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Carlebach in Days of War, Peace, and Love
In June 1967, the face of the State of Israel changed.
At the end of a short war that lasted six days, the IDF defeated three armies of countries that threatened the existence of the state. After the victory, large and extensive territories were added to the state, including sites holy to the Jewish people – the Western Wall, Rachel's Tomb in Bethlehem, and the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron.
This was a brilliant victory that swept Israelis into euphoria mixed with national and religious sentiments. The holy sites became pilgrimage destinations even for those far from tradition, and leaders and public figures from all streams, religious and secular, spoke in terms of: redemption and miracles, and incorporated words from the biblical and Talmudic reservoir into their speeches.
Throughout the entire Jewish world, news of the new situation was received with astonishment mixed with pride, and many rushed to Israel to see with their own eyes the Western Wall and all the new territories of the land.
Carlebach also arrived.
He performed for IDF soldiers, was photographed at the Western Wall, and completed a short tour during which he performed "Bene Beithcha" - a song he composed especially for the events, with words from the sources: "Build Your House as at the beginning, and establish Your Temple on its foundation, and show us in its building and gladden us in its restoration..." And he hurried home to the flower children who were waiting for him.
"B'nei Beitkha K'vat'chila"
To listen – click on the image
or here for the YouTube link
1967 – Carlebach at the Western Wall
Carlebach was already deeply immersed in his holy work of bringing hearts closer, and he hardly composed new songs.
In San Francisco, he established "The House of Love and Prayer" – a spiritual center where anyone could come and receive love, food, lodging, and spiritual guidance. The house was intended for Jews and served as a model later adopted by Chabad Hasidim who established "Chabad Houses" all over the world.
Not only Jews – thousands of young people from other religions were drawn to the spiritual center, admiring the path of "the Singing Rabbi" who brought hearts closer. The "miracles" of the Six-Day War were, in his eyes, conclusive proof of the Jewish people's resurrection and an unrepeatable opportunity to be the only one in his generation to leverage the victory to impact the entire world.
His connection with Israel was not severed.
He invited Israeli journalists to interview him in San Francisco, and was photographed in hippie attire, wearing a colorful beaded necklace and surrounded by his disciples whom he called: "Holy Hippalach." In interviews, he spoke about the love of humanity regardless of who they are, about Orthodox rabbis who caused Jewish youth to get lost, about the need to bring Reform and Conservative Jews closer, and about music that prepares hearts.
Carlebach was also invited to the radio to have his say in an extended program, and was photographed for Israeli television, which began broadcasting in those years. Despite the black and white broadcasts, television viewers could be exposed to the external appearance of the Rabbi, who was bringing a new Hasidism to the world, tinged with the hallmarks of American Hippies.
Rabbi Carlebach (circled)
at the House of Love and Prayer in San Francisco
When he established a branch of "The House of Love and Prayer" in Israel, it was too much.
The house established in Jerusalem was intended to function as a spiritual center in the style of the American house in San Francisco, except that in America it could operate in a supportive environment, and in Israel – not.
A very short time after its establishment, the building was set on fire and completely burned down, with all its contents. The arsonists, apparently Haredi zealots, were never caught, and Carlebach did not try to re-establish the house, understanding that he had nothing to gain by trying to confront the Haredim again, who had marked him as an outcast and forbidden the playing of his songs.
His blatant liberalism also alienated a significant portion of his home audience, his "base."
A transformation took place among them in the era after the Six-Day War – young rabbis wearing knitted kippahs led the entire sector to social and national missions, positioning themselves as trailblazers of a new, more conservative, more religious Zionism. It pushed aside Western secularism and the secular elites of the kibbutzim and other cooperative agricultural settlements..
Young people from the "Knitted Kippah Generation" played a central role in these missions, and their involvement was important. The best of the youth, their sons and daughters, flocked in droves to study in high-school yeshivas and ulpanot, and from there continued to hesder yeshivas that sprang up one after another. And there, in the educational institutions, the ground was prepared for religious Zionism, which seeks to lead Israeli society and its culture.
Carlebach could no longer be their cultural hero.
