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HALACHA, HASHKAFA AND PARENTING

Q&A What Make Music Jewish

What Makes Music Jewish or Not

Part of Halacha, Hashkafa and Parenting · 33:17

A frank Q&A on the halachic status of music: why listening to music at all was restricted after the churban, why a goyishe song is worse for the neshamah than a goyishe book, and the test for when a tzaddik can โ€œtake a niggun away from kelipahโ€ -- from Napoleon's March to the Marseillaise at the Rebbe's hakafos. Also tackles the harder, unresolved question of pop singers setting Jewish words to borrowed melodies, and closes with why Shlomo Carlebach's music was rejected in Lubavitch despite his own scholarship.

Audio Transcript
A Short Halachic Note on Kaddish and Kapitel Tehillim

And it's ื‘ื ื•ื’ืข to know that before the chazan starts kaddish for Mussaf, you have to say a kapitel Tehillim. At least the chazan. The chazan has to say a kapitel Tehillim. I don't know who was the chazan this morning here. Did the chazan this morning say a kapitel Tehillim privately before he said the kaddish? What was it? You davened? And that's what the Rebbe writes. That you have to, the Rabbi Rashab writes this in a letter, and it's printed in Igros of the Rabbi Rashab, and the Rebbe writes, that the chazan must say a kapitel Tehillim at least to himself, ื›ื“ื™ that the kaddish should go after something. Anyway, that's ื‘ื ื•ื’ืข that inyan. Let's Oh, taanis by Mincha is the same thing. By the Mincha you have ืžืคื˜ื™ืจ, ื”ืคื˜ืจื”. So also the minhag is by us that you don't wait till the Sefer Torah is put back and then the chazan starts ื™ืชื’ื“ืœ. As soon as they pick up, they start walking the Sefer Torah, the chazan starts kaddish. By a taanis also. For the same reason. As long as the Sefer Torah is still there and you start kaddish, the kaddish goes on the kriyah. But if you put it back, close the ืืจื•ืŸ ื”ืงื•ื“ืฉ and then the chazan starts kaddish, the kaddish does not go on the kriyah, and we want the kaddish to go on the kriyah also, to be yotzei that inyan of going on the Keri'ah. The velt? No, they wait until you put it in and then and then they say Kaddish. And they, either Kaddish has to go after something, but they say, besides ื™ื”ืœืœื•, ื”ืฉื™ื‘ื ื• ื”' ืืœื™ืš ื•ื ืฉื•ื‘ื” ื—ื“ืฉ ื™ืžื™ื ื• ื›ืงื“ื, they say these Pesukim, and some people sing it. Ah? No, they don't say Kaddish after Keri'ah and they just say one Kaddish. No, they say one Kaddish after Ashrei by Mincha. Then you Keri'ah and then you start put the Sefer Torah back and then you say Kaddish before Shemoneh Esrei. But it doesn't go on the Keri'ah, and we want the Kaddish to go on the Keri'ah too. So we have to be make it very close close to the Keri'ah. Ah? They do need. Beseder. Okay. There's let's look at which one is uh.

The Question: What Makes Music Jewish?

