Klezmer Requests

Yesterday's fun requests...

Kale Bazetsn, Nign (Lorin Sklamberg), Doina Naftule, Der Alter Bulgar, Fisherlid/Klezmatics Khosidl, Firn Di Mekhutonim, Vu Nemt Men Parnosse, Der Nikolaever Bulgar, and 7:40. Plus we got to play a sweet version of Erev Shel Shoshanim sung by an Irish guest. Fun!

The Nigun Project #3 is Up

Jeremiah Lockwood's latest for the nigun project is up at the Forward.

How To Write A Hit Song!

The Axis of Awesome leaks Eli Gerstner's secret...

What's The Matter with That One-Man-Band?

A few months back, I had the "pleasure" of attending a simcha where the entertainment was provided by a one-man-band and singer. (For my Yiddish readers, that's a von-men-bend un zinger"). The musician is one of the long-time "names" in that end of the business. I was actually interested to see how he approached playing a large yeshivish wedding. That is, I was interested until he started playing. Natch, the music was painfully loud. In addition to the volume issue, there was a larger issue. That is, the music just didn't sound good. Specifically, it sounded as though the music was EQed to be as shrill and annoying as possible. And then it occurred to me that he had EQed the music to compensate for high frequency hearing loss he's likely suffered from years of playing waaay to loud at parties. The music probably sounded great to him, because his hearing has been so damaged by years of high volume playing.

Hatin' on the "Get" song!

George doesn't like "Give Her A Get! An Ode To Jewish Divorce." He writes:

I think this song and other things like it make light of a serious and very private situation. What about Jewish men who are victims of women refusing to accept the get? There are many Jewish men who are being slandered because it is PC to attack men but not PC to bring up that women use the get as leverage. Maybe you can put up a video criticizing women too. JewishDivorce.com

Sure, George. Just send us the video of your "#$@^ Won't Accept A Get" song, and we'll be glad to post it for you.

Give Her A Get! An Ode To Jewish Divorce.

Springtime Brings Out The Peeps

"Super Spreadsheet Client"
This peep has every last detail of their wedding nailed down. They have made absolutely sure that not even one second of the event goes unprogrammed. We know this because the emails they've sent have been thorough. A list of song requests for each part of the affair... a 2 gig file of audio of each song requested... a spreadsheet that maps out the length of each audio clip... and a schedule that assumes the band will take *exactly* the same amount of time as the recording to play each tune. Whew!

"Where'd The Art Go"
This peep is the black sheep of their chareidi family. While playing a family celebration in their home, we notice that all of the art hanging in the living room is gone. There are just bare hooks. Quite odd, given the luxurious decor. On closer look, we notice a new inset electric outlet placed just behind where the main painting behind the sofa would hang. And then it hits us. Its not only art that's been hidden, it's the flat screen TV that is the centerpiece of the room, that's been removed too. What they don't know won't hurt 'em! In the meantime, the relatives can hang their black hats on the vacant hooks.

"Dad Doesn't Get It"
This peep *needs* his son to give a long and complicated lomdus-filled high-level dvar Torah at his Bar Mitzvah. The fact that this child is not cut out for this either intellectually or socially seems not to matter. Twenty painful minutes later, the speech is over, but the bar Mitzvah boy will likely live with the feeling of failure forever. Note to dads. The speech isn't about demonstrating your intellectual acumen. If you've got a kid who is up to it, great! If not, don't force it. Chanoch lena'ar al pi darko!

"The Greatest Fan Ever"
This peep loves our band. Here's a paraphrase: "Wow! You guys are awesome! Is that a bass? Wow! I love bass! And guitar? Yes! To guitarist: "You're awesome! To band:I see there's a keyboard player and a drummer. Perfect! Clarinet too? Excellent. You guys are awesome!" All this before we've played a single note. The best part was that it was totally sincere too. To the greatest fan ever... you are awesome!

