Introduction
Jewish music has changed throughout history with numerous Jewish musicians who have revolutionized this unique musical landscape which is still today widely celebrated in Jewish culture. Beginning in early biblical times, Jewish music was traditional religious cantors that were sung in synagogues. Then Jewish music evolved into more secular music such as Klezmer, Classical or Israeli Pop Rock of today. Jewish music has been evolving with new musicians rising and sharing their music with a new generation of fans. Most modern-day Jewish musicians were heavily influenced by the Jewish musicians of the past. Of the many Jewish musicians over the years, three of them have had a significant impact on Jewish culture in the last century: Debbie Friedman, Shlomo Carlebach, and Matisyahu. While each musician has a unique biography and influence on the Jewish music industry, Matisyahu has had the most significance.
Debbie Friedman
Debbie Friedman was one of the most prolific female Jewish musicians during the Reform Movement in the late 1960s and early 1970s. She was a quasi-folk song singer who originally started singing in the synagogue. Debbie Friedman’s music touched so many Jewish people especially the ones who believed in Judaism and Christian faith. She used her music to express her faith to the masses and spoke to community. She believed that all Jews are a community made up of individuals and her music healed the souls of each Jewish individual. (About Debbie)
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Debbie Friedman was born in Utica, New York in 1951, but moved to St. Paul, Minnesota six years later with her family. Throughout her life, she moved to many places like Chicago and Los Angeles, and even lived in Israel for six months after high school. She did not have any formal training as a singer, but she began singing to her own guitar accompaniment and writing her own songs as a teenager. Her musical influences were Jewish folk singers like Judy Collins and Joan Baez. She had a passion for all genres of Jewish music whether it was instrumental or vocal, but she was even more inspired by her mother and grandmother. Her mother and grandmother gave her passion for love, justice, integrity, humor, and living Jewishly. (About Debbie)
Between 1971 and 2011, Debbie Friedman recorded 22 albums, in both English and Hebrew. She wanted to relay her positive message to as many Jews as possible all over the world. Her most popular songs are Mi Shebeirach and Miriam’s Song. Some of her most popular songs were written for life-cycle events, holidays, Jewish holidays, and world events. She even had albums written for children to teach them the Hebrew language. (About Debbie)
Even though Debbie Friedman struggled with an undiagnosed neurological condition for twenty years, that did not stop her from pursuing her a long music career. Debbie Friedman passed away on January 9, 2011 as a result of complications from pneumonia. She left behind a beautiful legacy of Jewish folk and spiritual music that Jews still love today and will pass on for generations to come. (Levin)
Shlomo Carlebach
Shlomo Carlebach was a prolific Jewish religious songwriter of the 20th century. He was known as Reb Shlomo to his followers. Not only was he a famous Jewish singer and composer for 40 years, but he also was a rabbi and religious teacher to many Jewish followers. He was known as “The Singing Rabbi” for his lifetime. Shlomo Carlebach’s religion was Orthodox yeshivot, but he also created his own style of religious teachings by combining Torah learning, Hasidic Judaism, personal interactions, and songs throughout his church services. (Shlomo Carlebach)
Shlomo Carlebach was born in 1925 in Berlin, Germany, as a descendant of an old Jewish rabbinical dynasty, which remains a prominent Jewish family. His father, Rabbi Doctor Naftali Hartwig Carlebach was an Orthodox rabbi as well. Shlomo Carlebach and his family moved to Austria in 1933, then immigrated to England in 1939 when it became too dangerous to live in Austria. In 1940, they moved to the United States. Shlomo Carlebach studied the Torah in great depth in college and was recognized by his teachers and famous rabbis. After his father’s death in 1967, he took over the rabbinate of the Congregation Kehilath Jacob synagogue. (Shlomo Carlebach)
Not only did Shlomo Carlebach take the steps to become a famous rabbi, but also began writing songs in the late 1950s. These songs were very religious songs that were primarily based on the verses from the Tanach, but he created his own tunes. His songs like Ve’haer Eneinu were first popularized in 1969 at the Hasidic Festival. Throughout his lifetime, he composed thousands of songs even though he never learned to read music. His soulful tunes of these Torah verses became standard verses for most of the Jewish community. His songs can be characterized has relatively short melodies and traditional lyrics with easy to learn catch tunes that were adopted to most prayer services in synagogues around the world. (Shlomo Carlebach)
In 1972, Shlomo Carlebach married Elaine Neila Glick, who was a teacher. They had two daughters, Nedara (Dari) and Neshama Carlebach and Neshama became a singer and songwriter with similar stylings to her father, Shlomo. On October 20, 1994, Shlomo Carlebach died of a heart attack on a flight to Canada. Even after his passing, he left a legacy of spiritual music that is still played in Jewish synagogues today. (Shlomo Carlebach)
