Tuesday, February 14, 2006

Rolling Stone writes up Matisyahu!

Rolling Stone Magazine has done a write up on hasidic reaggae superstar: Matiyahu! This of course should come as no surprise if you just read the previous post. The article discusses some of the obvious issues he deals with being an orthodox Jew:

It's an occupational hazard for the twenty-six-year-old reggae up-and-comer, whose single "King Without a Crown" is an MTV hit -- and who also happens to be a Hasidic Jew. In accordance with Jewish law, the performer -- who began practicing Orthodox Judaism when he was twenty -- has had to stop stage-diving at shows so as to avoid the risk of physical contact with women who aren't in his family. By the Talmud's decree, he can't even shake hands with his female fans.

I think the part of the article that is certainly a big kiddush hashem is:

So what do his own people think? "One of the tenets of Hasidism is lowering oneself in order to raise oneself," says Rabbi Shlomo Einhorn of New York's West Side Institutional Synagogue. "If someone is accomplished artistically and can glorify God, it serves everybody."

Excellent!


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3 comments:

Zoe Strickman said...

HAH! That's great! I would have never seen the comment about stage diving and touching women coming from even a million miles away! Brilliant comment!

Shtender said...

The Rolling Stones are not Rolling Stone magazine.

AS said...

typo fixed