4/22/10 Link Dump

If you have not yet checked out the Yiddish Song of the Week blog, head on over! Last week's song was “Dos Shabes Lid” performed by Avrum Yitshkhok Moskovitz. Check it out!

This week's song is “Bay deym ruv in shtib” performed by Lifshe Schaechter-Widman.

Over at Shulmusic.org, there's an interesting survey of the Halachik view of Chazzanim using tuning forks on Shabbos. Its in Hebrew.

heeb'n'vegan posts an interview with Matisyahu about going vegan.

Over at the Forward, a new audio clip from artist-in-residence Jeremiah Lockwood's The Nigun Project: At the Table.

At Tablet Magazine, Alexander Gelfand writes about Joel Rubin's recent concert in memory of Dave Tarras.

Jewish Music Report posts "Alternative Jewish Music – Acoustic Jazz".

Finally, here's the best of "Jazz Club"! Nice!

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.

Purim News Headlines

In the spirit of the season, we are pleased to bring you news headlines the J-media will not be bringing you. Besides, Rabbi Zev Brenner needs some more material for his Purim show. (Hi, Zev!)

Breitbart Announces New Website: BigGedolim.com

Agudah PR Flack Rabbi Avi Shafran Writes Inoffensive Article

Tav Hayosher Expands To Include Music Hechsherim. Will Work To Ensure Musicians On "Kosher" Albums Are Paid Living Wages. Denies Certification To Well-Known Wedding Band Office

"Jewish Star" Contest Entrant A Surprise Hit With "Hozen Oyf Der Erd"

HASC Concert Update: Surprise Guest Singer Leib Tropper Booed!

Agudath Israel Stuns Community: Organizes Rally In Support of Honest Person With No Criminal Record

Israeli Rabbanut Retroactively Annuls All Weddings Where Lipa Schmeltzer Sang At Chupah

Sholom Rubashkin Releases Chassidic Pop CD: Rabbonim Flip-Flop, Push For Longer Jail Sentence

Beis Yaakov of Manhattan Hires Sarah Palin As Tznius Advisor

Congress Includes Satmar Wedding Takanos In New Stimulus Bill

Toyota Partners With Kars 4 Kids. Will Ship New Vehicles Directly To Oorah. Attorney Generals In All 50 States Vow To Investigate.

Rabbi Ephraim Luft Apologizes To Chareidi Musicians For Lying About Jewish Music. Announces Plans To Release Chareidi Heavy Metal Album

Responding To Recent Debacles, Moetzes Gedolei Hatorah Announces Ban Against Askanim and Kannoim.

Rabbi E.B. Wachtfogel Endorses Rabbah Sarah Hurwitz, Cites "Rabah Emunasecha" As Basis

Previous years' Purim headlines can be found here, here, here, here, and here.

Final Thoughts on "Yosef Greenberg Calls Halacha Unethical. Is It?"

I'm going to let the attempted dialogue with Yosef Greenberg end with this. This is his latest. Its become clear through the lack of substance in his preceding posts that he has no intention of actually engaging on the merits, or of citing verifiable sources.

In his first post, he claimed:

But I want to make it clear, that many, if not most, poskim permit copying software and music etc., even for others.

That should be easy to prove, were it true. Yet he hasn't done so in any of his posts. In that post, he didn't even address any halachik arguments with the exception of dismissing dina d'malchusa dina. His offered explanation was foolish.

(Dina dimachusa is also irrelevant. Do you ever cross the street when the light is red? Jaywalking is a crime.)

In his next post, he dismissed the notion of Chilul Hashem as irrelevant on the grounds that most people would not consider illegal downloading unethical. In both these cases, he dismissed the issue without citing any Halachik sources.

He also claimed that his opinion was:

And my money is on some very mainstream Rabbonim.

No citations. Not even the names of these mainstream rabbonim and many, if not most (according to him) poskim.