What makes music Jewish? Whoever wrote it didn't sign his name. There were more that people wrote and didn't sign their name. Maybe I should read it even though maybe I shouldn't, but I'm not going to talk about it now, but I'll read it. It's not really It's not something that we talk about, but I guess nowadays you do have to. I'll read it. I'm embarrassed to read it, but I'll read it anyway. Why can't we talk to girls? Not ืžืฆื“ ืฉืžื™ืจืช ื ื’ื™ืขื”, not as a something I can't even read it, but purely an act of talking. This needs to be discussed, but not now. But we will discuss it. It's not that I said it's not realistic, but let's go with this: What makes music Jewish? Because we know that you cannot hear goyishe music, you can only hear Jewish music. First of all, let's go into this whole inyan of music. The truth is that you're not allowed to listen to music bichlal. Lich'orah. Why not? ื—ื›ืžื™ื made a gezeirah, pashut a ื“ื™ืŸ ื“ืจื‘ื ืŸ, that after the ื—ื•ืจื‘ืŸ ื‘ื™ืช ื”ืžืงื“ืฉ, they said you're not allowed to listen to music. Nevertheless, all the Poskim, they all go in that by a chasunah you have music, and you have all kinds of music different times. So it says if it's for enhancing your ืขื‘ื•ื“ืช ื”', then you're allowed. By a chasunah, it's a mitzvah, ืฉืžื—ืช ื—ืชืŸ ื•ื›ืœื”, so then you're allowed to do it. Not only you're allowed to do it, it's a good idea to do it. So that's the heter. Or it says if it helps your learning, or if you're saying Torah, words of Pesukim, and the Pesukim are used with music, you're allowed. But that's only ื‘ื ื•ื’ืข this issur, the issur of the ื—ื›ืžื™ื putting on to listening music after the ื—ื•ืจื‘ืŸ ื‘ื™ืช ื”ืžืงื“ืฉ. But besides that, if it's goyishe music, not getting to answer yet what makes it Jewish or goyish, but let's first talk about what happens if you sing goyishe music or you listen to goyishe music, goyishe songs, what happens then, why is that so terrible? Then we'll see what makes Jewish and what does not make Jewish.

