Finally a new post!

OK, so I have surpassed what I expected to be neglect of this blog due to my dissertation and final university exams to a complete abandonment but now I am a ‘graduand’ I will try and make a little more effort! Despite my busier schedule that is not to say I haven’t had any time for a bit of Jewish culture in the capital city.

Since Pesach I have:

Trotted along to a very informal Klezmer gig at a Kurdish restaurant in Islington featuring Brooklyn klezmer     duo Deborah Strauss and Jeff Warschauer  -  My exams were still ongoing at this point so I was not fully attentive  but despite my tiredness, the smallness of the venue and the (IMO) overly informal nature of the concert, the songs performed by Strauss and Warschauer really stood out. Strauss in particular seemed to have a real talent for Klezmer music and performance a little wasted on such a ‘stage’.

- Attended the BICOM hosted conference ‘We Believe In Israel’ – although obviously targeted to an audience who was already strongly sympathetic to Israel, it discussed a surprisingly broad selection of issues, even if they were sticky and difficult topics to deal with. It will be certainly interesting to see if and how it develops over the years into potentially into a Zionism equivalent of what Limmud is for Judaism,

- Download two albums of contemporary Jewish music, namely: Chana Rothman’s We Can Rise and 8^th day’s Chasing Prophecy. I hope to do a blog piece or two about them later.

- Watched this interesting (but flawed) BBC documentary, A Hasidic Guide to Love, Marriage and Finding a Bride,

- Overdosed on the utterly addictive Israeli TV Drama ‘Srugim’ (click for the trailer) about the National Religious (Modern Orthodox Israeli) dating scene in the Katamon neighbourhood of Jerusalem (again this one necessitates an entire post later on),

- Took an introductory course on ‘Innate Health’ at the Tikun Centre on Finchley Road – it was rather    inspiring and I am definitely interested in seeing more of their approach in person!

Oh and as today was Yom Yerushalayim, here’s a version of Naomi Shemer’s Yerushalayim Shel Zahav sung by the Mizrahi singer, Zehava Ben. Enjoy.

 

Tags: Education, Events, Hasidism, Israel, Jerusalem, Klezmer, Music, Television

Weekly Parsha (Torah Portion) – Kedoshim (Leviticus 19:1-20:27)

This week’s parsha is Kedoshim. After some of the challenging passages in Acharei Mot, this parsha is so full of what seem logical and just mitzvoth that these two parshot seem to embody well the contradiction that is the book of Vayikra (Leviticus). The parsha begins with 19:1 and ends with the last verse 20:27 of chapter 20.

The name of the parsha “Kedoshim” – means holy and comes from G-d’s message to the people of Israel as G-d explains to Moses:

19:2 speak to the entire Israelite community and say to them: You must be holy, since I am G-d your Lord [and] I am holy.

What does “being holy” actually mean? This was a question for even the greatest of rabbinical commentators. The word in question, “kadosh”, literally means “separate”  Rashi claimed

19:4 is the commandment to respect your mother and father. The “respect” in question here is more literally translated as “fear” but the Hebrew word for fear (Yirah) has a connotation closer to what we might translate to English as “awe”. Rashi noted that in this pasuk (verse) the father is listed before the mother. Yet if you are familiar with your 10 commandments (read up to 20:14 here if you’re not), you may remember that G-d commanded us to honour our fathers and mothers – yet in Kedoshim, this parallel commandment sees the mother take apparent precedence over the father. Rashi argued that it was a more natural instinct to be fearful of our fathers and honour our mothers, so the importance of fearing our mothers and honouring our fathers as well should be emphasised.

The chapter follows by forbidding idolatory and that sacrifices must be made by one’s own free will. So familiar territory here more or less. Some more specifications about the sacrifice ritual follow.

19:9-10 are particularly important Mitzvot even though they are, in their literal sense, not regularly followed today. They deal with leaving the corners of your field and fallen stalks, grapes and the like and not collecting them in with the harvest. This is because these should be the poor and the stranger. This is a great example of when the spirit of the Mitzvot extend beyond their specific nature to teach us a valuable moral lesson. We should not think only of our own gain and what may make no or little difference to us, we should give away to those who need it.

