Re: One klezmer's experience

[Joshua Sharf <jsharf...>]

There's a big difference between people who are trying to attract people to
Christianity, and people who are practicing a flavor of Judaism you don't
find to your taste, don't you think?

Please, I don't see orthodox members of this list disparaging Conservative,
Reform, Reconstructionist, or Jewish Renewal.

Joshua Sharf
Site: http://www.viewfromaheight.blogspot.com

----- Original Message -----
From: <SICULAR (at) aol(dot)com>
To: "World music from a Jewish slant" <jewish-music (at) shamash(dot)org>
Sent: Wednesday, September 03, 2003 9:50 PM
Subject: Re: One klezmer's experience


> thanks for articulating that, Lori!  well-said indeed.
>
> I, on the other hand, was hired to play for a Lag B'Omer women's drumming
> circle event that was passed off as a self-empowerment sort of Jewish
women's
> gathering to me when I was called about it, and advertised as quite New
Age-y.
> But when I got there it was a rather rigid event trying to bring women
into
> more subservient traditional Jewish ways and a lot of political beliefs
which I
> will simply say were to me reprehensibly rightwing.  a sponsor website I
looked
> at afterward turned out to be a well-funded neo-Orthodox movement office.
> Since I had agreed to it as a business arrangement, I tried proposing one
or two
> participatory ideas I thought would be more self-expressive and
empowering --
> things I knew from women's Rosh Chodesh groups and feminist seders etc. --
but
> these were clearly unacceptable to the strategy of the motivational
> speaker/leader. so  then I played but refused to give eye contact or
anything beyond a
> beat to the leaders of the gathering.  I felt very spiritually compromised
and
> deliberately misled.... the purpose of the music as used here seemed to be
> helping these repressed people blow off steam and have a creative outlet,
while
> trying to attract/proselytize other Jewish women.  nothing wrong with that
in
> itself I guess, but they had purposely not told me about their movement
> affiliation and underlying beliefs, sticking instead to the recruiting
strategy
> cover of this as a vaguely alternative-lifestyle event and creative
outlet.  it
> was held at New York's PS 122 performance space theater on an off night,
to
> further this image of something experimental and progressive.
>
> pretty creepy.
> Eve
> =================
> - e v e  s i c u l a r  -
> drummer/bandleader
> ISLE OF KLEZBOS &
> METROPOLITAN KLEZMER
> 151 First Ave #145, NYC 10003
> tel:  212.475.4544
> fax:  212.677.6304
> www.metropolitanklezmer.com
>
>

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