Buffalo Chabad House presents Breslover Simply Tsfat Klezmer Band

[Asissel <Asissel...>]

Date: Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2003
Place: Chabad House of Buffalo near the UB Campus at 2450 N. Forest Rd., 
Amherst, NY
Time: 7:30 PM
Tickets: $10.00
For info call 716-688-1642

Simply Tsfat consists of three members of the Breslover Chassidic community:
American born acoustic guitarist/vocalist Elyahu Reiter, violinist Yehonason 
Lipshutz and Israeli classical guitarist Yonatan Tzarum.  For more information 
see the article below and check out their website at 
http://www.simplytsfat.com



Alan Sisselman

Buffalo, NY





Playing the Heart-strings

by Chana Nestlebaum



For anyone who has ever wondered why “strings” are the metaphor for the 
deepest emotions, the musical group Simply Tsfat embodies the answer. With 
three 
stringed instruments and vocals of pure simplicity, this is music that cannot 
leave the listener untouched. 



There are instrumental pieces of such sweeping beauty that a look around the 
audience -- the woman’s section at least -- reveals tears running down many a 
cheek. And then there are the other songs -- traditional niggunim (melodies) 
arranged and performed in a way that makes clapping and dancing almost 
irresistible.



The formula for this group’s unique contribution to Jewish music contains 
some rare ingredients. One is the musicians’ mastery on their instruments. 
Yehonasan Lipshutz, who plays violin for the group, began his musical training 
at 
the age of 7. By the time he was 9, he was studying with a musician from the 
New 
York Philharmonic. He further perfected his talents while earning a Bachelor 
of  Fine Arts degree from the State University of New York - Purchase, but put 
aside his career as it began to conflict with his growing commitment to 
Shabbos observance.



It was ten full years before Mr. Lipshutz picked up the violin again. “But 
this time it wasn’t Bach, Beethoven or Mozart,” he remarks.



Another distinctive element in Simply Tsfat’s sound is the classical guitar, 
played with exuberance and precision by Yehonatan Zarum. Using the technique 
of classical Spanish guitar music, Mr. Zarum elicits rivers of sound from his 
instrument. He catches the listener by surprise, elevating favorite standards 
to a new level of artistry.



“Someone once said that Spanish flamenco music is really based on lost 
‘sparks’ from the Temple,” Mr. Lipshutz observes, perhaps explaining the 
ability 
of Mr. Zarum’s guitar to move one to tears.



The third member of the group -- its on-stage spokesman and lead vocalist  -- 
is Elyahu Reiter, whose agile acoustic guitar provides the musical foundation 
for Simply Tsfat’s sound. Mr. Reiter uses his folk-music style voice to 
convey lyrics with warmth and sincerity. There are no showy flashes.



“It is a simchadik (joyful) music which will not overwhelm,” says Mr. 
Reiter, “and some very beautiful and interesting instrumentals.”



Be Happy



The other unique component of Simply Tsfat’s music is Tsfat, which is the 
home of all three musicians,  and the Breslover Chassidic community to which 
they 
belong.



The legacy of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, the founder of this branch of 
Chassidim, is an emphasis on joy in serving Hashem. His writings and teachings 
urge 
every Jew to constantly seek a feeling of closeness to Hashem and to face all 
life’s challenges fortified by that closeness.



These philosophies come out in the group’s music, especially in English songs 
written by Mr. Reiter. “Take Me to You,” on the group’s first tape, 
“Fresh 
Air,” is a ballad of love and longing, but the longing here is for Hashem to 
open the heart and fill the mouth with words of prayer. “Put Your words in my 
mouth, put Your love in my heart,” the lyrics quietly plead.



In “Be Happy,” the title song of the group’s second tape, Mr. Reiter’s 
lyrics along with some striking instrumental touches make the simple statement: 
“Everything is for the good.” It is a concept every Jew learns, but this is 
a 
song that injects the message straight into the soul.



Some of the Hebrew lyrics also carry through on Rabbi Nachman’s themes. “If 
you believe you have the power to destroy, believe you have the power to 
rebuild,” says one song, framing the famous Breslov saying in a riveting, 
upbeat 
melody that defies despair.



For all three musicians, the opportunity to spread the joyful foundations of 
Breslover philosophy is a prime purpose of traveling the world with Simply 
Tsfat. They play to audiences throughout the U.S., including many locations in 
the New York area, Connecticut, Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, Milwaukee, 
Miami, 
Virginia, Seattle, Los Angeles, Palo Alto, San Diego, and outside the U.S. in 
Toronto, Montreal, Costa Rica and Guatemala. In Israel, where they are a 
“local band,” they play at weddings, yeshivos and special events.



A Different Outlook



“Recently, we preformed at the University of Chicago Hillel,” says Mr. 
Lipshutz. “there we were met at the door by people demonstrating against the 
Israeli ‘occupation.’ this really stuck in our gut. So we want to do more 
outreach 
on the college campuses. Instead of terrorist activities, suicide belts and 
rock throwing, we want to bring a little simcha and music to the U.S.A. Quite a 
comparison!”



For those who already understand the joy and beauty inherent in Jewish life, 
Simply Tsfat’s music provides an electric connection to those sometimes 
buried 
feelings. For those who don’t yet have a clue that the Torah is alive and 
kicking, the group hopes to provide a pleasant awakening. 



“We are just trying to make people happy, but we’re also trying to show 
people that Yiddishkeit is alive and exuberant, not some dusty old thing in a 
museum, and we don’t have to go looking for ‘it’ in the Himalayas,” 
says Mr. 
Lipshutz.



>From Kumzitz to Concert



Yehonasan Lipshutz and Elyahu Reiter began playing music together in Tsfat, 
where each had moved to become part of the Breslov community led by Rabbi 
Elazar Mordechai Kenig. For a couple of years, their “appearances” were 
limited to 
local kumzitzes. “But when they put our faces on the cover of the Ascent 
quarterly, I knew it was a sign,” says Mr. Reiter.



In 1998, both men were planning independently to visit the U.S. They decided 
to do a “test” tour of three mini-concerts, “just to see if people would 
like 
this kind of thing,” Mr. Reiter recalls. The response was so positive that 
the audiences were coming to them after the concert to inquire as to where they 
could buy a tape.



“Tape?” Mr. Reiter recalls as their response. “So in 1999 we just sat 
down 
and played in a studio. It was meant to be a demo, but our friend, Yehonatan 
Zarum, who had studio experience, pushed us to improve it a little so we could 
sell it.”



Mr. Zarum added his guitar and vocal harmonies electronically to complete a 
simple, yet first-class production called “Fresh Air.” 



The first tour as “Simply Tsfat” was undertaken on behalf of Nachal Novea 
Mekor Chochma, a Tsfat charitable organization. At the time, the 
band-members’ 
livelihoods were coming from other sources. Mr. Lipshutz was a day trader and 
Mr. Reiter ran a business called Safed Candles. But it wasn’t long before the 
music overtook the other occupations.



“At one point, we all lost our other ways of making a living. Yehonatan Zarum 
joined the band and we started doing this for our own ‘institution’ -- to 
support our wives and the 18 children we have altogether, b’li ayin hara,” 
says 
Mr. Reiter.



Simply Tsfat’s next tour is planned for February and March in the New York 
area, Florida, and tentatively, Baltimore and Washington, D.C.  With both Purim 
and a Simply Tsfat tour on the horizon, Adar can’t help but live up to its 
designation as the month “when joy increases.”