19:11 prohibits stealing and lying. Again, good ideas. 19:12 forbids blasphemy and swearly falsely by invoking the Holy Name for personal gain. All too many “religious” people do this by using religion as an excuse, claiming G-d as a mandate for following whatever constitutes their own will and is of their own benefit.

Some people tend to think as “negative commandments” (i.e. laws which prohibit you from doing one thing or another) as intrinsically negative. This does not have to be the case. Many of the examples from this parsha – not stealing, not lying, not as 19:13 rules, ‘withholding that which is due to your neighbour’ nor letting a worker’s wages ‘remain with you overnight until morning’. These are all laws which stand for and support justice. That is what is covered in the next two verses.

19:14 Do not curse [even] the deaf. Do not place a stumbling block before the [morally] blind. You must fear your G-d. I am G-d. 19:15 Do not pervert justice. Do not give special consideration to the poor nor show respect to the great. Judge your people fairly.

Setting up a justice system is one of the seven Noahide laws that applies to all nations, not just Israel, and the only “positive commandment” amongst them. That shows how important justice is in a Jewish understanding of the world.

I’m just going to post the next few verses again into as I find them equally meaningful.

19:16 Do not go around as a gossiper among your people. Do not stand still when your neighbor’s life is in danger. I am G-d. 19:17 Do not hate your brother in your heart. You must admonish your neighbor, and not bear sin because of him. 19:18 Do not take revenge nor bear a grudge against the children of your people. You must love your neighbor as [you love] yourself. I am G-d.

The first commandment deals with Lashon Hara – (evil speech), the laws around which are specific and detailed in the rabbinic tradition. Our words are sometimes even more powerful then our actions and so we must speak with due care. Our inaction can have an equally important impact, and recognising the importance of another’s life is also stressed here. The following ‘Ani (I am) YHWH’ underlines anything proceeding or following it as a G-d given law and not for us to ignore. As such the following verse is a first glance a little confusing. We are commanded not to hate our brother but to admonish our neighbour? Fundamentally means we cannot excuse ourselves and blame others for our mistakes or even theirs. We all carry responsibility for one another. Revenge and bearing grudges are admonished in the “G-d of the Old Testament” – yet this call for justice, responsibility and love shared amongst humankind does not resemble portrayals often seen in Western understanding of biblical laws.

The ‘Golden rule’ often used to describe an universal human morality, but according to one of the greatest of all rabbis, Hillel, it is the essence of Torah. A traditional story sees a man come to visit Hillel’s rival Shammai, who was notably sterner on the minutiae of Halacha. The man says he will convert to Judaism but only if he can be taught the Torah (Oral and Written) whilst standing on one leg. Shammai sends the man away in disgust at his preposterous proposal. He then visits Hillel and proposes the exact same thing. Hillel responds:

‘That which is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow. That is the whole Torah; the rest is the explanation; go and learn’.

This comes directly from Leviticus 19:18. Although Jesus repeated this line, it is often falsely attributed to him as an original statement. In fact, the Rabbi was invoking this 18^th verse of the parsha Kedoshim.

Tags: Culture, Halacha, Holidays, Jewish, Judaism, Torah

Chametz and Freedom

No Chametz here! Matzah - "The Bread of Affliction"

Freedom is a recurring theme of Jewish festivals, but Pesach (Passover) is perhaps the holiday most associated with this ideal, celebrating as it does, the deliverance of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt.

In a year when we see the setting of the Passover story, Egypt, and the Egyptian people, stand-up for their own human rights and take responsibility for their own freedom from, if not bondage and slavery, but oppression and dictatorship, let both the most topical story of their efforts and the traditional story of the Passover Haggadah inspire us to free ourselves from our own chains.

Now, it is easy to think that you are exempt and are not enslaved even metaphorically. We shouldn’t kid ourselves. There is always something in life we cannot live without. This can, of course, be a perfectly healthy and normal emotion. But you should question it, establish what you cannot live without and why. The Seder is a night of questioning what and why, but this should be a regular and constant process.

I know of something all too many of us could do with freeing ourselves from, myself included. This is a certain self-centeredness, a going beyond the normal healthy boundaries of selfishness that we all need to function to a point of blind ignorance of what is going on around me, and the impact of my own words and actions on others at best, and a state of simply not making the effort to care at worst. This has a special association with Pesach, which is observed each year when we eat Matzah.

