Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach: Life, Mission, and Legacy

by Natan Ophir (Offenbacher), Neshama Carlebach (Foreword by)

Overview

Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach—a man considered the most influential composer of Jewish religious music of the 20th century and a progenitor of the modern neo-Hasidic renaissance—is the focus of this systematic study. The book presents a scholarly analysis of his teachings, innovations, and music and examines Carlebach’s life and career via the prism of the historical and cultural developments of his time, including the Holocaust, the Six-Day War, the hippie phenomenon, the New Age movement, and other events that were channeling the course of Jewish life. It also attempts to understand the roots of the Carlebach phenomenon and its wide-range appeal, but above all, this book provides a new framework to evaluate and appreciate the unique form of heartfelt Judaism, joyful optimism, and soulful rejuvenation that Shlomo Carlebach inspired.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9789655241433
Publisher:	Urim Publications
Publication date:	01/05/2014
Series:	Modern Jewish Lives , #4
Pages:	503
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 9.50(h) x 1.40(d)

About the Author

Natan Ophir (Offenbacher) is a teacher of practical Jewish meditation and a professor at the Jerusalem College of Technology and the Ono Academic College. Neshama Carlebach is a singer and songwriter and the daughter of the late Shlomo Carlebach. She lives in New York City.

Table of Contents

Foreword Neshama Carlebach 11

Preface 13

Acknowledgements 15

Introduction 17

Bibliographic Sources 21

Part A The Mission

Chapter 1 First Influences 33

1 Lübeck and the Carlebach Rabbinical Legacy 33

2 Baden (1931-1938) and Telshe (1938-1939) 36

3 Brooklyn (1939-1945) 44

4 Manhattan (1946-1951) 46

5 Hasidic Influences (Bobov, Modzitz, and Chabad) 53

Chapter 2 Launching an Outreach Career 60

1 Hasidut in America 60

2 Mission Denned (December 10, 1949) 63

3 Co-Emissary Reb Zalman 65

4 Right Hand of the Seventh Rebbe (1950-1955) 68

5 From Chabad to Independent Outreach 74

Chapter 3 Singing Rabbi Becomes Famous 77

1 Guitar-Playing Rabbi, 1956-1958 77

2 Launching a Musical Career, 1958-1959 83

3 First Two LP Hits, 1959-1960 94

4 Musical Career Takes Off in the Early 1960s 96

5 Europe in the Early 1960s 105

6 Next Four LP Records, 1963-1967 108

Chapter 4 Holy Hippies Discovered 114

1 Berkeley Festival, July 4th Weekend, 1966 114

2 Love, Psychedelics, and Hippies in San Francisco, 1967 117

3 Planning the House of Love and Prayer (1967-1968) 120

Chapter 5 The House of Love and Prayer 123

1 First House, Arguello Blvd. (1968-1970) 123

2 Second House, 9th Ave. (1971-1978) 129

3 Experiences of HLP Participants 134

4 Six HLP Marriages 144

5 Spiritual Directions after HLP 152

Part B The Impact

Chapter 6 Getting High at the HLP 159

1 Lord Get Me High and Return Again 159

2 Neo-Hasidic Hippie Values 163

3 Friendliness and Communal Life 165

4 Purification, Healing, and Paradise on Shabbat 169

Chapter 7 Outreach and Wide-Reach 174

1 Reb Shlomo's Expanding Career (1966-1969) 174

2 Holy Man Jam and Meeting of the Ways (1969-1972) 187

3 Outreach, Inreach, and Wide-Reach (1970-1973) 191

4 Yogi Bhajan, Sufi Sam, and Swami Satchidananda 198

Chapter 8 Israel 205

1 Israel Discovers the Dancing Rabbi (1959-1966) 205

2 I Heard the Wall Singing (1967-1968) 209

3 Carlebach and the Hasidic Song Festival 214

4 Jerusalem and Migdal (1969-1973) 217

5 Aftermath of the Yom Kippur War (1973-1975) 228

6 Moshav Me'or Modi'im (1976-1979) 235

7 Israel as a Second Home (1980-1994) 244

Chapter 9 Lifting the Iron Curtain 264

1 Am Yisrael Chai, SSSJ, and "White Fire" Jews (1965-1988) 264

2 First Jewish Music Tour in Russia (September 1989) 275

3 Love and Hope in Poland (January 1989) 282

Chapter 10 Jewish Renewal in the U.S. 290

1 World Symposium for Humanity, December 1976 290

2 Jewish Renewal in the Pacific Northwest 293

3 Influence on Jewish Renewal Rabbis 297

Chapter 11 Global Rebbe 305

1 Marriage and Daughters 305

2 Blossoming Career (1974-1980) 311

3 Loneliness and Innovation (1980-1983) 330

4 Reorganization (1983-1988) 336

5 Global Wide-Reach (1989-1992) 350

6 Empowerment and Rabbinic Ordinations (1976-1992) 363

Chapter 12 Last Two Years 331

1 Traversing the Continents (1993-1994) 381

2 Eulogies (October 1994) 400

3 Germination of a Movement 404

Chapter 13 In Conclusion 413

1 Who Was Reb Shlomo? 413

2 The Foremost Songwriter in Judaism? 416

3 Appreciating or Deprecating? 419

4 A Modern Day Baal Shem Tov? 425

5 Rebbe of Love, Appreciation, and Holiness 428

6 What Message Did His Followers Retain? 431

7 The Legacy of Reb Shlomo 437

Timeline 442

Bibliography 447

Sites Accessed 461

Discography 463

Abbreviations 475

Index of Carlebach Songs 476

Index of Names 481

Index of Places 491

Twelve Testimonials 499

Editorial Reviews

At last, a carefully researched and meticulously annotated biography of Shlomo Carlebach. A must-read for anyone interested in Reb Shlomo and his legacy.” —Professor Jonathan D. Sarna, author, American Judaism: A History

“Dr. Ophir worked tirelessly, not only collecting and organizing data on three continents, but gained the trust of hundreds of people who told him their experiences with Reb Shlomo. The result is a documentary history that promises to be the definitive biographical study of Reb Shlomo’s life and career.” —Prof. Shaul Magid, Jay and Jeannie Schottenstein professor of modern Judaism, Indiana University

From the Publisher