In his third post, he cited the Chazon Ish. This was his first and only attempt to cite an actual Halachik source. he wrote:

The Chazon Ish writes something about "our" common sense. One who comes in to a small town that currently has only one older teacher for children, and this newcomer, a young man, offers his services and thereby entirely takes away the livelihood of the other. Our sense would tell us that this man is a rasha. Yet, the Chazon Ish writes that according to the Torah precept of "kinas chachom tarbeh chochmah', it is wholly within his right to do so. (I think he should possibly be encouraged as well.) Therefore, writes the Chazon Ish, we should look to the Torah for proper ethics, NOT what the street decides.

Only problem is, the Chazon Ish says nothing about Dina d'malchusa, intellectual property, copyright, or any related topic. This source also does not prove what Greenberg claims it does about ethics, as I noted in my following post.

In this post, he again claimed:

The Rabbis I refer to are very well known chareidim; gedolim and other dayanim.

He also responded to the isues of "naval birshus haTorah" and "Vasisa Hayashar vehatov" by dismissing them without explanation.

Ever hear of "naval birshus hatorah?
Yes. And how does that apply here? (Answer: Not at all.)
"Vasisa hayashar vehatov?"
Yashar and tov according to you're narrow view. Halachah decides yashar and tov.

Note, he offered no explanation or distinction for why these topics shouldn't be relevant.

He then addressed Chilul Hashem again:

So you'd rather claim the opposite of halachah in order not to make a chillul Hashem? Guess what? It isn't, as shown above...

Again, no sources or citations. Three posts and no sources, citations, or answers offered. Just assertions that although illegal downloading is against the law, it's not against halacha. That's it.

In his fourth, and most recent post, he finally addresses the issue of sources, only to say:

While I did state that these were private conversations, there are some names that I can openly state because I believe stating them would not cause them anguish.

One name, which I know without doubt that he permitted copying is R' Yisroel Ya'akov Fisher, the Av beis din of the Eidah Chareidis. Another name, which I am slightly hesitant of because I am unsure of the exact wording of his heter was R' Shlomo Zalman Auerbach.

It is probable that the reason the paak of these gedolim weren't publicized was because it wasn't much of a question back then, before file-sharing became common.

Two names. Both dead. No citation of anything in writing. Greenberg even admits he is unsure of the parameters of what one of these sources actually held. That's the sort of thing one needs to clarify before making these claims. And, no published sources to back his assertion up. Seriously. This is considered compelling? What happened to the claim that "many, if not most poskim permit copying software and music." That claim is demonstrably false.

Here's one highly relevant source on this topic. Rav Moshe Feinstein in Igros Moshe, Orach Chaim IV: 40,19 addresses the issue of copying a Torah tape that was produced for profit. He rules that it is gezel (theft) and forbidden. It is worth reading the entire teshuva. It's obvious that the burden is on those who would like to permit illegal downloading to explain why it's permissible. Yet, throughout this dialogue, I've been the one offering reasons for why it should be forbidden, while Greenberg casually dismisses them without explanation.

In this last post, he once again doesn't address why dina dmalchusa dina shouldn't apply, writing:

Again, dina dimalchusa does apply! Just not here! With regard to other cases it might well apply....

And, he admits he does not know Rav Auerbach or Dayan Fisher's shita on dina d'malchusa, writing:

Right. I did so above, clearly noting select well accepted poskim. I admit that I don't know their view on taxes.

In contrast, my position and it's basis in halacha, has been clear from my very first post. I have articulated a halachik reasoning for why illegal downloading is forbidden. That rationale is dina d'malchusa dina. (Its actually that it is theft. Dina d'malchus is just one underpinning for why it is so. One can say it's theft w/o relying on "dina" also.) I didn't invent the concept. It is mainstream accepted psak that we rely on for very serious issues, as I've noted.

I have also noted that even if one were to deny that principle, there are still many other halachik arguments against illegal downloading, and I've raised some of them. Greenberg hasn't refuted a single one. Sure, he's asserted that they don't apply. He hasn't offered a compelling reason for why they don't apply. Saying something doesn't make it so.