That is because, the chametz – yeast  (or more specifically, leavened food) – that is forbidden for consumption for the duration of the Passover festival, serves more than just the object of an arbitrary dietary law. Chametz is symbolic of ego and of excessive pride. Now Judaism is not a religion that encourages its adherents to be constantly ashamed nor one with a dogma that allows for no counter arguments or interpretations. Despite this, excessive ego and pride can be a stumbling block to success, to recognising the true situation and confronting it head on. Humility is what is admirable, not arrogance nor, on the other end of the spectrum, self-doubt.

Arrogance is the enemy of a righteous Jew (or Gentile for that matter), not self-esteem, which, like humility, is also to be strived for.

In fact, Moshe Rabbeinu, celebrated as the most illustrious of all prophets, is singled out as special on account of his humility. It is his humility for which he is remembered.

How many contemporary figures (celebrities, politicians, athletes, musicians etc.) do we admire primarily because they are humble? In a dog-eat-dog world, the humble are often more than underappreciated. This year, I’m aspiring to achieve the freedom that comes with a genuine, sincere humility.

Next year in Jerusalem!

Tags: Culture, Holidays, Jewish, Judaism, Religious

Google Exodus

I have no connection with Aish Hatorah but I love their Pesach video this year, so I thought I’d post it. Its a real Passover story for the 21st century. I hope you enjoy it.

Happy Passover – חג פסח שמח – Chag Pesach Sameach!

Tags: Culture, Holidays, Jewish, Judaism, Passover, Pesach, Religious

The ‘Y-Word’: Kick-It Out Campaign

Although there remain a number of problems of racial prejudice or even out-an-out racism within football (count the number of Black managers within the football league, or Asian players for that matter), it is widely believed that huge progress has been made on tackling racial abuse coming from the stands towards players on pitch, and as most teams have multi-ethnic, international squads, such abuse has become unacceptable and if and when it arises, it is dealt with appropriately as supporters are ejected, fined and banned from stadia. The campaign ‘Kick-it Out’ has been credited with some of these successes.

Nonetheless, certain abusive language is still widespread. Now, I’ve been to matches and I know that mockery is part and parcel of being part of the crowd – whether its Manchester United fans joking about Scousers, or Liverpool fans about Mancs, for example – but some language goes over the line and is downright inappropriate.

The comedian David Baddiel and his brother Ivor have helped launch the latest campaign by ‘Kick-it Out’. Its called ‘the Y-word’ and is dealing with anti-Semitic abuse which is unfortunately not uncommon or unheard in the English game.

The majority of this abuse comes at Tottenham Hotspur matches. Spurs are a club that have a long association with the Jewish community, as a large portion of the Jewish community were and are Tottenham supporters (followed by their rivals Arsenal in support) and there have been Jewish owners and staff at the club in the past. The current chairman is Daniel Levy.

Notably though, Spurs have no Jewish players. (There are a handful of Israeli players in the Premier League – Benayoun plays at Chelsea, Tamir Cohen at Bolton, Tal Ben Haim for Portsmouth in the Championship, as well as Dekel Keinan for Cardiff City). Non-Israeli Jewish players in the Football League are limited to the South African Dean Furman who plays for Oldham Athletic in League Two and Joe Jacobson, from Wales, who is the only British Jew playing professional football in England (currently in League Two for Accrington Stanley).

Because of the association between Spurs and the Jewish community, ‘the Y-word’ was regularly used abusively by supporters of other teams towards this section of Tottenham supporters. In response, some Tottenham fans, some Jewish and some non-Jewish ‘reclaimed’ the word, referring to themselves as, ‘Yids’, ‘Yiddos’ and the ‘Yid Army’ supposedly with pride. This has complicated matters by far, as it confuses what constitutes abusive language and has allowed others to ‘get away with it’. Whether this ‘reclaiming’ is appropriate or not, especially when the majority of Spurs supporters are non-Jews, is a matter of debate. However, some of the abuse hurled at Spurs by opposition supporters is more than just inappropriate but abusive, racist and illegal (Jews – alongside Sikhs – are covered as an ethnic group in Race Relations laws, and such language is deemed to be ‘inciting racial hatred).

