Hasidic Jew makes kosher reggae for the masses

Rapper, singer Matisyahu infuses his faith into uplifting lyrics
Monday, August 21, 2006
BY JEFF DIAMANT
Star-Ledger Staff

Moshe Herson seemed perplexed. Never before had the 72-year-old Orthodox rabbi in Morristown been asked to listen to reggae to see if he could hear Talmudic overtones.

Of course, until three months ago no Hasidic Jew had ever been crowned Best New Entertainer at the International Reggae and World Music Awards.

So one recent morning in his office, Herson, dean of the Rabbinical College of America, listened on a borrowed iPod to Matisyahu, the 27-year-old Hasidic music sensation whose mix of reggae, rap and rock has won gold status for two recent albums, "Live at Stubb's" and "Youth."

Orthodox youth generally avoid pop music, but since 2004, Matisyahu's religious-themed reggae has become familiar to many young people across the Orthodox world, which includes the leafy campus of the rabbinical college.

Matisyahu is part of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement of Judaism. He wears black religious garb while performing. And his songs, which have sold more than a million albums, draw lyrics from prayers, psalms and Jewish themes on God, messianism and nationhood.

Until last month Herson had never heard the music. But as Matisyahu's popularity has surged, Herson -- like most Lubavitch Jews -- has come to know who the singer is.

"He seems to have transcended the Jewish community," Herson said.

Herson chuckled at a few lyrics, set to reggae beats, with themes he recognized from Jewish teachings collected in the Talmud. And he later found it simple to connect those lyrics to specific prayers and psalms.

For example, he mentioned the Matisyahu line "Without you / there is no me" -- which comes from "King Without a Crown," a song about striving to be close to God.

"That's from a concept elucidated by Hasidic philosophy," Herson said. "We are totally and constantly dependent on 'the being,' on the source of energy coming from above, so, 'without you, there's no me.'"

He identified a line from the same song -- "You're like water for my soul / when it gets thirsty" -- as coming from Psalms 63:2: "God ... my soul thirsts for you."

And he noted that the line "Jerusalem, if I forget you / let my right hand forget what it's supposed to do," from the song "Jerusalem," comes straight from Psalms 137:5, which reads, "If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand wither."

He stressed that while he felt Matisyahu's message is positive, he didn't endorse his music. Many Lubavitchers don't want their children listening to Matisyahu, fearing the line is too thin between his and other popular music.

And clearly, while Matisyahu doesn't sing about sex or drugs, some of his lyrics, at least taken in isolation, can seem better suited for a 1960s protest chant than for the iPods and CD players of Hasidic teens. For example, there's the chorus to "Youth": "Young man, the power's in your hands. Slam your fist on the table and make your demands."

But as several Orthodox fans noted in interviews, the song is meant to encourage young people, urging them to overcome their vanities, to "focus ... energy into a laser beam." Youth, Matisyahu sings, is "the engine of the world."

That message is why Chana Solomon of Morristown, a Lubavitcher whose 9-year-old daughter attends the rabbinical college's summer camp, said she lets her children listen.

"In this day and age, there's too many occasions of kids that want to do right but are afraid to get up and stand up there," she said. "A lot of songs teach what's wrong. Here's a song saying, 'Don't! Stand up and be strong!'... 'Slam your first down and say, I'm gonna do what's right.'"

Several students and counselors at the summer camp noted Matisyahu has wide followings among non-Jews, adding his approach fits well with the Lubavitch emphasis on outreach. While that outreach is usually directed to less-religious Jews, they said Matisyahu helps spread the spirit of Hasidism worldwide.

"He promotes godliness and pride for spirituality," said Yaacov Leaf, 23, a recent graduate of the rabbinical college. "We believe you shouldn't be intimidated by the world, that we should go out to the world and make the world a better place. Especially these days when we face so many challenges, Jew and non-Jew alike."

Many Lubavitchers clearly enjoy watching one of their own make a dent in popular culture while keeping his religious identity. Matisyahu declined to be interviewed for this article, but he has said on ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live" that he wouldn't perform on the Sabbath, even for millions of dollars; has performed his "human beat-box" on CNN; and has said on Portuguese TV that the deceased Lubavitch leader, Rabbi Menachem Schneerson, inspired "Youth."

"It makes me happy to know the broader world is being affected by his good work. He's an emissary in his own right," said Levi Lipskar, 20, a graduate of the college, using the term Lubavitch Jews use to describe those among them who open synagogues around the world and encourage less-religious Jews there to become more observant.

Matisyahu is far from the first musician, Jewish or otherwise, to write songs with religious themes. Born Matthew Miller in 1977, the lanky native of White Plains, N.Y., grew up in a non-Orthodox Jewish home, listened to reggae in high school, and became Orthodox in 2001. His first album was "Shake off the Dust ... Arise."

Now living in Brooklyn with a wife and son, he has cited an eclectic mix of influences for his music: Schneerson, Bob Marley, the deceased Orthodox rabbi/musician Shlomo Carlebach, the band Phish and his growing knowledge of the Torah, ancient writings that provide the basis for Jewish law.

"It is interesting what he's doing," Herson said. "It's interesting that, from those concepts he has absorbed through his learning ... of Torah, he extracted certain items which serve now as the foundation for the songs."

Jeff Diamant covers religion. He may be reached at jdiamant@starledger.com or (973) 392-1547.

© 2006 The Star Ledger