Why Goyishe Music Is More Dangerous Than a Goyishe Book

What's so terrible is because we know that music affects the person very deeply. It has a very deep That is the reason why people are so into music. Why are most a lot of people into music and they like to hear music? Why? Because it has a it touches you, it affects you. It says that Music is the pen of the heart. It's the pen that, you know, I mean the pen of the heart, and it's very it goes down deep into the person. Now, since it goes so deep into the person, it has a deep effect on the personality or on the level of the person. If it's not Yiddish, basically what you have here is a goyishe thing affecting the heart of the person. It's a goyishe thing. And again, we're not saying what is called goyish, but whatever is called goyish, if it's a goyishe thing, you don't want a goyishe thing to go inside you. It's worse, it says, than reading a goyishe book. It says when you read a book bichlal, you connect yourself to the author of the book. That's what it says. Why? Because the person who wrote the book puts himself into the book. That's how it is. If a person who writes a book doesn't put live through the book and put himself into the book, the book is not good. That book will not sell. People can tell right away. So in order to write a book properly, you got to live with it, you got to put yourself into it. Uv'meila, the book contains that person. It's ืขืœ ื“ืจืš like ืœื”ื‘ื“ื™ืœ, it says the Eibershter when he wrote the Torah, he put himself into the Torah. ืื ื›ื™ is a ืจืืฉื™ ืชื™ื‘ื•ืช: ืื ื ื ืคืฉื™ ื›ืชื‘ื™ืช ื™ื”ื‘ื™ืช. \"I myself wrote myself in, I gave myself into the Torah.\" ืœื”ื‘ื“ื™ืœ ืœื”ื‘ื“ื™ืœ, same thing by goyishe books. The same thing by Yiddishe books, by a sefer. Person that writes a sefer puts himself into the sefer. Why is it that the Rebbeim said that how do you get mekushar to me? Learn my Torah. So sometimes the Rebbe said, \"Learn ืชื•ืจื” ื‘ื›ืœืœ. I learn Torah, you learn Torah, we'll meet.\" That's a different story. But they said, \"Learn my Torah.\" Why is his Torah? Because in his Torah he put himself in. Uv'meila you connect yourself. If you read a book of somebody, of a goy or the Rebbe once spoke about, mentioned Shakespeare. Used the ืœืฉื•ืŸ, \"Shakespeare, a shikororer goy.\" So if you have a book that was written by a shikororer goy, by some who knows meshugene guy, and he put himself into the book and you read the book, you're mekushar to that guy. And that's very dangerous. It says that ืื—ืจ, ืื—ืจ, the famous ืื—ืจ who ื™ืฆื ืœืชืจื‘ื•ืช ืจืขื”, used to be a ืชื ื, he's the only ืชื ื that we find in history. Only one, him and Yochanan Kohen Gadol who became, went off the ื“ืจืš, as we call, and became a ืจืฉืข ืžืจื•ืฉืข, a murderer, everything became, it says why? Because they found that he was reading goyishe books. What's the pshat? Because it has an effect on the person, and you get in yourself what that guy was. And if the guy was a shikorer goy, who knows, an untervelt, a menuval, ach vais vas, it has an effect on you. That's by reading a book. Nu. Now by music, Nu, music Why are you turning around looking at him? Someone told me once by a farbrengen that the Rebbe spoke about this I said this over once. The Rebbe spoke about the nekudah that you have to I said that you have to know that everything means you, not somebody else, and you have to take it to yourself. And he so says he was standing next to a guy, one guy tells the other guy, \"You heard what the Rebbe said to you?\" So music, since music has to do with the nefesh, with the deeper, and it's fact that it touches you deeper. Why is it that you can hear eppes a very serious song, people start crying? Why would they cry? Because the the song, the the music touches your heart, and if it's sad, it makes you feel sad. So the person who made the music puts himself into that, and then you connect yourself to that person. So that's why it says in Yerushalmi ื‘ื ื•ื’ืข ืœืื—ืจ, another thing that he used to sing goyishe music. And that's what made him become who he was. So that's the inyan of not listening to goyishe music, besides the she'eilah if it's not for a purpose of Torah or something, because it's goyish or it's not to make you learn better, so it's a ืื™ืกื•ืจ ื‘ืฆื“ that the ื—ื›ืžื™ื made a issur to listen to music bichlal, and the heter that we have by all other types of music doesn't apply, so that's asur. Besides that, the