Here’s the video. I hope it achieves its goal of opening a debate about Spurs fans ‘reclaiming of the word’ and of making this issue more known in general. The video isn’t perfect (although I agree with the sentiment and its ideals) and I think it is much more effective in expressing its message than other equally admirable campaigns by Kick-it Out (check out their videos on ‘kicking-out’ homophobia and sexism from football and see what you think).

Tags: Culture, Football, Jewish, London, Sport

Weekly Parsha (Torah Portion) – Acharei Mot (Leviticus 16:1-18:30)

My first commentary on the weekly parsha and it’s a tough one to begin with.

This week’s parsha is Acharei Mot and constitutes chapters 16-18 of the book of Vayera (Leviticus). It has some quite challenging and difficult content for a contemporary reader but is a particularly important portion for a number of reasons, not only its position in the Hebrew Calendar.

A bilingual version of the portion is available here.

A summary of the parsha:

Chapter 16 opens with Aaron’s response to the death of his two sons, Nadav and Avihu, by offering a sacrifice to the Lord, two male goats and a bull. It explains the nature of the ritual and the corresponding account of the establishment of the fast day of Yom Kippur. Chapter 17 is concerned with the legality and illegality of animal sacrifice and the importance of the blood as the life-source of an animal. Chapter 18 is constituted by a list of mostly sexual practises which are forbidden according to Halacha.

My analysis

Obviously in a post-temple society where prayer has long-replaced animal sacrifice such topics can be difficult to relate to. Western, industrialized society may remain for the large part a society of meat eaters and leather wearers and the like but we have become uncomfortable with the image of animal slaughter which seems, to many eyes, unnecessarily brutal. What must be remembered is the context. Societies in the Ancient Near East (Egypt, Canaan, Israel) were undoubtedly used to and desensitized to animal slaughter. It was part of the normal, regular process of hunting and eating and was a necessary part of life. Where the Bible and the ancient Israelites differ from their surrounding nations is actually spelt out in the laws in the Torah, many of which actually appear in these chapters of Leviticus. The legacy of some of the laws of animal sacrifice are that:

- Child sacrifice is thankfully no longer practised, this is in the large part because animal sacrifice replaced this.

- It was considered a more ‘moral’ form of slaughter in which the animal was killed as quickly as possible (with one blow, and with the sharpest knife available), the blood was drained completely as a symbol of life, reminding the Jews a life had indeed been sacrificed. This practise is found not only in shechita today and Islamic ritual slaughter but the idea of making animal slaughter (for food) as quick and ‘painless’ as possible has these biblical laws as their basis.

- The intensely ritualized nature of the sacrifice mirrors our prayers today, which have replaced the role of animal sacrifice.

- The origins of Yom Kippur are found in chapter 16 verses 29-34.

16:31 It is a Sabbath of Sabbaths to you, and [a day upon which] you must fast. This is a law for all time.

Chapter 16 verses 8 and 9 explain the origin of the name Yom Kippur in refering to the lot (Pur) Aharon must place over each goat, one labelled for G-d the other to Azazel. Azazel has a number of possible meanings. Most probably it refers to some geographical space, namely a mountain, cliff or the forces of nature in general. It possibly refers to the forces of evil or is meant to repent specifically for sexual crimes, a large list of which are outlawed in Acharei Mot. As this goat is not to be sacrificed but rather to remain alive and instead ‘sent away to Azazel’. This suggests it is some specific location.

The sending of one of the goats ‘to Azazel’ is intended to symbolize the carrying away of the sins of the Israelites – and this is debatably the origin of the term ‘scapegoat’, its biblical roots quite poignant as this has often been a role attributed to the Jewish people throughout history.

Chapter 17 opens by condemning animal sacrifices not offered to G-d in the Communion tent emphasising the importance of draining the blood as ‘the life force of the flesh is in the blood’.

18:3 Do not follow the ways of Egypt where you once lived, nor of Canaan, where I will be bringing you. Do not follow [any] of their customs.

Chapter 18’s laws of sexual morality prohibit the following:

- Incest with one’s father or mother, father’s wife (stepmother), sister or half-sister, legitimate or illegitimate, granddaughter, aunt, daughter-in-law and sister-in-law.

