Shabbat Shalom!
I hope everyone is having a great weekend. With all of the
AP’s and SAT business that I’m dealing with here, it’s becoming very stressful.
However, EIE gave us a chance to relax with an amazing concert.
The URJ (Union for Reform Judaism) board joined us at the
concert, as they were here for the week. I had the privilege of speaking in front of
the board, and our group. But I basically just shared many of the revelations
and epiphanies that I’ve outlined in previous blogs, so I won’t bore you all
with that.
After I, and another peer, made our speeches, the artist was
introduced. His name is Kobi Oz. He is a renowned Israeli singer, who was
previously the lead singer in a group named Teapacks. The group disbanded in
the 2000’s, but he is still touring.
He introduced each song with a unique story. For his second
song, he talked about dancing with his father at his Bar Mitzvah. Another song
had a Holocaust background. And another dealt with the hierarchy from his
hometown. These stories were, alone fascinating, but the fact that they were
actual inspirations for songs was just so cool.
Actual, popular songs were based on a religious coming of age ceremony, a
tragedy from Jewish history, and his home town. Rather than American popular
songs which usually deal with illegal substances or sexual activity.
I think that this really highlights the difference between
the two cultures. As well, the songs were awesome!! We were all so into the
concert. With the lyrics displayed behind the stage, I had the opportunity to
sing along. The songs were fun, upbeat, and relayed good messages.
It was overall an amazing, and surprisingly, educational
experience. I’ll definitely be downloading some Kobi Oz music.
Have a great rest of the weekend!
Shoshana J
I loved the concert! I thought it was great that there was a translation for the lyrics into English as well because that way, everyone was able to understand what they were singing along to. I really enjoyed it when Kobi filled us in with background stories and interactions before, during, and after the songs. It was very helpful to understand the inspiration for the songs as well as his experiences as a child.
ReplyDeleteI also really enjoyed the concert! The difference in cultures between what we have lived with for at least 15 years versus 3 months is crazy to compare and contrast. It's insane to see how much we have grown to understand Israel as more than just a physical place but also a place where there is an incredibly complex society as well. I also think it's interesting how you brought up the differences in themes of music in the US and Israel. While it's a really cool point to bring up, I disagree with the concept that Israel and America are opposites in this sense. There is both meaningful music and inappropriate music in America just as much as there is in Israel. I think it's simply a manner of the music we've been shown is going to be appropriate because we're aren't here to discover all the negative aspects of Israel, we're here for all the positive ones (if that makes sense).
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