ruchniyadike impact that this has is worse than other things. There are a lot of levels in what impact things have: in listening to something, to to some talking, you listen to a speech, it has an impact on you; looking at things has an impact on you, has impact, and re'iyah, it says, has a big impact, it says in Kuntres HaAvodah, where you're learning that in in Kuntres HaAvodah here, the re'iyah; and music, I don't know which one, re'iyah or music, but it has a very, very deep, deep impact on the person. And therefore, like this: What makes music Jewish, or what makes it goyish? I like the question. Could have asked the question: what makes music goyish? Question is aderabah, what makes it Jewish? That was the chazakah is that if it's not if it's not a chasidishe song, it's definitely goyish. How do you make something Jewish? That's the question, because be'etzem, if it's not chasidishe song, we have to figure out where this comes from. So number one like this: Music or a song with words, and the words don't fit to the ื“ืจืš ื”ืชื•ืจื”, certainly if they're words which are ื“ื‘ืจื™ื ืืกื•ืจื™ื, that's goyish. So it's not a pshat that you read ื“ื‘ืจื™ื ืืกื•ืจื™ื. You sang ื“ื‘ืจื™ื, or you heard a song of ื“ื‘ืจื™ื ืืกื•ืจื™ื, that goes deep, deep into your nefesh that it's very hard to get out. So when you have, in simple words, the love songs that they have, listening to a love song is worse than reading a book which is a romance book. They both have an effect on you. Whatever you read and you think about has an effect on your heart, on your mind, it has an effect on the person, and has an effect on the future of the person. Singing a song with these words, that's mamash assur. But besides that, even if it doesn't have any words, many of these songs were made by the goyim, because that's part of their most of their life which is revolves around these inyanim is pashut, it's a tochen of a song which is sung as a love song. So that itself, even if it doesn't actually have the words, or you take out the words, you just listen to the music, sometimes they have the song which is known with certain words, but you have it done with a music. But if the song was made with these words or for that purpose, that song is going to be affect the person, and that song is mamash assur. Besides the other issur of the ื—ื•ืจื‘ืŸ ื‘ื™ืช ื”ืžืงื“ืฉ, that's a song that has an effect of inyanim which are ืืกื•ืจ ืขืœ ืคื™ ืชื•ืจื”, and these are things which are deep, deep in the person's nefesh. What? There's still 15 minutes left, and obviously, you see where I'm getting to. Should I repeat the joke I always say? Once a teacher was teaching his kids Gemara, started off, \"ืืžืจ ืื‘ื™ื™, Abaye said.\" So one kid raises his hand, says, \"Yeah?\" \"What did Abaye say?\" Says, \"Wait a minute, I'll tell you what Abaye said.\" Okay, one second, we're getting there. So these songs definitely have a tochen, whether the words are there outright or the words are not there. And as we know, a song without words has a deeper impression than a song with words. We know that from the good side. We know by chassidim we always know a nigun without words is deeper in the nefesh than a nigun with words, because a nigun with words are limited to those words; if it's without words, it could be even more, it has no limit. Same thing in kelipah, in the other side. If it's a song which has this inyan, whether it had the words or if it doesn't have the words, but it's used for that tochen. And the emet is many, many of the songs are for this purpose, the goyishe songs, what we call ื‘ืœืฉื•ืŸ ื ืงื™ื”, classical music. That's what classical music. It's all I'm listening to it's It's goyish? It's not goyish, it's classical music! Classical music in the velt is a love song. There's no question about it. Very seldom do you have that it's not connected to a love song. That's what it was, because a song is an expression of your heart. What do you express your heart for? What did these people express their feelings to what? A feeling, \"Ah, Eibershter, we love you so much!\" That's what they express their feelings? They're all their feelings are expressed in these inyanim. So these classical songs are lechatchilah made for this purpose. Some are more grob and some are less grob. Not some are grob and some are not, they're all grob. Some are less grob, they're a little eidel. Some are more grob, but they're all. So these songs, you can't.