These forms are all considered incestuous in modern society and immoral (and for the most part, barring the in-laws, also illegal in secular, modern law). None of this is questionable morality today, but in the time of the ancient Israelites, this was not established but rather common practise. The Egyptians (Pharoahs regularly married their sisters) and Canaanites followed such sexual practises as the Bible emphasises here.

Chapter 18 verse 17 also prohibits marrying both a woman and her daughter or granddaughter. (Fair enough). This would obviously not be legal in modern society as we are long past polygamy but would be legal if the marriages were not concurrent. Surely however this would be hugely frowned upon, but most likely such a story has appeared on Jeremy Kyle or in the ‘real-life stories’ in the glossy magazines or the tabloids on at least one occasion.

Marrying one woman and then ‘her sister to rival her’ is also forbidden if the first wife is still alive. (Again, fair enough)

18:19 refers to the laws of family purity:

18:19 Do not come close to a woman who is ritually unclean because of her menstruation, since this is a sexual offense.

Many women have taken offense to this law, but it must be remembered that it is not physical ‘uncleanliness’ that is being referred to, but rather ‘ritual uncleanliess’. This means strictly that she has not immersed herself in the mikveh. Rules of ritual purity also exist for men in both ancient Israelite and contemporary Jewish practise, it is not something that is incumbent merely upon women. Clearly however, the practise and rules are not exactly the same for both men and women.

18:20 prohibits lying with ‘your neighbour’s wife’. This is one of the better known mitzvoth (commandments) as it appears as part of the ‘Ten Commandments’. It refers to adultery. This may no longer be a crime in Western society (thankfully) but is probably still considered morally wrong by most well-minded people.

18:21 prohibits the initiation of children to Molekh, an Ammonite G-d. This may have included child sacrifice and the ritual would certainly have put children in mortal danger as it was a ‘trial by fire’. (again, a particularly agreeable law I would imagine).

Slightly more contentious than child sacrifice in contemporary society is the following, the Hebrew bible’s only explicit reference to homosexuality (it is repeated – not quite word for word however – less than two chapters later):

18:22 Do not lie with a male as you would with a woman, since this is a disgusting perversion.

Now, obviously many homosexuals are disgusted by this law, see it as a personal attack and even go as far as rejecting religion on the basis of this verse. (The Christian Bible is more explicit in the New Testament about the supposed ‘evils’ of homosexual practise but nonetheless it is this verse or 20:13 that is generally referred to.) Obviously people may have a number of other reasons for rejecting the bible or religion in general and this is their own personal choice, opinion and decisions.

As a ‘believer’ (that sounds corny but I’ll go with it), but one who has never had any problem with homosexuality (I’m from Manchester, a.k.a. Gaychester, it would be difficult to be intolerant in this matter!), I attempt to look at this law in its context. Obviously I will never be able to fully understand the society without a time machine, but all these laws on incest, child sacrifice and bestiality (next one up!) come in the context of G-d’s prohibition of acting like Egypt and Canaan. It is therefore reasonable to assume that such practises were prevalent in Egyptian and Canaanite society. It is unlikely nonetheless that homosexuality was practised as we would find it in the modern Western world today, as a form of mutually consensual love and/or attraction between two adults. Hetereosexuality certainly was not, and the place of women in the ancient Near East was subordinate to the men.

It is likely that in Egyptian, Canaanite (and Israelite) society, such ‘homosexual’ practises were also potentially hierarchical, where one male was considered subordinate to another.

It is accepted amongst historians (feel free to correct me if I am wrong, as I am not a historian myself!) that pedastry was practised in many ancient societies such as Greece. The ritual practises of many ancient societies were also often sexual in nature, and in one which placed solely men in a priestly role (such as the Israelite nation) perhaps this prohibition was intended for such use. Thus the context of this law is in many ways ambigious.

Either way, this one line of Torah, even with all the most exploratory commentary is going to remain somewhat mysterious. There is notably no mention of lesbianism (unlike the New Testament), nor any condemnation of a homosexual orientation in of itself. Sexual orientation was likely understood in ancient times very differently from how it is today and whatever one’s opinion on this law, what is indeed a perversion is when self-proclaimed pious people use it as an excuse to spread hatred, and endorse or even carry out acts of violence against individuals who happen to have a different sexual orientation.

