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"The Dancing Rabbi"
A Religious Cultural Hero
Religious youth opened the door for Carlebach to Israeli society in the early 1960s.
Their religious identity was no longer clearly defined. They were a minority within a predominantly secular society, not standing out nor drawing attention to themselves, and "keeping a low profile." They were educated in religious educational frameworks, but these frameworks also educated young people from traditional families, and it was unclear who was religious and who was traditional. The religious sectors and sub-sectors developed later.
In the late 1950s, by the end of the first decade of the state's existence, the number of religious people could be estimated by their political affiliation.
At one end were the voters of the National Religious Party (Mafdal), whose leaders were partners in the historical alliance between them and secular Zionism. From them emerged the generation of "Knitted Kippah" wearers who studied and were educated in state-religious schools, went to the Bnei Akiva youth movement, served in the army, studied at university, and integrated into daily life in Israeli society.
At the other end – the voters of the Agudat Yisrael party, Haredim, who completely separated themselves from the secular environment and lived their lives in closed communities. The Haredim obeyed the instructions of their rabbis, who forbade their children from serving in the army or studying at university, and they did not shed their Diaspora customs from Europe.
Between these two extremes was a relatively small group of people who defined themselves as Haredi-Zionists, participating in building the land and integrating into its daily life. They had a party, Poalei Agudat Yisrael (PAI), they had kibbutzim and moshavim, and a youth movement ("Ezra"), and they allowed their children to serve in the army and study at university.
1959 – Carlebach on his first visit to Israel
Playing and singing with young religious Jerusalemites
In the separatist Haredi public (of Agudat Yisrael), they could not contain Carlebach, the man and the singer.
In his performances, he did not maintain separation between men and women, and his music was too modern for them. Too rhythmic. They had the melodies they brought from the Jewish shtetl in Europe, which they sang around the Rebbe's "Tish" table or during prayers and studies in the yeshiva.
Besides, he accompanied his songs with guitar playing – an instrument that symbolized the secular culture they despised.
In the other two groups, the National Religious and the Haredi-Zionists, there was a receptive ear for Carlebach's music.
The younger generation of religious Zionists, mostly from Ashkenazi families, lacked the type of cultural entertainment that developed in the secular sector.
They grew up in a religious atmosphere, maintained a religious lifestyle, wore kippahs, and observed commandments, but their cultural identity was not yet consolidated. They did not separate themselves, like the Haredim, into closed communities, but on the other hand, they could not watch movies or read novels and literature by secular writers, or listen to music reflective of a wild, unconstrained Western lifestyle, free from any religious or traditional ties.
The secular already had cultural heroes in the field of song, like: Shoshana Damari and Yaffa Yarkoni, theater actors and singers from the Israeli military ensembles
They didn't yet.
And here comes Carlebach and offers them innovative music they could connect with and feel that it belonged to them. Songs and melodies from the reservoir close to their hearts and souls: the words taken from Jewish holy scriptures – verses from the daily prayer book, quotes from the Mishna and Talmud, and sentences from the Tanakh. And the melodies – they sound like the old tunes from the Jewish shtetl in Europe, only their rhythm is more modern and sweeps the listener along.
And he had the makings of a cultural hero.
Carlebach looked like a modern Haredi – with a white shirt and black trousers but without a suit or hat. He had a suitable family lineage – a famous rabbinic dynasty from Germany, who knew how to integrate rabbinate with modern education, and he came from America, leading Western culture, which brought Elvis Presley and Cliff Richard to Israel, idols of secular youth.
It didn't bother them that he added some gospel songs in English to his repertoire. It only added some interest for them. They didn't really delve into the subtleties of the words and language.
They were mesmerized by the man standing before them and singing.
That was enough for them.
Carlebach was endowed with a mesmerizing personal charisma – a round face, large eyes, and a captivating smile.
He won them over when he extended the melody with cantorial flourishes, when he closed his eyes like one praying to his God in heaven, and in the background, virtuosically strumming the guitar strings, and even more: when the song took on an almost rock-like rhythm, and he played the catchy chords, swaying his body enthusiastically and starting to dance, sweeping the audience to dance with him.
