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Who's never
heard of Shlomele Carlebach?
A
many-sided, colorful personality, the
"Dancing Rabbi" composed about 1,000 tunes that have
become the inalienable property of Jews everywhere. They
range from Essa Eyani, which every schoolchild knows, to
Am Yisrael Hai, a song popular throughout the Jewish
world.
"Reb Shlomele" as
he was known to his friends, was the true pioneer of
keyruv bringing lost souls back to their faith and
drawing people closer to Jewish tradition. Less than a
decade after the Shoah, when Jews were often despondent
and confused, he started visiting remote communities and
imbuing them with an authentic Jewish spirit through the
magic of his guitar and his soulful voice. Most of those
who heard him then are now fully involved in Jewish
life.
His teaching
are rooted in the simple faith of Hasidism. To make them
palatable, however, he resorted to the language used by
hippies and flower children of the 1960s. Although some
rigidly Orthodox folk denounced his "permissive"
religious approach, Shlomele Carlebach turned hundreds of
people and their families in to observant Jews and moved
tens of thousands with his prayerful words and his call
for brotherly love.
We
can readily picture him, guitar in hand, stirring an
audience with his unique music. Yet there was a less
familiar side to Reb Shlomele the gentle, kindly man would
never think twice about offering his last cent to a
person in need. By the end of his life he had managed to
give all his money away, leaving himself penniless. In
the eighteen chapters of this book a friend and admirer,
M. Brandwein, paints a vivid portrait of Shlomele , using
stories contributed by many who knew him well. Here we
are told about the distinguished rabbinical family and
the Orthodox Berlin home in which he grew up; his
studies in America at Mesivta Torah Vo'Da'As and Rabbi
Aaron Kotler's Lakewood yeshiva; how he was drawn to the
Hasidic world by R' Sha'ul Elazar of Modzhitz, from whom
he derived his grounding in music; and the special ties
that bound him to the Admorim of Lubavitch. We also hear
about Shlomele 's concert tours; the "House of Love and
Prayer" which he established in San Francisco; his
impact on Manhattan's Kehillath Jacob (the Carlebach
Shul); and the attachment to Israel that made him bring
his followers on aliyah and establish a moshav, me'or
Mod'in, with the help and blessing of R' Meir of
Amshinov. Though a gifted storyteller as well a
musician, Reb Shlomele won his place in the Jewish Hall
of Fame as the creator of "Hasidic pop." The songs and
melodies that he wrote have become part of the Jewish
musical heritage. Somebody once observed that "there
were many reasons for agreeing with him and many reasons
for opposing him, but you could never find a reason not
to love him." This book seeks neither to justify nor to
condemn, but only to express he author's deep affection
for Shlomele Carlebach.
by M. Brandwine Translated by Dr. Gabriel A. Sivan |
