, you'll have to buy the book.

Rabbi, May I?

Is it permissible to do the Cups song on Shabbos?

Mechubad With Bentching...

Shimon Garfunkel!

Dveykus Wants To Be Banned!

No, not the Abie Rotenberg group, the Hasidic Doom Metal band.

From their Noisey interview:

What are Deveykus’ plans for the rest of 2013?
I'd love to figure out a way to play in New York on some kind of show inside the religious community. I think the greatest thing we could ever achieve would be for a Hasidic rabbi to ban us and forbid people to listen to our music for fear of being seduced by the outside world.

Nice!

Is Matisyahu Burning More Bridges?

Frum Satire posted a satire piece titled "Is Matisyahu’s music kosher?"

Check out the last comment in the thread. It allegedly quotes from a BBYO statement after he performed for them.

This past weekend at Fall Kickoff 2013, BBYO ONR brought in guest speaker and Jewish musician Matisyahu. Matisyahu’s music has inspired many Jews and non-Jews alike with his powerful lyrics that reflect Jewish and spiritual themes. Recently, Matisyahu has undergone a transformation in his Jewish identity, and with Kickoff 2013 coinciding with his visit to Cleveland to play at the House of Blues, ONR was presented with the opportunity to provide our teens with a unique experience. By bringing Matisyahu into our community for a speaking engagement, we hoped to explore the theme of the individual Jewish journeys that make up our Jewish identities, as well as the concept of transformative Jewish experiences. The goal was to illustrate to our teens that no matter what you look like on the outside, exploring your personal Jewish journey is a critical piece of understanding your own Jewish identity. Furthermore, the expression of your Jewish identity can come in many forms, including creative expression and popular music.

Unfortunately, however, our guest speaker’s behavior and responses during our program did not reflect our original intent. We were disappointed by the way Matisyahu chose to conduct himself while visiting our community. His references to drugs and his blatant disrespect for the questions presented to him by our teens and staff do not reflect the values of our organization. We were impressed by the maturity of our teens and volunteers who persistently attempted to redirect the conversation in order to gain value from the experience.

Immediately after the speaking engagement with Matisyahu, we provided the participants with the opportunity to hear about the Jewish journeys of others in our community and teens were given the opportunity to share their transformative Jewish experiences. They were also given a forum to reflect and provide feedback about the experience. There was certainly a learning opportunity that presented itself in this situation and again, we were impressed by the maturity and insight of our teens. We hope that through this experience our teens came away with new lessons on integrity, leadership and managing expectations.

Just wow!

I Hope They Paid Royalties For This Yesh Tikvah Cover!

Theodore Bikel — Kretchma (קרעטשמע)

Ani Chozer Habayta

Oh wait, that's a different song by Ron Eliran. Here's his "Crazy Country America."

The Breslov Brothers

The Kos Song

Boycot Israel!

From the mailbag...

Shmueli Schwartz emails a link to his website. He's recently released an album titled "Believe." There are audio clips up at his site. YOu can read some more about it here.

Rocking ‫שמחת בית השואבה

"You Need A Good Shul!"

SWFS Cantor Dan Singer forwards a link to a promo clip for Friday night services at Steven Wise Free Synagogue in NYC.

If you're looking for a Reform Shabbat service/venue to meet Jewish singles, check it out!

It's Been A While Since I Posted A Ban

Vos Iz Neias: "Dancing With Children On Shoulders Banned By Gur Hasidic Leaders!"

No words!