Tags: Bible, Holidays, Parasha, Parsha, Pesach, Religious, Torah, Yom Kippur

Room and a Half Screening @ the Jewish Museum

I have been dying to see the film ‘Room and a Half: a life of Joseph Brodsky’ for over a year now. I missed it at the Jewish Film Festival Berlin in April last year whilst I was living in the German capital, and I missed it again at the UK Jewish Film Festival here in London last November. Luckily for me, the Jewish Museum for London hosted a screening last night of the film.

The Russian film, its original title a mouthful ‘Poltory Komnaty ili sentimentalnoe puteshestvie na rodinu’ (Полторы комнаты или сентиментальное путешествие на Родину) – ‘a Room and a Half or a Sentimental Journey Home’ was released in 2008 and is a fictionalisation of the life of the Nobel-Prize winning Russian-American poet Joseph Brodsky. Brodsky was exiled from the Soviet Union in 1972 for his ‘pornographic and anti-Soviet’ poetry; the situation no doubt exuberated by the fact he was a Jew. Set in the opening scenes during his childhood in post-war Leningrad, his hometown, the film continues to chronicle moments from his adolescence and youth as he becomes a successful poet and eventually deals with his trial, 18-month exile and forced labour served on a farm in rural Arkhangelsk and eventual exile in the United States, where he settled in New York. The film closes with Brodsky’s dream of reuniting with his much-adored parents in his hometown, the ‘sentimental journey home’ of the original title. An ode both to Russia but more simply to family and there is a dedication ‘to our parents’ that appears as the credits roll.

The film was introduced by the poet Elaine Feinstein, who gave her short but sweet analysis of the film in lieu of her friendship with Brodsky himself.

My instant impression of ‘Room and a Half’ was that it is a beautifully shot movie. Attention is given often to the smallest details as the camera sweeps across the screen with some purpose. One memorable scene sees a selection of musical instruments flying through St. Petersburg, symbolizing the persecution of Soviet Jewry, the Refusenik movement and an ever-increasing exodus of Jews from the Soviet Union. Music is skilfully deployed at precisely appropriate moment and Brodsky’s own poetry is recited with regularity but this resource is not abused.

Combing a use of live action and animation, voiceover and dialogue, dream sequences and scenes resembling reality, the film is extremely ambitious, but in my opinion at least, succeeds in providing a balance that doesn’t leave the viewer confused but rather enchanted by the director Khrzhanovsky’s weaving together of these many and diverse cinematic techniques. ‘Room and a Half’ serves as a terrific endorsement of cinema beyond the confines of ‘mere entertainment’ but as an intelligent art form.

About half an hour in, I finally realized that the actress playing I had seen in Служебный роман (Sluzhebnyy Roman – Office Romance) – a Soviet film from the 1970′s well worth watching, although completely absent of Jewish content. It’s up on youtube with English subtitles and the first part is available here.

References to Brodsky’s Jewishness are relatively sporadic throughout the course of the film, but almost always a source of humour – such as jokes about Jewish eating habits (only Matzah apparently).

The first half of the film, particularly scenes dealing with the young Brodsky’s burgeoning sexual curiosity, his choice amongst classics of Russian literature for bedtime reading and his first girlfriends. Even Stalin’s death provides a joke or two.

Around twenty minutes towards the end of the film, we suddenly hit a technical glitch as the system in the building suddenly switched itself and the film cut off. Whilst this was a nuisance of sorts, the staff instantly recognised the problem, apologized profusely and proceeded to immediately and quickly resolve the problem so we could resume the film where we left off. It was by all means forgivable as technology is never error-proof and as for their response I don’t know what else is to be expected in such a situation.

As the film resumed, in its closing minutes it continued on its path of a darker tone set at the end of the film as the protagonists face death. The real tragedy of the utterly brutal callousness of the Soviet regime which exiled Brodsky and didn’t allow him to return to reunite with his parents but refused to grant his parents exit visas to join him in the States is illustrated well but adds a poignant but heart-rending note to the end of a charming movie. Brodsky received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1987, the year his poetry was first published legally since his exile. He lived until 1996 but never returned to Russia.

Now the other film I missed both times was Romeo and Juliet in Yiddish – it would be great if there was an upcoming screening of that one in London too!

