Re: Fwd: Spiritrave "Dancing the Tree of Life": February 20

[Ari Davidow <ari...>]

I am surprised (and probably shouldn't be) by the vehemence with which
people were offended by the "spiritrave." It's true that I tend to
regard the kabbalah as the codified drug- (or alcohol-) induced
ravings of earlier Jewish non-conformists, and don't credit it as
worth much to begin with, so I lack the ability to regard a new
wave of same as significantly different, much less the attempt to 
fuse Jewish nonconformity with that of the rave fans in the 
world at large.

To the degree that we get all solemn and caught up in the inviolable
"holiness" (as if that is entirely separate from life, up on some
unapproachable pedestal I think we may be losing the point. 

Note that I am not saying that all nusachs and all approachs to Jewish
spirituality are valid in all places, just that the quest for new nusach,
and the ongoing fitting of an ancient tradition and culture to the changes
around it must, of necessity continue. Lots of that quest will lead to 
blind alleys. Just as "traditional" doesn't always mean "will connect
me with tradition", "new" doesn't necessarily mean "good," or even "will
be remembered five years from now without embarrassment." But we've also
seen enough new "tradition" in our lives to know that the process works,
and is vital.

Imho, anyway.


>Joel and Owen-
>Here's my rant for the day:
>It's really not funny- this attempt to present something as mysticism which
>is so much bullshit. Shades of Jacob Frank. One of the things I love about
>music making (at least the sort that I'm involved with) is that it can be
>trancy and meditative- that's very cool- but I would NEVER take some common
>activity, no matter how cool, and label it as 'kabbalistic'. Of true Jewish
>mysticism I know nothing (other than what I can read about in Scholem,
>etc), and I would not cheapen the actual secrets of Torah and tradition
>(whatever that may mean) by taking some prepackaged crap- like all the
>other prepackaged crap that 'American culture' expects us to buy, and label
>it Kaballah.
>                       EK
>
>At 11:16 PM 2/4/99 -0500, you wrote:
>>But Eliezer, of course no one who's unmarried or under 40 will be allowed
>>to enter!
>>
>><G>
>>
>>Joel
>>
>>At 06:09 PM 2/4/99 -0600, Eliezer Kaplan wrote:
>>>Ain't nothin' piss me off quite as much as 'pop Kaballah'.
>>>                     EK
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>At 12:01 PM 2/4/99 -0400, you wrote:
>>>>I don't know if this belongs on a Jewish Music list or not, but it
>>>>sounds interesting, so if anyone is in the San Francisco part of the
>>>>world and attends, or knows someone who attends, do report back.
>>>>
>>>>ari
>>>>
>>>>>From: TorahRave (at) aol(dot)com
>>>>>Date: Thu, 4 Feb 1999 10:52:29 EST
>>>>>
>>>>>Yehudit Steinberg & Friends presents Spiritravetm
>>>>> " Dancing the Tree of Life "
>>>>>Saturday Nite  February 20,1999
>>>>>
>>>>>A Comm-unity event
>>>>>If you liked Torah Rave, you'll love this one!!!!
>>>>>Honoring the Sacred Primal Teachings of all our Ancestors
>>>>>Acknowledge Similarites, Celebrate Diversity thru intercultural ceremony
>>>>>
>>>>>A Guided Estatic Dance Meditation
>>>>>Spiritrave is a gently guided,  spontaneous ecstatic movement experience,
>>>>>based on Kabbalistic principles. The experience integrates ritual,dance,
>>>>>breathing, chant , meditation,creative arts, accompanied by world beat DJ
>>>>>music.  This experience is about finding and allowing our bodies to
>move to
>>>>>different rhythms which correlate to  four elemental worlds in which we
>>>>>simultaneously exist: 1. Earth -  the world of doing, grounding earth
>>>rhythms;
>>>>>2.Water - the world of feeling, flowing water-like rhythm and movement;
>>>3. Air
>>>>>-the world of knowing, wind & breath, an invigorating, lively, staccato
>>>beat ;
>>>>>4. Fire -the world of  Eternal Flame, the pinnacle of surrender where the
>>>>>dance is moving us. It is in this place of at-one-ment.  Then the rhythms
>>>>>begin to lighten up and become inspirational as we move back through the
>>>>>Kabbalistic worlds of mind, feeling and body, culminating in a dance of
>>>>>stillness. This experience is a  truly holistic integration of body,
>>>emotion,
>>>>>mind and spirit, in a comm-unity gathering.
>>>>>
>>>>>Doors Open at 8:30pm. 
>>>>>Closing ceremony: Kabbalistic Midnight Meditation
>>>>>
>>>>>$10.advance $15.at door
>>>>>Event Location: 
>>>>>Western Sky Dance Studios, 
>>>>>(next door to Chochmat Halev) 2525 8th St. (btwn Parker & Dwight) Berkeley
>>>>>To Purchase a Ticket Call: 510.232.9750
>>>>>email: Torahrave (at) aol(dot)com
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>>Joel Bresler
>>250 E. Emerson Rd.
>>Lexington, MA 02420 USA
>>
>>Home:         781-862-2432
>>Home Office:  781-862-4104
>>FAX:                  781-862-0498
>>Cell:         781-622-0309
>>Email:                jbresler (at) ultra(dot)net
>>
>>
>>
>>
>

---------------------- jewish-music (at) shamash(dot)org ---------------------+