Jewish Music

I've been thinking a lot about Jewish music lately, as I've been to a number of Jewish concerts. The idea of a Jewish band is nothing new, that's for sure, but it's really interesting to see what Jewish musicians are doing now.

First, we've got Rick Recht, who came to perform for the Religious School where I teach. In case you don't know, Rick Recht is kind of like Christian rock, but for Jews. He uses some Hebrew, but also a lot of English. There's a lot of clapping, and audience participation, and his music sounds like any lite-rock band. I have to say, despite the obvious qualms I have (er... not the biggest fan of his music, plus, there's something sort of weird and crowd controlling about his music), he does some really interesting things. One of his biggest projects is a multi-faith music group that performs at a mega-church in the south. It's much needed, and really a cool way to get different people together.

I also got to see Hadag Nachash this week. I have to say, I love Hadag Nachash. They were performing at a big Israel party, and because this party was on a college campus, there were anti-Israel protesters. When Hadag Nachash came out on stage, they started their show by greeting the Palestinians, saying that they are all about peace in the middle east. Their first song was called "shalom salaam peace," and included an Arabic rap about peace in Jerusalem. It was really wonderful and amazing.

On Friday night, Golem played a show.
I had never seen Golem before, and only sort of knew their music. Basically, Golem is a Yiddish rock band. They are amazing. One of the reasons I think Golem is so wonderful is because of the way they work with tradition. They took some classic Yiddish songs and really made them their own, with their own sound and style. It's the way Judaism has to move forward-- we ought not forget about our history and traditions, but we have to make all of it our own, and make it for now.

Basically, I think that it is through such avenues as Jewish music and Jewish bands that this contemporary Jewish culture is evolving. These bands create a sort of cultural pride, and take pride in themselves. Their projects propel us further along.

It's the end of the world as I know it

That's right, friends. I just got news that the JCSC Fellowship is being discontinued. I am the last Fellow to work at my Hillel. Apparently, somebody realized that there's an even cheaper way to get the job done. Why bother paying salaries when you can get students to do it for free?

I have to say, I feel a bit relieved. I don't have to try to pretend anymore that I've enjoyed this fellowship. I don't have to lie through interviews with candidates, and tell them all they want to know about Hillel. I'm glad that no poor soul will have to experience this job here again. I think that, although it's not like this everywhere, my Hillel has abused the fellowship. My supervisor said it himself, he treats Fellows more like full time program staff who are just less well paid. Fellows are expected to shlep, plan programs, and do the general bidding of the Hillel at large, all while working wayyy over 40 hours a week, receiving a $22,000 a year living stipend (NOT INCLUDING TAXES), and being treated not like real professionals.

[caveat: Don't get me wrong, this has been a very valuable experience. I have sooo much more of a clue as to what I want to do with myself. I now know that the Jewish communal world has some major issues to be worked out, and that I can be a part of that solution. That I can find positions higher up and make structural and organizational changes. It's really a shame that I had to find this out through such poor mistreatment. And I have to say, I really think that I've been mistreated here]

I feel like laughing, just to spite my supervisor. This is what you get!

That being said, there are some HUGE problems that arise out of this change. The first is that 70 campuses and people are shit out of luck. Hillel had been accepting applications for the position for next year, and even encouraging us to recruit for more applicants (um, and outright lying to us at Professional Staff Conference... but that's something else altogether). All those people who were counting on the job for next year now have nothing. And all those Hillels who had fellows now have to totally rearrange their budgets to figure out if they can afford to hire somebody else. It's a messy situation.

and that's a wrap for today's rant, boys and girls.