Below is the trailer for ‘Room and a Half’. The first accompanying track (a familiar one indeed!) seems particularly well-timed just days before Pesach.

Tags: Cinema, Culture, Events, Film, Jewish, Poetry, Russia

Ludwig Blum exhibition at Ben Uri Gallery

Self-Potrait, 1920s

So today I visited the Ben Uri Gallery: The London Jewish Museum of Art in St. Johns Wood, which is currently displaying an exhibition called The Land of Light and Promise: 50 Years Painting Jerusalem and Beyond,  Ludwig Blum (1891-1974).  The exhibition features a selection of paintings by the Czech-Israeli artist of Mandate Palestine and the early years of the State of Israel. A topographical artist in a largely naturalistic style, many of his paintings were scenes of the city where he spent most of his life, Jerusalem. The collection is by no means limited to Jerusalem landscapes, as was my impression before visiting, but also includes paintings of Tel Aviv, Haifa Bay, the Judean desert, the first Kibbutzim and the efforts of the Pioneers.

Jerusalem in Snow, 1927

Blum was born in Brno, Moravia and made aliyah in 1923, settling in Jerusalem. He rejected the artistic movements of the early 20^th century modern art, both those that were developing in Europe at the time and the burgeoning pre-state art scene and the establishment of a distinctly ‘Israeli art’.

With thick brushstrokes and an emphasis on the light illuminating his scenes and landscapes, many of his works appear impressionist in style but Blum liked to consider himself and his work as more influenced by the [earlier] European tradition.

There are naturally several scenes of the Old City featuring the Temple Mount, Dome of the Rock and Western Wall. Yet holy sites of the three major abrahamic religions are shown. Blum had many Christian clients and as a result painted a number of Christian holy sites, from the Church of Sepulchre, the Sea of Galilee (Kinneret), Gethsemane and beyond and a mosque in Tiberias is also depicted.

Camels in the Judean desert 1943

There are even a couple of pieces illustrating his travels in the 1930s to Mosul (located in the Kurdish region of northern Iraq, known in the Bible and to history better as Nineveh) and Tehran where he even met the Shah.

Highlights include a beautifully coloured 1943 scene showing ‘Camels in the Judean Desert’ (above right), Blum’s first encounter with Snow in Jerusalem (top left) in 1927 and a rare artist view of buildings as they were cropping up in the new and modern city of Tel Aviv Under Construction, 1925 (below).

Works such as Pioneer Girl (1947) and scenes on the Kibbutzim provoke allusions to the Zionist posters, literature and images of the pre-state period in a romanticised classic fashion.

Tel Aviv under Construction, 1925

As for the gallery itself, it is clearly in desperate need of a new location. A purpose-built gallery would be ideal, but the most important thing would be a location which would attract a higher footfall of spontaneous visitors passing-by. In its current site, I imagine such numbers are rather low and it’s a shame that this potential is lost in this way. However, the gallery seems to be in no denial about this fact and the literature available about the gallery all expressed the deep desire for a ‘permanent museum and gallery in the heart of Central London’. Here’s hoping that’s in Ben-Uri gallery’s near-future.

This view of the holy city in north London is the first showing of Blum paintings London since 1938 at the Royal Academy and closes next Friday 24^th April.

Tags: Art, Gallery, Israel, Jerusalem, Museum

Y-Love, an Orthodox rapper

Here’s a video with one of my favourite rappers, Y-Love (a.k.a Yitzchak Jordan). He explains the meaning, message and motivation behind his music.

He was previously affiliated with Chassidism but no longer explicitly identifies as a Chasid, partially due to some negative reaction within the Charedi community to his use of rap music as a form of spiritual expression.

Nonetheless, he remains faithful to a number of the principle of Chassidic philosophy.

‘As far as Chasidic philosophy, I’m always going to be down with that. Like, I’m always going to be down with the idea of serving G-d in joy and the idea that everyone has value, and the idea that everyone has a divine spark inside of them. But the way that I see the ultra-Orthodox world play that out, I don’t agree with that. There’s a lot of ‘ghettoization’ and radicalization.’

Despite Y-Love felt his music was unappreciated in the Chassidic community, there’s an article here on Chabad.org giving some love for him and his collaborator on ‘Make It‘ and ‘Harmony‘. Check out ‘Harmony’ below. A good track with a positive message although ‘DeScribe’ really could do with using a little less autotune.