So there you have it. That's the breakdown of the tochen -- or lack thereof -- in his previous posts and the imbalanced dynamic of this dialogue. It's obvious that Greenberg won't or can't argue to the merits. So, I'm done with this conversation.

He did point out one possible error of mine, which I'd like to note. I wrote:

He has acknowledged-- even advocated-- illegally downloading music.

and he challenges this.

Um, where exactly did acknowledge doing that? There you go again, making false accusations.

I went back and reread the posts where I'd gotten that impression, and he did not explicitly write there that he personally has downloaded music illegally. He only makes clear that he believes it to be Halachikly acceptable, that he has familiarity with pirate sites for Jewish music, and, based on a conversation in the comments section there, that he has shared the links for these pirate sites with others. From the context there, I'd understood that he was doing so himself. If that inference is false, I would like to correct the record, so if Greenberg will post that he has not personally downloaded music illegally, I'll post a correction.

Still More on "Yosef Greenberg Calls Halacha Unethical. Is It?"

Yosef Greenberg has posted a response to my post, "More on "Yosef Greenberg Calls Halacha Unethical. Is It?". Even if one grants his premise, which I don't, what he advocates is unethical, even lishataso.

In response to my thought experiment, he writes:

Sorry, but thats not a good enough reason. While I may feel bad for the producers, it still doesn't change the basics.

The Chazon Ish writes something about "our" common sense. One who comes in to a small town that currently has only one older teacher for children, and this newcomer, a young man, offers his services and thereby entirely takes away the livelihood of the other. Our sense would tell us that this man is a rasha. Yet, the Chazon Ish writes that according to the Torah precept of "kinas chachom tarbeh chochmah', it is wholly within his right to do so. (I think he should possibly be encouraged as well.) Therefore, writes the Chazon Ish, we should look to the Torah for proper ethics, NOT what the street decides.

Mentchlichkeit is to be dictated by the Torah.

This is a meaningless example, as Yosef himself acknowledges the compelling reason to permit it; a potential raising of the bar of Torah learning in the community. Improving Torah learning that otherwise could not occur, is a significant benefit. The case is not analogous to illegally downloading music, where the only "benefit" is that the downloader doesn't have to pay for something the producer intends to sell. You can achieve the same benefit by simply buying the Shwekey CD.

Yosef also conflates the idea that something is permissible with the idea that it is ethical or advisable. This is not true.

One example. The halacha is that a contract worker has to be paid his wages at the end of the day. "Lo talin peulas sachir." Yet, the halacha is that "Lo Talin" does not apply if the worker was hired through agency. Yet, I don't believe that there is a single source that maintains that it is ethical to not pay the worker in a timely manner. According to the strict halacha, one can push payment off, yet would anyone argue that the fact that halacha permits it means you should do it? Could does not equal should.

Greenberg writes:

And please stop saying that it isn't permissible to copy music. Minimally, according to Blog In DM, it is most of the poskim. There's no need to distort.

And yes, according to these poskim I refer to, Halachah does indeed allow copying music and software without paying. Yes, enlightening.

I never said that most poskim permit copying. It's clear that most forbid it. Yosef claims he has confirmed such rulings, but refuses to identify the poskim, if they exist. The rabbi whose opinion on this is public is also known to permit cheating on taxes. His logic to permit is the same.

Yosef says:

This is not the Rabbi I am referring to. Stop using his as a punching bag. The Rabbis I refer to are very well known chareidim; gedolim and other dayanim.

I'd like to confirm this. Name them. Torah hi, v'lilmod ani tzarich. It's interesting that these alleged psakim are only being issued privately, but you feel compelled to publicize them. I actually agree with you on that though, if they exist, then they should be public, so that there can be a shakla vetarya of Torah. That's the way the halachik process used to work.

In response to my assertion that "free music" was not a compelling reason to download illegally, Yosef offers this justification:

Compelling when said law is not being enforced.

Um, the law is being enforced. There have been numerous court cases, settlements, arrests for piracy, websites taken down, etc. etc.