How a Niggun Gets Taken Away From Kelipah: Napoleon's March and the Marseillaise

A song which was made by yidden, tzadikim, made for a good reason, that's called a yiddishe song. What makes a song Jewish? Made by tzadikim, made by rebbes, made by chassidim for the purpose of serving the Eibershter. Now there were people who took goyishe songs and changed them over, made them become Yiddishe songs. Napoleon's March. Napoleon's March was sung by Napoleon and his army, and that's not Yiddish. And Napoleon, we know Napoleon, the Alter Rebbe was against Napoleon full force. The Alter Rebbe wanted Napoleon should lose the war, and he the whole story with Rabbi' Shlomo Karliner. Rabbi' Shlomo Karliner wanted that Napoleon should win the war against the Czar, and the Alter Rebbe said not, and what did it depend on? Who's going to blow shofar Rosh Hashanah first. And Rabbi' Shlomo Karliner got up very, very early and davent very fast in the morning, early morning, and blew shofar shofar, hoping that he got the shofar before the Alter Rebbe, 'cause he knew the Alter Rebbe davened more ื‘ืืจื™ื›ื•ืช, and the Alter Rebbe got up very early early morning and blew shofar before davening. And after he finished the shofar, Rabbi' Shlomo Karliner he says, we lost. ื“ืขืจ ืœื™ื˜ื•ื•ืืง ื”ืื˜ ืฉื•ื™ืŸ ืื•ื™ืกื’ืขื›ืืคื˜. He got the shofar before. But he was very much against Napoleon. Napoleon, in the Alter Rebbe's eyes, was a rasha. Even though b'gashmiyus he was farkert, friendly to the Yidden, and he tried to help the Yidden, but he was trying to help the Yidden in order to take him away from Yiddishkeit. And nevertheless, we sing Napoleon's March. Why? Because the Alter Rebbe took it from Napoleon, and the Alter Rebbe had a koach to change over. There are many nigunim that tzadikim changed over. The famous Hungarian song which was sung by the Kalover Rebbe, the first Kalover Rebbe was a talmid of Rabbi' Moshe Leib Sassover, known as, no Hungarians here? By just in in in the Hungarian, you know, circles, it's equivalent to ื•ื•ื™ ืื–ื•ื™ ื“ืขืจ ืืœื˜ืขืจ ืจื‘ื™'ืก ื ื™ื’ื•ืŸ. It's called Sal a Kakash Mar. And it's in Hun- in Hungarian. And it's a song that he heard from a shepherd, a goyisher shepherd. And he asked him, and he liked it much, and he asked him to teach it to him. After he taught it to him, that shepherd forgot the song. And he and it's a very chashuv and has a lot of depth in it, but he was able to take it. The Alter Rebbe took Napoleon's March and took it. When we sing the the when we have the song, the the from from France, from the the the national anthem, the the Rebbe took it and sang it by hakafot. I remember the olam when the Rebbe sang it by hakafot, phew, no one could The French were there. They couldn't they could not imagine. It's a song that they did- no one dared to sing that song, because it was a goyisher song, national anthem of the French French Revolution. That's where it came. It's a song of revolution. And the Rebbe started singing it and said to sing it, and the Rebbe spoke about it by farbrengen. And the Rebbe said that just like Napoleon's March was taken away from klipah, the Rebbe took it away. As a matter of fact, later on, if the Rebbe spoke, that that year, that year when the Rebbe sang it, in the Parliament of France, they changed the song, and they said the song the way it is, they changed it should be a little bit different, and they changed the national anthem, 'cause the Rebbe actually took it away from klipah. So the Rebbe could do it. Then there are songs that did not the Rebbe did it. ืœืžืฉืœ, the Rebbe did also Shmil's nigun was sung by a goy. This goy, this murderer Shmil. But the Rebbe took it out. Then there were things that chasidim took out. Didn't have to be davka rebbes, but chasidim, chasidishe Yidden who davened and took it out, so that became that established, they have the koach to take it out from klipah. But if one guy is going to come and say, I'm going to take a goyishe song and I'll daven with it, I'll sing it, take a song from l'havdil l'havdil Elvis Presley and I'll sing it to to davening, we have no koach to do such things. All this will do, it'll add klipah to your davening, that's all it's going to do. And whether you're davening or not, if you sing a song or listen to this, which are all, like I said before, all that in that that way. So therefore, what makes a song Jewish? First of all, was made up by Yidden, made up by tzadikim, or even by Yidden b'klal, made up by Yidden with pesukim, those are that's Jewish. But if it's a song that's made by goyim, and it's a goyishe song, then unless tzadikim or groise Yidden took it away, then it becomes Yiddish. But otherwise, this remains goyish, and you can't sing it.