His mantra is ‘use Hip-Hop to elevate and not tranquilize’. Of the Jewish message in his music he states:

‘I want to show people not only is Judaism the hottest thing to hit humanity since air, but it’s also so hot, the fire is not just blowing up for the people on the inside, it’s also attracting people from the outside too. There are more and more people who are seeing this beauty. This light isn’t coming from nowhere’.

Y-Love is represented by Shemspeed, a record label focused on Jewish urban music. I would love for this guy (or many of the other acts on Shemspeed’s roster) to come to London to perform.

A final song by Y-Love, ‘Watch’ (with backing by beatboxer Yuri Lane) for the upcoming holiday.

Tags: Culture, Holidays, Jewish, Judaism, Music, Orthodox, Pesach, Rap, Religious, Torah

Yasmin Levy @ Barbican 6th April 2011

On Wednesday I had the pleasure of seeing the Israeli singer Yasmin Levy live at Barbican. She has had significant success on the ‘World Music’ scene in recent years with her interpretations of traditional Sephardi songs in Ladino (an endangered Judeo-Spanish language) as well as her own flamenco-infused Spanish-language tunes.

Support was provided by tango musician, Daniel ‘Melingo’, an Argentinian singer of Greco-Jewish extraction who shared Levy’s playfulness with the audience and stage presence. Unfortunately his vocals failed to match up to the Jerusalemite’s and he possessed only a good voice and not a great one that would distinguish a true successor to the maestro of tango music, Carlos Gardel.

The musicians in both Levy and Melingo’s bands, it must be said, were particularly impressive and deserve singling out for extra praise. Melingo’s own instrumental talent, particularly on the clarinet, also stood out.

And now to ‘Yasmin’. Well, it would be difficult to exaggerate how well her performance went down with the audience, right from the beginning of the show. Wondrous gasps echoed throughout the auditorium as a heavily pregnant Levy took to the stage. Therefore excuses can be made for the fact she took until the third or fourth song on the setlist, a rendition of ‘Intentalo Encontrar’ to really hit best form.

One thing missing from the show was a performance in her native tongue. She has included Hebrew songs in her albums before and this would have added an extra dimension that was left unexploited.

She declared her firmly held belief that ‘Ladino will be dead in 50 years’ and in that she also surprised in her defeatist attitude to the survival of Ladino, as she is obviously one of the most high-profile ambassadors of the language. In addition, as she herself is a native speaker of a revived language, namely Hebrew of course, I found this a little disappointing.

The one thing that particularly surprised me though was Levy’s wit. With a wink and a playful glance she lamented that ‘all my songs are sad songs’, dismissing one particular song she attempted to introduce as ‘finally a happy song’, only to recount when translating the lyrics to her charmingly error-prone English with a softly-spoken Jerusalemite intonation.

A particularly moving moment which saw Levy’s band exit the stage to leave her and spotlight on the stage was her rendition of the traditional Ladino tune, Una Pastora. This short song saw her ‘duet’ which her late father, Yitzchak Levy, a passionate collector of Sephardi songs written in Ladino, who sadly passed away when Yasmin was only a 1 year old. Further highlights included ‘Naci en Alamo’, a new song titled ‘La Última Canción’, and ´La Hija de Juan Simón’ and ‘El Amor Contigo’.

Levy was brought on for an encore (of Adio Querida, where she bravely attempted to get a British audience to sing along, with some eventual success even if it was somewhat laboured). After thunderous applause and several standing ovations (I lost count), she signalled to the audience it was time for bed. Nonetheless she stuck around to sign copies of her CD Sentir for a particularly long queue after the show. Overall it was not Levy’s voice or songs that produced this reaction. I was struck by some of the comments of whispers behind me, ‘She seems so humble!’ one member of the audience exclaimed to another. In a world of divas and superstars, this humility seemed utterly refreshing.

Here’s a video of her singing ‘Una noche más’ (One More Night) accompanied by the Israeli kibbutz orchestra. I think you don’t need to know either Spanish nor Ladino to understand the emotion of this heartbreak song. Enjoy.

Tags: Israel, Music, Sephardi, Spain