He offers another justification:

It is considered normatively moral to download music in the blogosphere. It is not considered moral to loot.

Nice. A completely made up fact. Sure there are some people who advocate for illegal downloading. There are people who advocate for lots of illegal things. NAMBLA for instance. Doesn't make it moral.

Then he writes:

The rabbinic establishment has little impetus to encourage copying. Why should they? In all cases above, the Rabbonim saw benefit in publicizing their views. I don't see them here. (True, I arguing a little different here, but the point remains.)

If the halacha were that dina d'malchusa doesn't apply, then rabbonim have an obligation to teach Torah accurately, regardless of the impetus to encourage copying or not. They also have an obligation to follow that policy consistently, with regard to yichus investigations for example. Yet, rabbonim routinely allow people to marry Jews on the basis of dina d'malchusa. They enforce monetary obligations based on dina d'malchusa, and so on.

Yosef admits my point about Rabbi D. Cohen's position and writes:

True. What I clearly articulated was that the lie was that you bunched all of the rabbonim under this 'disgraced' Rabbi. Thats a lie.

Actually, he's the most notable posek (not that I view him that way) I've heard of to support this. The only other allegorical claims I've heard for these positions adopt the same halachik reasoning he does. Its simple logic, as the obligations are both rooted in dina d'malchusa dina. If Yosef does know of respected poskim who make a distinction between dina d'malchusa for taxes vs. downloading, let him cite them. Again, we need to clarify amitah shel Torah, right?

Yosef also says that an implication that he runs a pirate site would reduce his credibility.

Because then I have an incentive to argue wrongly. This way I'm writing objectively. By making your assertion, you're implying that I'm nogai'a bedavar.

Actually, he's a nogea b'davar. He has acknowledged-- even advocated-- illegally downloading music.

Yosef claims that naval birshus hatorah doesn't apply. I believe that it should, even according to to those who would like to say dinad'malchusa isn't applicable here. No one needs free music. It also seems pretty clear that the issue falls under the parameters of "Vasisa hayashar vehatov" and "mai disani lach, lechavroch lo tasun." Also, chilul Hashem.

There are two comments to his post.

Yanky Friedman said...

A common psak that i am aware of, and some poskim say this or similar logic only privately - very few publicize they hold this), is that it is assur to copy a cd, but it is muttar to download from the internet. Once something is available o the internet, there is automatic yi'ush, and the item is hefker, like something that was thrown into the sea - even if it washes up later and is found, the owner gave up all hope knowing it was out to sea.

I've never heard of such a psak. If it's common, please name the poskim who hold this way. I'd love to confirm it. The logic of said "common psak" is quite silly.

Anonymous writes:

I don't see how this can be divorced from the larger issue of how people get their music these days. There's not going to be special treatment for frum artists; appeals to halacha and so forth mirror the recording industry's righteous anger, but ultimately they had little legal recourse and had to work out alternate solutions. It just so happens that what you could do 10 years ago -- record and album, press a cd, and sell it and count your money -- isn't how you can do it now.

Let me give a moshol: many years ago a little boy was bullied. He counted the days until his graduation from 8th grade. He knew he'd be going to a different mesivta, and besides, it was much more yeshivish. The significance of that? Well, bullying is obviously assur. Surely all the be-hatted bochurim simply could not bully this boy, since they would be so frum. Turned out this boy was living in a dream world. The way to address bullying is not by appealing to halacha and frumkeit. Bullying is simply a reality, and it must be managed however such management can be accomplished. Same with downloading music. If kids are socialized to avoid turning lights on and off on shabbos from the time they're small children, they're not socialized not to download music. On the contrary, if anything they're socialized that it's perfectly fine, along with the rest of the world who downloads music and videos. Only some kind of itunes like solution (make it easier and attractive and cheap) can work, and frum artists will simply have to get used to it same as other artists.

Actually, contemporary Jewish releases are available easily, attractively, and cheap, just like he asserts in his closing sentence. Kind of moots the rest of his point. The problem is that some, like Yosef Greenberg, will ignore these legal options in favor of illegal downloading.

