Sunday, July 01, 2007
Neila Carlebach is the ex-wife of the late Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach. She was not married to Shlomo at the time of his passing.
Neila is a New Age type person who consulted with mediums and spiritualists in a variety of disciplines. Shlomo was horrified at her seeing some of these people claiming that her associating with them would dry up his “well of neginah” or his “reservoir of music”. Shlomo actually actually lost his ability to compose music in ’92 which was 2 years before his passing. His last composition was Uvnei Otah which is on a number of his later CDs including the “Gift of Shabbos”.
In ’78 to ’79, I lived at Moshav Me’or Modi’in which is the home of the followers of the rabbi near Lod airport. I was with Shlomo frequently traveling doing concerts with him but I tried to give him his space at home and I had limited contact with his wife and children back then.
One day, I was working in the wheat factory with Zusia Frumin and I found out (too late) that I am allergic to wheat flower. I couldn’t exhale and I was scared out of my mind.
I staggered around Modi’in and I found Shlomo. Gasping I told him what was going on. He told me he couldn’t help me but go to his wife. So, I went to Neila.
Neila told me to take off my shirt and sit in front of her. She sat in back of me and waved her hands around. She got me to relax. She claimed she took a lot of “bad energy out of [me]” or something like that. I think it was all power of suggestion and had nothing to do with a New Age style spiritualist cure.
What do you think?