Fwd: [HANASHIR:14881] Re: Kol Isha

[Ari Davidow <ari...>]

This was originally posted to Hanashir, and Irwin suggested that it be 
posted to jewish-music. Comments should go to the author.

>From: Mercaz Rahel <mercazrahel (at) empire(dot)net>
>
>Shalom Everyone,
>
>It is nice to follow the conversation on 'Kol Isha'. Sources have already 
>been cited for this Halachic ruling so I won't go there. Instead, If you 
>will indulge me, I would like to share my own journey and experiences with 
>this ruling. I am one of the founding members of the all-woman's orthodox 
>Jewish band called "Tofa'ah". The group was founded by drummer Yona 
>(Saslow) Yacabovitch in 1981 in Israel as a result of an all woman's 
>concert event that was organized by Gracie Rosenblum at the Diaspora 
>Yeshiva in Jerusalem. Gracie is the wife of Avraham Rosenblum, who founded 
>the Diaspora Yeshiva Band and now performs as himself. Avraham's band was 
>the inspiration for many others like them in the Orthodox world. Many were 
>inspired by Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach, who did a wonderful job at returning 
>Jews to their Jewish roots. But back to Tofa'ah...
>
>I found Yona - or she found me - through a note she posted seeking women 
>musicians. We got together, performed at a second Diaspora Yeshiva 
>all-woman's event , and soon after that concert, we began to write and 
>record music by and for women. At this writing there are six recordings in 
>cassette or CD form.
>
>We were all single women back then, and at all different stages of 
>spirituality - some very religious and some hardly at all, but all 
>following by the Halachic ruling of "Kol b'Isha Ervah". It was on this 
>basis that the group was formed. In those days, in Israel, there were no 
>avenues for artistic expression open to Orthodox women. At first we 
>performed mostly for the "Anglo" community - mostly "Baalei Tshuvah" (born 
>agains) - women who were attending Yeshiva's and learning the Orthodox 
>Jewish approach to life and living. Therefore, the majority of our 
>performances were for those who had come from open societies who knew all 
>about eclectic amplified sound etc. Israeli's were only just beginning to 
>partake in the rock world. And Orthodox Jews  would have no part of this. 
>Anyway, after a few years, we found ourselves being interviewed and sought 
>after by a curious Israeli public, television & radio, and we began to 
>attract larger audiences that included more and more Orthodox women, and 
>women from all walks of life, including the gay community of women.
>
>As women, and as very conscious G-d fearing women, being a member of this 
>dynamic women's band was an awesome journey. We were breaking ground in an 
>evolving society that saw life in very black and white terms. This was a 
>coming of age for Israeli Orthodox women who had never imagined that they, 
>too, would one day find a door opened to them for artistic expression. We 
>were invited into community circles that provided US with new insight into 
>the beauty of being orthodox women. I felt very privileged to have had the 
>opportunity to be welcomed into the Belz, Lubavitch, and other sects and 
>streams of orthodox communities in Israel. Yona introduced drumming to 
>young orthodox girls who, today, are forming there own bands. Today, in 
>Israel, there are orthodox schools that focus on the arts. We were the 
>inspiration for all of this to happen.
>
>Writing music for women found us exploring ourselves as women, and our 
>roles in, and influences on, society. We were sought out by folklorists 
>who sought to define "Jewish Music" and also to define "Jewish WOMEN's 
>Music". Our music sits in the Archives at the Hebrew University, and at 
>the Rubin Academy of Music, both in Jerusalem. For us, we had no need to 
>define or categorize our music. We were following Jewish law. What was 
>important to us was that we realized that what was once viewed as a 
>restrictive and even negative imposition on women, for us was just the 
>opposite. This Jewish Law actually provided us with the FREEDOM to express 
>ourselves, and our love of G-d, honestly and sincerely as people, as 
>women, as Jews, as Jewish women, and as Orthodox Jewish women. Our music 
>reflected Jewish and women's lifestyle - i.e. - mikveh, prayer, our 
>relationship with G-d as women etc. I am reminded of a song written by a 
>woman passing through in Israel back in the 80's. She had written a song 
>about her feelings as a Jewish woman being made to pray "behind the 
>mehitza". Her experience was much different than ours, whereas for her the 
>experience was a negative and restrictive one. But for us, we found that 
>while being "behind the mehitza" we flourished as Jews and as Jewish 
>women. The point is that the halachic ruling of "Kol Isha" for us was an 
>aid to our personal growth as women and to our identity as Jews.
>
>Performing for women only was an experience all women ought to have! I 
>have to admit that sometimes, in a mixed crowd, I will actually feel 
>restricted. When "Tofa'ah"performed women stood up and danced 
>ecstatically, even doing cartwheels and somersaults! They were able to let 
>loose in a way that they could not, or would not, in a mixed crowd. 
>Tofa'ah provided an atmosphere of freedom for women to express themselves 
>both as performers and as listeners. There are rules applying to modesty 
>in orthodox circles that I highly respect. Heck, I can truly say that if 
>our society today would apply some of these rules we might be a happier 
>and more respectful society again.
>
>In any case, ten years into our Tofa'ah career, Yona and I decided to 
>found a non-profit organization we called "Tof Miriam". For three years 
>she and I almost single handed created an annual Women in the Arts 
>National Festival in Israel. I believe it is still functioning today. We 
>did a lot of work to get grants and then sponsored and produced concerts, 
>art exhibitions, theater productions, and dance. Our goal was to give 
>women a voice - not just Orthodox women, but women of all walks of life. 
>Alice Shalvi was one of our greatest supporters, advisors and aid in 
>getting this work off the ground, along with the Jerusalem Municipality, 
>and many of the sponsors and venues that supported our efforts or offered 
>their space at reduced rates to help women to be seen and heard in Israel. 
>We sought out unknown women who needed help in getting their work to the 
>public eye, and we sought out known women who would help focus the 
>attention of the public at large on these events.
>
>I have been writing a long time now. I will close now. I think my point in 
>all of this is to say that, yes, there is a Jewish Law that says that a 
>woman's voice is "ervah" - off-limits to men? seductive? naked? Jewish 
>laws were made with great thought behind them. If you choose to view "Kol 
>b'isha ervah" as a restriction, then you are missing an awful lot about 
>the power, thought and beauty of living a Jewish life. I have learned, 
>through my own personal experience of living by this particular law, that 
>we must look deeper into each and every ruling. This law caused one woman 
>- Yona - to think and live creatively and whole, as a woman and as a Jew. 
>I was blessed to be Yona's friend and partner in crime! Together, and with 
>a large and growing number of women who visited and participated in 
>Tofa'ah over the years, we have happily inspired an entire generation to 
>think differently about themselves as women and as Jews. Women who joined 
>Tofa'ah then, now live all over the world. They are still paving the way 
>for others to to open doors and windows to living a creative and full life 
>as Jews who cherish their Jewish heritage. The all-women's events in 
>Israel exist today because the women of Tofa'ah opened the door. They did 
>it WITHIN the framework of Jewish law. I think this is awesome!
>
>Rahel
>Mercaz Rahel <mercazrahel (at) empire(dot)net>

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