Carlebach's origin was from a rabbinic family that immigrated from Germany to the United States.

In America, he studied in Litvak-stream yeshivas and frequented Hasidic courts and Jewish communities of immigrant families from Europe. Hebrew was not their mother tongue. In yeshivas and synagogues, as well as in their daily lives, they spoke English and Yiddish and maintained a Jewish way of life, with customs and values they brought from Europe. They did not use the Hebrew language in daily life. Hebrew was "Lashon HaKodesh" (the Holy Tongue), found only in prayers, the Tanakh, the Talmud, and books of philosophy and thought. And when they did use it, they pronounced it with a unique pronunciation characteristic of Yiddish speakers – pronouncing words with the accent on the penultimate syllable (Mil'el) rather than the ultimate syllable (Mil'ra), as was customary in Israel. And as in Yiddish, they pronounced letters with their special tongue. This pronunciation was also evident in the way Carlebach spoke and in the way he sang his songs.

Instead of "Esa Einai El Heharim Me'ayin Yavo Ezri" (I lift my eyes to the mountains, from where will my help come?), he sang "Eso Einai El Hehorim Me'oyin Yuvo Ezri." Instead of "Hitna'ari Me'afar" (Shake off the dust), he sang "Hisno'ori Mei'ofor." "Yamin Usmol" (Right and Left) he sang "Yomin Usmol" ...

and so on.

The melodies he composed are also based on Hasidic niggunim from Europe, and the influence of Russian, Gypsy, and Slavic peoples is evident in them.

 

It was only natural that his home audience in Israel was, for many years, primarily people from Ashkenazi families, whose origins were from countries on the European continent, and their ears were accustomed to the exilic, Yiddish-influenced Hebrew they heard in their parents' home.

In contrast, a large segment of Israeli society, the "Mizrahim" from Jewish communities in Islamic countries, could not naturally connect to Carlebach's style, whose origin was in a culture alien to them.

 

Four decades after his death, Hasidic music, known today as a unique genre in itself, and unique to the Haredi sector in Israel and worldwide – continues to use this pronunciation of Hebrew words, as well as other characteristics of Carlebach's songs.

In the 21st century, the Haredi public has expanded and now includes Mizrahim who have adopted the Haredi lifestyle brought by Ashkenazim from Europe. This was a package of values that also included Yiddish-inflected Hebrew, as well as the melodies imported from there.

 

Among the Haredim, the zealous preservation of the exilic "Lashon HaKodesh" has always been a matter of principle. Even during Carlebach's lifetime.

Israeli singers who performed his songs, as in the Hasidic Song Festival songs, pronounced the words in a unique combination – the words with the accent on the penultimate syllable (Mil'el), as with Yiddish speakers, but the letters themselves with standard Israeli Hebrew pronunciation. For example, in his most famous song from the festival, "Veha'er Eineinu" (Enlighten Our Eyes), the words: "Toratecha" and not "Toyroseicho," "Mitzvotecha" and not "Mitzvoiseicho."

Such performances, in standard Israeli Hebrew, were rejected by the Haredi sector.

For them, they opened the door to Hasidic music, but only to music sung in Yiddish-inflected Hebrew, with the taste of the good old Diaspora in their eyes. The rejection continued for many years after his death, even after they accepted his songs and turned them into hits – the commercial songs were not included in their playlists on Sabbaths and holidays, at family celebrations, in yeshivas and synagogues. Because of the secular attire they wore (the singers).