His husky voice added a special charm, moving across an impressive range of low and high musical scales, and the innocent look on his beautiful smiling face, his modest demeanor – these were the natural ingredients from which the religious youth could build their own cultural hero.
Carlebach did not disappoint them
About a year after he first arrived in Israel, and after his songs were played repeatedly on the radio, he could return to Israel. On this visit, he was already a real attraction, with a schedule of performances across the country and a special performance for IDF soldiers, to which he was invited by the Chief Military Rabbi, Shlomo Goren. The National Religious Party (Mafdal) identified the new musical trend and took care to organize a special subsidized show for their National Religious voters. Not only religious people fell in love with him. Also secular people from Ashkenazi families who fell in love with melodies that reminded them of tunes from their father's house, and came to absorb some "Yiddishkeit."
This is how a Haaretz newspaper correspondent described a Carlebach performance in the summer of 1960:
The Haaretz article (in Hebrew)
click here to read the english translation
In the following years, until the mid-1960s, Carlebach's fan base grew, and he came to Israel every summer for a concert tour.
This was a well-organized tour that operated according to the rules of American "show business."
Carlebach found an Israeli impresario who organized a public relations campaign before his arrival, through press releases, and by the time he landed in Israel, almost all tickets for all shows were sold. As part of the PR campaign, enthusiastic fans waited for him at Lod Airport, where they held a reception for him, in the style of secular youth idols. The shrewd and creative impresario invented the title "The Dancing Rabbi," which became a brand and stuck to the name of the unique star among both the religious and secular public.
Now the religious youth had their own cultural hero.
They could buy his records, sing his songs in the youth movement, in the synagogue, and in the boarding schools of the high-school yeshivas. At weddings and at the Shabbat evening table around the family table.
The newspaper "Hatzofe," the most widely read in the National Religious society, reported enthusiastically to its readers about the new phenomenon, and the religious weekly "Panim El Panim" provided its curious readers with gossip and piquant stories related to their cultural hero.
In the elites of the National Religious families, private singing evenings were organized in the courtyard of the house or in the spacious living room. For a handsome sum for the admired star, Carlebach arrived and gave them an hour-and-a-half performance. His audience at private performances was ecstatic, just like at his public performances.
1961 - Rare recording of Carlebach in a live performance at a private home - Israel Mintzer's house in Tel Aviv.
To listen - click on the picture or here for the YouTube link
Israel was one stop on Carlebach's concert tour.
His name became known throughout the Jewish world, and he received invitations to perform in Jewish communities worldwide.
He released album after album, and composed more and more songs, all of which became hits that were sold, played, and sung in Israel and around the world. From the release of his first album to his fifth, over 50 of his songs were published, and most of them have remained cornerstones of religious communities in Israel and worldwide ever since.
Within a few years, he, his songs, and his albums were part of the cultural landscape of Jewish communities in Antwerp as in London, in Toronto as in Paris, in North America and South America.
His travels around the world did not deter him from his original path towards the goal he set: to bring back those who strayed in their faith to Jewish sources, and to spread Judaism among believers of other religions as well.
This he sought to do in his home, in the United States. That was his home base. From there he drew most of his strength and power. From the Jewish communities throughout the United States and Canada – from the East Coast to the West Coast.
In 1963, his fourth album was released, containing 12 songs, entirely based on a live performance by Carlebach before an audience. The performance took place at the Village Gate hall in New York, and for the first time, one could be exposed to the dialogue between the charismatic singer and the audience, who enthusiastically joined in the songs.
1963 - Carlebach in a live performance at Village Gate.
To listen - click on the video or here for the YouTube link
And as enthusiastic as he was in achieving his goals, Carlebach allowed himself to cross more and more boundaries that no Orthodox Jewish rabbi had done before.
He went far to reach the hearts of lost souls. Probably too far.
Where did Carlebach go in his wanderings?
And what did he find in California?
And what happened to his relationship with the religious society?
About this, and more, in the next chapter:
This is the third chapter in the fascinating biography of the Hasidic singer Shlomo Carlebach – a pioneer and trailblazer who laid the foundation for today's Hasidic music genre.
To read all chapters of the series in the table of contents at the following link:
(10 chapters - separate link for each chapter)
Research, writing, and editing:
Shlomi Rosenfeld