Matisyahu
Matisyahu is a modern-day Jewish musician who first emerged in 2004 with his debut album titled Shake off the Dust...Arise. Born into a Jewish household, he combined rap lyrics about the glories of Judaism with reggae beats in the background creating an interesting mashup of music. He was one of the first to accomplish the feat, thus making him a pioneer in the evolution of modern-day Jewish music. (Ruhlmann)
Matisyahu’s birth name was Matthew Miller. He was born on June 30, 1979 in West Chester Pennsylvania but moved to California shortly after his birth. Eventually, he settled with his family in White Plains, New York. As a pre-teen, he rebelled against his traditional Jewish upbringing, and considered himself as a Deadhead and hippie. By age 14, during a camping trip to Colorado, he reconciled himself to Judaism. From there, he developed a passion for reggae and hip-hop, and participated at open-mike competitions in Bend, Oregon. At age 19, he attended New School for Social Research in Manhattan, while also attending Carlebach Shul, a synagogue where his musical interests were encouraged. He also met Lubavitch Rabbi. He became interested in the strict Lubavitch Hasidic sect of Judaism and renamed himself Matisyahu. He assembled a band and released his first album in 2004, and he began touring around the world. To date, he has made five studio albums, and the future is looking bright for this groundbreaking singer and songwriter. (Ruhlmann)
Compare and Contrast the Three Jewish Musicians
All three of these Jewish musicians have significantly impacted the Jewish music industry and have influenced Jewish culture over the last sixty years. All three of these Jewish musicians also have traditional Jewish lyrics in their songs that convey a similar message to a Jewish audience even though they may have a different rhythm or background music.
All these musicians have a passion for music and for their Jewish ancestry and heritage. They want to spread the joy and pride they have for Judaism through their music and lyrics and want to pass it down to future generations. Even though Friedman and Carlebach have passed on, their legacy remains. Eventually, Matisyahu will have a large legacy to pass on as well as a leader in the secular music wave of Jewish music and pave the way for other musicians in the future.
Friedman and Carlebach were both more traditional and spiritual with their musical interpretation of Jewish music using guitar, drums or acapella, while Matisyahu did a more modern and secular approach to Jewish music with rap and reggae. Carlebach and Friedman’s music is still played in synagogues and used during prayer today, while Matisyahu is a more mainstream genre of music, not played in a religious building.
Matisyahu studied Judaism and joined Carlebach Shul, which relates to Shlomo Carlebach’s family history of being a descendent of rabbis. Matisyahu was influenced by Carlebach’s music and synagogue while he was growing up and helped encourage his passion for music and songwriting as a career. Friedman and Matisyahu pursued a music as teenagers while Carlebach pursued music as a second career. Carlebach initially studied to be a rabbi in college and composed music on the side. Eventually, Carlebach balanced being a rabbi and a composer for his entire adult life.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Matisyahu is the most influential Jewish musician because he has revolutionized the Jewish music industry to reach out to a new generation of fans. Someone who has been so innovative in music deserves the title of the most influential Jewish musician. He is a ground-breaking artist who was influenced by the artists of the past, including Debbie Friedman and Shlomo Carlebach. However, he took their old traditions of songwriting, music, melodies and made it his own and made it new again by pulling in additional genres of rap and reggae with the Jewish lyrics. He is not only influenced by past Jewish musicians, but he will also be the musician that the next generation of Jewish musicians will look up to in the future. Additionally, he has fans all over the world, and includes more than just the Jewish population which is very impressive.
After taking this class, and doing this research paper, I am looking forward to listening to more Jewish music, especially Matisyahu in the future. I have a new appreciation for Jewish music. The eclectic blend of music that is Jewish music will continue to be passed down to future generations of not only Jews but everyone who appreciates interesting music like me. Jewish music will continue to evolve into something special and new in the future, and I am looking forward to listening to that beautiful music.
Works Cited
- “About Debbie.” The Life and Legacy of Debbie Friedman, July 2005, www.debbiefriedman.com/about-debbie.
- Levin, Neil W. “Debbie Friedman.” Milken Archive of Jewish Music, January 2011, http://milkenarchive.org/artists/view/debbie-friedman/.
- Ruhlmann, William. “Matisyahu: Biography & History.” AllMusic, www.allmusic.com/artist/matisyahu-mn0000075623/biography.
- “Shlomo Carlebach.” The Carlebach Shul, www.thecarlebachshul.org/shlomo-carlebach-6/
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