Re: Theft/inherent Jewish musical soul

[Steven M. Singer <ssinger...>]

On Tue, 22 Dec 1998, Kame'a Media wrote:

> If "White Christmas" is to be  considered Jewish,  as has been stated 
> by Steven Singer  and Ari in previous postings, then so is 
> "Over The Rainbow".   And so are any of the 36 (double khay) songs
> written for Elvis by Ben Wienstein, including  the unforgettable "Do The
> Clam" -- issues of <kashrut> notwithstanding.

I'm famous! <big grin>  

Wolf, if it bears repeating (which it probably doesn't), the ONLY point I
was making about "White Christmas" and the Jewish soul of its composer
(Irving Berlin) is that Mr. Berlin's Jewish background (heritage, history,
culture, etc...) shaped his music whether he was aware of it, or not.  I'm
not suggesting (nor was Mandy Patinkin - in his "Mamaloshen" liner notes
which started this thread) that "White Xmas" is a JEWISH song.  His
performance of it in *Yiddish* made an interesting point - i.e. forcing
the listener to hear the song within the idiom of "Jewish music" as
opposed to the other way around.  Like Ari, I thought that the song (read:
style, melody, phrasing, etc...) fit right in with the other "Yiddish"
classics on the album.

Jews, like any other ethnic group, have "sold out" for everything that is
American - a-religious (You can't tell me that "White xmas" is a
*Christian* religious song) - and *commercial*, but [I feel that] there is
*something* intangible about our Jewish religion and culture which
provides us with something unique to share with the world (i.e. be it
through music, humor, writing, discourse, etc...).

-Steve