[HANASHIR:11680] Re: Another opinion about sharing our music

[kgohr <kgohr...>]

As a fairly recent Jew by choice I can honestly say that 
had you not so graciously shared your music with me I 
may not have become one of you. 
Thank You.
Kathy
Kgohr (at) att(dot)net
> Chaverim:
> 
> Having lived in both large urban areas with large Jewish populations (NYC,
> DC), as well as in the south and deep south (Nashville, Florida, New
> Orleans, Mobile), Midwest (Elkhart, IN) and northern plains (Fargo, ND) in
> communities with Jewish populations varying from miniscule to small, I do
> have some sympathy for Laura's concern. I do not agree with her assessment
> nor endorse her position, but life in areas with a heavy presence of
> fundamentalist Xtians and Messianic Jews can greatly influence how one
> perceives this issue. So I ask that we not take Laura to task for her
> viewpoints without recognizing the milieu she finds herself in.
> 
> Having studied at the Divinity School at Vanderbilt Univ in Nashville, I can
> say that we should not fear sharing our music with members of other
> religions, and should, in fact, do as much sharing as we can in the interest
> of tikkun olam. Others may very well seek to utilize our gifts against us,
> and that is unfortunate. I do know that this practice is frowned upon by
> most mainstream Xtian clergy and denominations. Had I gone to the local
> Baptist seminary, however, I might have discovered a different point of
> view.
> 
> It is also possible that through sharing our music, we might bring others to
> heed the Jewish message.
> 
> Anyway, the issue for me is not what Messianic Jews do with our Jewish
> music, but what we Jews do with it. Assimilation cannot be blamed on the
> Xtian community nor even the Messianics, even if their tactics are
> questionable. If our music is failing to get under the skin of many Jews,
> enough so that they are seeking what they need elsewhere, perhaps we need to
> look at where we are singing. And what we are teaching.
> 
> Debbie teaches us it's all about teaching text, and I agree. Are the songs
> we're singing and writing and teaching and songleading these days focused on
> the text, or more on the style, to make the pretty and appealing to the
> younger crowd? I do believe that many of our songwriters really are focused
> on the text, and trying to use mediums of music that they are comfortable
> with and know will appeal to their peers. However, even though this may be
> so, we don't seem to be succeeding as well as we could. In terms of raw
> percentage, more Xtian kids know Amy Grant songs than Jewish kids know
> Debbie Friedman or Dan Nichols or Rick Recht songs. Rather than worrying
> about sharing our music with our co-religionists in the Xtian (and Muslim
> and Buddhist and Bahai) communities,  let's see what we can learn from their
> successes.
> 
> B'vracha,
> 
> Adrian
> 
> 
> 
> Adrian A. Durlester, M.T.S.  - adrian (at) durlester(dot)com
> http://www.durlester.com/
> Director of Education, Beth El Hebrew Congregation, Alexandria, VA
> education(dot)director (at) bethelhebrew(dot)org
> Conference Chair, CAJE 27, Aug. 4-8, 2002, Trinity Univ., San Antonio, TX
> caje27chair (at) caje27(dot)org
> List-Owner for hanashir (at) shamash(dot)org; Co-Owner for L-Torah (at) 
> shamash(dot)org
> http://uahc.org/hanashir
> adrian (at) ehavanashira(dot)org
> 
> 
> 
>  -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-hanashir (at) shamash(dot)org [mailto:owner-hanashir (at) 
> shamash(dot)org]On
> Behalf Of Shirona
> Sent: Wednesday, June 05, 2002 5:31 PM
> To: hanashir (at) shamash(dot)org
> Subject: [HANASHIR:11652] Re: Another opinion about sharing our music
> 
> 
>   Dear Laura,
> 
>   As a music teacher/performer I'm sure you are aware of the huge number of
> songs that we Jews "shnorer" from the goyyim... Our own national anthem is
> (according to the scholars) a Rumanian horse and buggy song.  The Hassidim
> consider it a mitzvah to take a "secular" tune, most likely from the local
> non-Jews, and "make it kosher" by assigning sacred texts to it. Groups like
> Schlock Rock make a living from doing exactly this.  The popular "Ein
> Keloheinu" is, alas, a German drinking song....The more you delve into this
> subject the more you may discover that there really is no such thing as pure
> "Jewish Music"...
> 
>   The texts are a different matter - but we have no "claims" on any music.
> Besides, music has a universal, unifying power - and thank G-d for that!  If
> it helps us see that we're all so similar, and praying to the same G-d, we
> might not be so uptight about our differences.  Have a little faith...the
> "other" religions "stole" everything from us anyway - whether it's believing
> in one G-d, the Sabbath, the Bible... and we're still around, right?  I'm
> also concerned about assimilation - but I believe it's more because of "us"
> than "them"...
> 
>   Shirona
> 
>   Our music is one of our greatest treasures and a legacy we hand down to
> our children with our rituals, prayers and core JEWISH values.
>   Personally, I abhor the thought of a bunch of goyim desecrating our sacred
> songs.  Our songs are sacred when the melodies, words and kavanah come from
> a pure Jewish neshama (soul).  You may say they respect it, but I contend
> that they will still be using it for their purposes to get our children on
> their path.  (Just as we have adopted some gospel works for our own
> purposes).
> 
>   Assimilation is tearing away at the fabric of our people,  I do not feel
> that we should be giving the world the scissors to do it with by freely
> sharing our sacred music.
> 
>   Laura Solkowitz RN
>   Pre-school - 6th Grade Performance Music - Hillel Day School Raleigh, NC
>   Patient Educator, WakeMed Rehab Raleigh, NC
> 
>   lsolkowitz (at) aol(dot)com
> 
>   "He who has saved one life, it as if he has saved an entire world" -
> Talmud

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