The Unsettled Question: Does Borrowing a Melody for Jewish Words Make It Kosher?

Now, the whole ืฉืืœื” here is, which is a question in between, that is we on our own can't do such a thing. The question is like this, that's what people come up, if Mordechai ben David, the tzaddik Mordechai ben David, took a song from, ikh veys, a goyishe song and put some Yidishe words to it, does that become Yiddish or not? We'll go further. What happens if not Mordechai ben David, the tzaddik R'' Avraham Friedman took that song and took and made it into a Yidishe song, does that make it Yiddish? So, the truth is, I have my view on it, but I know that not everyone agrees, and I takeh think that what makes it Jewish? Because he decided to sing it. Ela mai, there's a possibility, which I do agree, that since he sang it, maybe whether he had a right to do it or not, ื•ื•ื™ื™ืก ืื™ืš ื ื™ืฉื˜, ืœืคื•ืขืœ, it became put in Yidishe words, and it became that Yidden sing it by a simcha, it could be, could be, I'd rather not, but it could be that this is a a niggun that already was had this inyan of ืคื“ื™ื•ืŸ ืฉื‘ื•ื™ื™ื, let's say, took it away from the ื’ื•ื™ื. Maybe. I don't know. I don't know. Avade you can't do it ืœื›ืชื—ื™ืœื”. We're going to go we're going to all make a song, just make it and send, Yidden will start singing it. But if it happened already, so so if it Someone would ask my advice, \"Should we listen to these songs?\" I would say don't. If you listen to it, say I tell you no, there are ื™ืฉื™ื‘ื•ืช which are very makpid that they don't let you listen, just to Lubavitcher niggunim, and not and not others. Not Mordechai ben David, not Avraham Fried, not all this. Good? That's, I I be'etzem agree with them. But to say that I would tell people don't, I I I I see the sevara, the other sevara. Not that I agree with it, but I see the sevara, not enough to say you can't. When it came to the ื—ืชื•ื ื•ืช of my children, as long as it was in my control, I said, \"I don't want to sing any niggunim that's not a Lubavitcher niggun.\" And I went even further, not only not Mordechai ben David or, not even a niggun, a ืคื•ื™ืœื™ืฉืขืจ ื ื™ื’ื•ืŸ which is not a Lubavitcher niggun. See, but that's already extreme. That I think is don't have to. You could sing a niggun, a ื’ืขืจืขืจ ื ื™ื’ื•ืŸ, which by sing by ื’ืขืจืขืจ ื—ืกื™ื“ื™ื, I don't see that there should be a problem with it. It's a ื™ื™ื“ื™ืฉืขืจ ื ื™ื’ื•ืŸ, ื™ื™ื“ืŸ sing it. But you know, we're very patriotic to Lubavitch and we feel that Lubavitch is it, and that's it, and there's everything else is not as great as Lubavitch, which is a little bit chauvinistic, that's for sure, I tell you that. But all Yidden are like that. All Yidden are like that. We say, \"ืืชื” ื‘ื—ืจืชื ื• ืžื›ืœ ื”ืขืžื™ื.\" How could you say that? Yes. Vadai it's not the same, chas v'shalom. We're all Yidden and they're all the same, all the Yidden are the same. I'm saying with the shittah of Lubavitch and it's a nigun that was made by the Rebbe or by one of the Rebbeim or by ื’ืจื•ื™ืกืข ื—ืกื™ื“ื™ื in Lubavitch has much more inyan in it than made by like a ื’ืขืจืขืจ ื—ืกื™ื“. But on the other hand, like I say, a ื’ืขืจืขืจ ื—ืกื™ื“, a Belzer, a Satmar, I don't, that's that. But I tell you, the chasunos, I told them not to sing anything, as long as it was in my control, not to sing other nigunim.

