Kol Isha: freedom

[Bob Wiener <wiener...>]

Alex,

I don't believe that anyone has "insist[ed] that Orthodox men MUST listen to
a female singer."  Some have observed that people who don't want to listen
to any particular kind of music can almost always vote with their feet and
either not come or leave.  By analogy, we provide lots of food at the dinner
table that our daughters do or do not eat.  [It is true that sometimes they
wish we would have other options instead of the ones we choose to offer --
like candy for dessert.]

I made a far more modest proposal on Friday, February 21, 2003 7:12 AM  Kol
Isha: striking a balance.

    Perhaps this attempt to strike a balance is something of a fool's goal,
but at the risk of being called foolish once again...
    ....
    3. Perhaps making even more sense, if the concern for kol isha is really
hearing the kol isha (and not mar'at ayin -- the appearance to others
present), why not provide     ear plugs?  (If attendees observe that they
came to hear music, just not that kind of music, suggest that they bring
walkmen with yeshivish music.)

Bob

----- Original Message -----
From: "Alex Jacobowitz" <alexbjacobowitz (at) yahoo(dot)com>
To: "World music from a Jewish slant" <jewish-music (at) shamash(dot)org>
Sent: Monday, March 03, 2003 7:56 AM
Subject: Re: freedom


> --- Judith R Cohen <judithc (at) YorkU(dot)CA> wrote:
> > Alex, this is not freedom.
> >
> > The woman is denied the right to exercise her
> > singing profession if men
> > decide she cannot do so.
>
> As the saying goes, "your freedom to extend
> your arm stops at the end of my nose."
>
> Yes, it is freedom. The woman singer has no
> problem exercising her profession. She may sing
> for other women, for minors or for non-Jews.
> She can also sing for men who don´t keep the laws of
> Kol Isha.
>
> Now, if you´ve subtracted all those
> people from the general population and still insist
> that Orthodox men MUST listen to a female singer,
> then that´s fascist. I am in no way obligated -
> morally, legally or artistically - to listen to
> women (or anyone!) singing, or to subsidize such a
> concert, anymore than I´m obligated to listen to
> Madonna singing "Like A Virgin" at the next
> Bnai Brith concert. Do I care whether she puts on
> tefillin?
>
> Shalom bayis!
>
> Alex Jacobowitz



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