Religious Zionist rabbis who had been lenient towards him showed clear reservations about the man and his path. Despite their reservations, they did not give up his songs that accompanied them on weekdays, Sabbaths, and holidays. They rarely went to his performances.
Those who did, did so in secret, without asking their rabbi for permission.
Carlebach accepted the rejection with love, and took the opportunity to expand his audience.
The Dancing Rabbi turned to the traditional public, to Israelis who had not yet decided if they were religious or secular and enjoyed the best of both worlds. From there he continued to the secular audience and reached their strongholds, such as: the Gymnasia Rehavia in Jerusalem, university students, secular kibbutzniks, nightclubs in Jaffa, together with Arik Einstein, a prominent Israeli singer and cultural icon, he performed in a show called: "A Hasidic Man and a Pop Man," and was even invited to perform before the only Zionist leader of his generation: David Ben-Gurion, who lived in Kibbutz Sde Boker. The pace of his performances in Israel increased, and everywhere he went – crowds continued to fill the seats in halls and clubs, in parks and on urban stages, and were enthusiastically swept up by the music of the Dancing Rabbi, who also made them dance.
Heading 2
09/1970 – Article (in Hebrew) in the Israeli music weekly "LaHiton" About the show "Ish Hasid V'Ish Pop"
To enlarge – click on the image or click here on the link
Carlebach's star sank on one side of Israeli society and rose on the other.
In the early 1970s, for many in Israel, religious, secular, and traditional, he represented a return to Jewish sources. He aroused in them longing for the good old Jewish home from the cities and towns in Europe, from the communities that had been annihilated and of which only a sad memory remained.
Men and women of all ages could momentarily detach from the rhythmic and noisy music that flooded the radio and record stores, from the electric instruments and booming drums that came from America and Europe, from texts dripping with romance or authentic protest in harsh words – and listen to verses from holy scriptures set to a pleasant melody.
Agile impresarios identified the trend and launched the show "Ish Hasid Haya" ("There Was a Hasidic Man"), which resembled the Carlebachian style – Hasidic melodies with guitar rhythm, accompanied by stories from the Jewish life of the Diaspora. The show achieved great success, and immediately afterwards, in 1969, a production called "The Hasidic Song Festival" was launched – a song competition for new compositions based on words from Jewish sources.
The Hasidic Song Festival upgraded the trend and further blended the sacred with the profane. All the songs in it were composed in the format popularized by Carlebach, and inspired by him – one or two verses from holy scriptures with a repetitive melody. To give the performance a modern flair, the songs were arranged to suit a large orchestral ensemble. Rock and pop singers and military band veterans were invited to perform them on stage in relatively modest attire compared to their extravagant outfits in any other performance.
Naturally, Carlebach was asked to compose a song for the first festival.
The song "Veha'er Eineinu" was performed by "HaShloshrim" – a trio of secular singers, members of a pop band. Although they won third place, the song gained greater popularity than those ranked higher.
This song competition continued in the same format in subsequent years, and in these later festivals, Carlebach again contributed his own compositions, but only one or two became popular.
The most prominent among them – the song "Uvau HaOvdim" whose words are taken from the Book of Isaiah:
"And the lost in the land of Assyria and the dispersed in the land of Egypt shall come and worship the Lord on the holy mountain in Jerusalem."
The song was released in the years when a global struggle for the liberation of Soviet Jews was taking place. Its words suited the spirit of the struggle and it was, and still is, a symbol of the ingathering of the exiles of the Jewish people in Israel.
The other songs were played on the radio for a few months until the echoes of the festival died down and they were lost in the depths of oblivion of Israeli music.
U'vau HaOvdim"
performed by "Chocolate Menta Mastik" Hasidic Song Festival 1974
To listen on YouTube click on the link here
"V'haer Eineinu B'Toratecha"
performed by "HaShloshrim" Hasidic Song Festival 1969
To listen on YouTube, click on the link here
The successes and failures of Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach at the Hasidic Song Festival mark the next direction in Carlebach's career, and his place in Israeli society. About this and more, in the next chapter:
This is the fourth 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