Kosher Niggun, Treif Dancing: What Happens at Too Many Chassunos

Besides the fact that when you sing other nigunim and by a chasunah you dance, it depends what the dance is like. Sometimes, I can tell you, I go to chasunos nowadays, unfortunately, and I see the dancing of what the guys do, I have no other words to use, but it's sickening. It's pashut sickening. I can't imagine where they even learned this. Did anyone go to the disco to see what the what the dancing in the discotheques are? That's what it looks like. You sing a chasidisher nigun, you dance like a chasidisher Yid. And it's a ืคืœืื“ื™ืงืข ื–ืืš, I have to say this. It's a ืคืœืื“ื™ืงืข ื–ืืš. If you go to other circles, other chasidishe places, not talking about ืžืชื ื’ื“ื™ื, I don't know what goes on, but chasidishe places, you see the nigunim they sing, their nigunim, and you see the dancing that they do. You know what it is? It's a Yiddishe way of dancing. They dance a little different than we do. We dance with our hands like this, and they go in circles and then you go like this, whatever that's. But that's the Yiddishe way they danced 100 years ago, 200 years ago, it's a Yiddishe way, that's a Yiddishe place. Come to our chasunos, unfortunately, I wouldn't talk about that anyway, you see the dancing that goes on. Telling you, it's, it looks like a disco. Not that I know what a disco looks like, but I imagine! Maybe I'm wrong, takeh. Maybe this, a disco is different, this is not, but the the meshugas, it's not. And it's all connected to the music. I never heard that by singing a Lubavitcher nigun you could able to dance this meshugene dances. Why? Because it goes together. The meshugene dancing comes from a meshugene nigun. If the nigun is connected not to kedushah, then the dancing which is a result is not kedushah. I wasn't here last night, so I don't know what happened here, I'm not saying. I just hope it's a normal inyan, not not ืžืฉื•ื’ืขืชืŸ that go on nowadays, unfortunately. You have to dance, we've even dancing, how do you dance on, I don't know, maybe in some shuln they dance on Simchat Torah also meshugene dances. When you dance Simchat Torah, how do you dance? Take a Sefer Torah, you go around, hakafot, and you dance around, you could hold like this, you could do, you could be even being very, very happy, I don't want to use the word wild, but even if it looks wild, but it's all in a chasidishe way. Then you have this dancing which is not at all, has nothing to do with Yiddishkeit. It's only, and it all comes as a result of this. So sometimes, even if you take a nigun which is a ื’ื•ื™ื™ืฉืข ื ื™ื’ื•ืŸ and you changed it, because some Shmelzer that sang it like, and put words to it, the dancing is the same. Why? Because essentially, it's still a ื’ื•ื™ื™ืฉืข ื ื™ื’ื•ืŸ. Essentially, it's still a ื’ื•ื™ื™ืฉืข ื ื™ื’ื•ืŸ. And because he has long peyos, it doesn't make it holy. The peyos are longer than his beard. And now he even has a nigun to excuse why he cuts his beard. He has a nigun now, it doesn't say these words, but that's his new nigun. His new song is that, and this a famous vort. It's a vort it, because he does have a chasidishe background, so he has a, there's a famous vort that they once asked somebody, a guy who didn't have a beard, he said, \"Yid! ื•ื•ืื• ืื™ื– ื“ื™ื™ืŸ ื‘ืืจื“? Yid, where is your beard?\" You could have a Yid who's a ืขืจืœื™ื›ืขืจ ื™ืจื ืฉืžื™ื and doesn't have a beard. You could have a guy with a beard who's not a yerei Shamayim. So the guy answered, \"You're asking me, 'ืื™ื“, ื•ื•ืื• ืื™ื– ื“ื™ื™ืŸ ื‘ืืจื“?' I'm asking you, 'ื‘ืืจื“, ื•ื•ืื• ืื™ื– ื“ื™ื™ืŸ ืื™ื“?' Your beard, where is your Yid behind the beard?\" So he has a new song now, \"ืื™ื“ ื•ื•ืื• ืื™ื– ื“ื™ื™ืŸ... ื‘ืืจื“ ื•ื•ืื• ืื™ื– ื“ื™ื™ืŸ ืื™ื“\" or something. What's the purpose of his song? To excuse himself why he cut his beard, cuz it doesn't matter, you could not have a beard, you cut your beard, and as long as you're a Yid, a finer Yid. Which, to us, I have to tell you, to us, this nekudah of saying that you could be a finer Yid without beard is true for other people. For us, it's apikorsus. That's what it is. So, and this is all part of... So, it doesn't make it to... On the other hand, like I said, if something that was accepted by Yidden, and Yidden sing it, I can't I can't say much. Nu, it became holy now, it's a gantzer... And and it's strange. Why is it that we in Lubavitch have to be like that? We Lubavitch are supposed to be the best. Other Chassidim will not dare take other nigunim that made by who knows, by ืกืชื of these singers. Why is it that by us it has to be that way?