I do agree that the reality is that some will act unethically regardless of appeals to halacha. That's a sad indictment of some in the frum community. Anonymous's analogy to bullies is (inadvertently, I suspect) quite apt.

From the mailbag...

Chana Jenny Weisberg writes:

Shalom! I saw your blog, and though you would enjoy this new music video I just made of a new Chassidic song by Yitzhak Meir and Aaron Razel. If you enjoy it, I hope you'll share it with your readers. Kol tuv, Chana Jenny Weisberg, JewishMOM.com.

Wolf Krakowski emails a link to "Shabes, Shabes."

Mike Greenberg writes:

Shavua Tov,
My name is Mike Greenberg and administrator for a Facebook group dedicated to pursuing a Jewish Music channel on XM Radio. I was wondering if you could mention the group on your blog, and in turn I will promote your blog within the group.

Roger Ruzow writes:

Hello,

Please Check it out.

4th Ward Afro-Klezmer Orchestra new release : East Atlanta Passover Stomp

Several full length tracks of the music are on the The Fourth Ward Afro-Klezmer Orchestra website and on Soundcloud as well as all of the tracks are for sale on iTunes.

4th Ward Afro-Klezmer Orchestra

The 4th Ward Afro-Klezmer Orchestra is an original Atlanta musical entity; a ten piece jazz orchestra playing original compositions and arrangements that combine West African influenced rhythms with Eastern European Klezmer melodies. The 4th Ward A.K.O., led by trumpet player/composer Roger Ruzow, boasts a roster of veteran Atlanta, Georgia talent featuring: Colin Bragg (guitar), Chris Case (keyboard), Jeff Crompton (clarinet, alto & baritone sax), Ben Davis (tenor sax & clarinet), Chip Epsten (violin). Eric Fontaine (tenor sax), Ben Gettys (bass), Keith Leslie (drums), Bill Nittler (clarinet, baritone sax), and Blake Williams (trombone). The A.K.O. ensemble contains former and current members of such Atlanta bands as: Cadillac Jones, Gold Sparkle Band, Bazooka Ants, Samada Trio, Chilli Willie Blues Band, Twittering Machine, Standard Deviation, and Nu South Subterraneans.

Naftali writes:

I recently had a client email me his requests for the chupa. Amongst them were:

Ana Hashem from Barock Orchestra
Ani Ma'amin from Barock Orchestra

Having never heard of it, I asked the client to please send me the tracks so I could hear them and learn them. He obliged, and guess what they were?

Ana Hashem was - yes you guessed it - the Carlebach one! - Blasphemous!
Ani Maamin was the one from Abie Rottenberg.

It reminded me of different time, when I was on the phone with the chasan the night before his Wedding, and his request for Im Eshkochaich - the one from Revah L'sheva. Inside I groaned thinking, am I gonna have to learn a new song last minute now? Instinctively, I suspected something - and asked him to sing it. I sighed with relief as he hummed the first few bars of the Lev Tahor version.

Joseph Siev writes:

I’m writing to introduceJewish Ideas Daily, an exciting new website that features the very best of Jewish thought, analysis, argument, and opinion. We’re currently highlighting a precocious young composer named Jeremiah Klarman, whose most recent work, a cantata entitled Hallel, Shir v’Or, premiered in late December.
We thought you might be particularly interested in this piece, which includes not only a 2006 article about Klarman but also lyrics, commentary, and video from the December performance. Here’s the direct link: Sing to the Lord!
We hope you enjoy what you read, and that you’ll feel free to share “Sing to the Lord!” with others.

Yoel Hecht writes:

Please consider posting the latest of many youtube clips from Shaya Hecht who has been thrilling audiences at weddings and concerts. The latest clip is here.. As search on his name will show many more.

In addition to being a popular wedding singer Shaya will be performing a concert at Meisner's Pesach Program. See more at ShayaHecht.com

Thanks,
Yoel Hecht
YoelHecht.com.