Why Shlomo Carlebach Was Rejected in Lubavitch

Take Karlebach songs. In Lubavitch, he was ืืคื’ืขืคืจืขื’ื˜. You know what ืืคื’ืขืคืจืขื’ื˜ means? Mufrach! The Rebbe, I never heard a case where the Rebbe would not want to give some lekech when he came for lekech. Never! Except him. He passed by the Rebbe by lekech, and the Rebbe wouldn't give him. One guy told me, a different case, that he was standing in line for lekech, and R'' Shlomo Karlebach was there, comes over to him, not that he knew him, he just happened to go over to him, he just picked a guy, and he says to him, \"You're going to lekech, ask the Rebbe for a piece of lekech for me.\" What usually happened when someone asks lekech for somebody else? The Rebbe gave. So the first story, I don't know, I heard it. This, the guy himself told me. The guy used to live here. So when So he said, \"Fine, what I care? He asked me for a favor.\" He walks by by lekech, and he asks the Rebbe for a piece of lekech for Says, \"ืฉืœืžื” ืงืจืœื™ื‘ืš ื”ืื˜ ืžื™ืจ ื’ืขื‘ืขื˜ืŸ I should ask for lekech.\" So the Rebbe said to him, \"ืขืจ ืงืขืŸ ืืœื™ื™ืŸ ืงื•ืžืขืŸ.\" Wouldn't give. \"Let him come himself.\" And he wouldn't dare come himself, cuz he knew what the Rebbe thought of him. And this just shows what happened with him, and a lot has to do with his music. He was a ื‘ืงื™ ื‘ืฉ''ืก. He was as a bochur earlier year, when he was a bochur, he was a bochur till he was 50 years old, I don't know how old he was, 40. But when he was a young bochur, he learned in Lakewood, became a Lubavitcher, came to Lubavitch. He was a ื‘ืงื™ ื‘ืฉ''ืก, a big talmid chacham. And he got involved in these narishkeitn, and the Rebbe told him to stop. And he thought it'd be ืžืงืจื‘ ืื™ื“ืŸ, and the Rebbe said, \"That's not the derech to go.\" And he didn't listen! And the Rebbe was very upset with him. ืขื“ ื›ื“ื™ ื›ืš the Rebbe didn't give him lekech. So by the Rebbe was ืืคื’ืขืคืจืขื’ื˜. So a mol a Lubavitcher house to listen to Carlebach songs, that's basically a ืžืจื™ื“ื” ื‘ืžืœื›ื•ืช. Somebody the Rebbe What happened now, I don't know. I don't know if people don't even know, maybe now it's But it's all This is the nekudah. The nekudah is something that was made by tzadikim, made by Yidden, by chasidim for the sake of, that's okay, not only it's okay, certain times, farkert, you daven, they daven, chasidim daven with a niggun. Music is the pen of the heart, and if it's not that, it's very dangerous. Because it could affect your heart in a negative way. Yeah? Which Jewish guy? No, I don't mean his name. I mean what kind? Chasidisher Yid, a this? A lot of niggunim in Lubavitch were made by chasidishe Yidden, not even great chasidim. But they were made, even nowadays, the guys nowadays make a niggun sometimes. But if it's stam because he's a Yid? But what's the purpose of his making the song? That's the she'eilah. That's what has to be investigated. If his purpose is because he wants to feel wants to make another song for Shabbos, they have zemirot on Shabbos, makes another song, ื ื™ืฉื˜ ื’ืขืคืขืจืœืขืš. Like I said, I would sing Lubavitcher niggun, I wouldn't sing that. But that's not, it's something else. But if it's a ืคืจื™ื™ืขืจ guy, because he's a Yid, ื•ื•ื“ืื™ he has a neshamah, is a big thing. A Yid is a Yid. But if he makes it up for the same reason as the goyim do, what does that help? Because he's a Because a Yid, that's what this song is? So you can't... What did What did Shlomo Carlebach do? What did he do? You see, it started with the You see the question I had before? That was part of the answers. See, why can't we talk to girls? That's his problem. That was his problem. He started doing things and he got involved in these ืขื ื™ื ื™ื in a way which is not the way ืขืœ ืคื™ ืชื•ืจื” you have to do it, and that made him go all the way down. That's how it started. You know what his his his name of his shul is, used to be? ื‘ื™ืช ื”ื›ื ืกืช... What was it? Forgot already. I think ืื”ื‘ื”, ืื”ื‘ื” ื•ืชืคื™ืœื”. So they said there is more ahavah there than tefilah. And not ืื”ื‘ืช ื”ืฉื. That's the emet. He got involved in these ืขื ื™ื ื™ื, and but it was against, and the Rebbe told him to stop. And this this and that's why he became and he became pasul. By all the frume yidden, he became pasul. In other words, he was not accepted by frume yidden, so memeila his things don't apply. Not to say someone would listen to what I think what they say, \"Well, you can't you're not allowed to.\" That's that falls into that grey area. But there are plenty of things which we know clearly you're not allowed to, and you shouldn't. You shouldn't. Have to know what we're dealing with. Yeah, last question. I heard that Rav Moshe said that about Shlomo Carlebach that because he just like sinned in one area, he wasn't an apikores, and his music is not considered apikorses music. Maybe, I don't know. Could be that Rav Moshe said it. Someone's not an he wasn't an apikores, he didn't deny the Torah, he just wasn't Wasn't careful in a certain area. I don't know, could be, could be that Rav Moshe said it. Rav Moshe had his sayings. I would have I would expect him to say farkert, because he was a very big kanai in these things. By him, for example, against Conservative, Rav Moshe was full force, more than anybody else. Against it, that they're nothing, and for a Conservative ื—ืชื•ื ื” it doesn't even need a get, he was mamash In all these things, it was very, very strong. Those years someone asked him, \"Are you allowed to put take a a Jewish Press into into the toilet because it has words of Torah in it?\" And that the Jewish Press was completely different. I don't know how it's now. Now it's not so popular because there are so many other publications, Yiddish and English, but then it was the only one, but it was very So when they asked Rav Moshe if you're allowed to take it into the toilet, he says, \"By me it's a she'eilah if you're allowed to take it out.\" Okay.

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