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Michael Smith

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richardmgreen
She already is on this site by me.

I am not sure what you are talking about here.

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richardmgreen
Judaism has very strict laws when it comes to sexuality, and well, what she is all about is really a quandary. Like I said, I just think she is the “Modern All American Red-Blooded Girl.”

She does not follow all of the laws/customs. especially if they have no meaning to her. Makes sense to me! She respects Kol Isha as it aplies to other people, but not to herself. It is personal choice. Who wrote this Kol Isha law anyway? It is not in the Torah. She is a modern woman and I respect that more than if she followed all of the rituals. It shows that she thinks and questions, which is a good thing.
RMG's reply: Kol Isha is in the Talmud. Also, as an Orthodox Jewess, the laws would indeed have meaning to her. She can't just pick and choose what laws she wants to do. The Torah is supposedly a system.

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richardmgreen
It seems that rather abandoning her roots, her father’s legacy et al. she wants to be a representative of the Jewish community and use her background as a spring board for promoting Judaism and this is besides being problematic for anyone, it might completely backfire on her and on all of the Jewish community. And the reasons why have already been posted by me on this site.

I am not sure why you say that she wants to be a representative of the Jewish community. She is proud of her identity and wants to share it with others who are interested.
RMG's reply: Her webiste can clear this up. She says on it that she is following in her father's footsteps.

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richardmgreen
I have friends who are Modern Orthodox and they complain, as do I about Rabbi Berg and Rabbi Shmueli Boteach cheapening Judaism and watering it down as they popularize their beliefs. Judaism has had extensive problems with people venturing forth to reach non-Jewish audiences. Madonna is really not a good representative of Judaism and I am appalled as are most frum Jews that I know. That tongue kiss with Britney Spears was really the last straw to many of us in Judaism.

I do care very much about Madonna, as what she does has no impact on my life. As far as reaching non Jewish audiences, G-d bless her. She is not trying to convert anyone. If she reverts to singing mostly in Hebrew, not many non Jews will be interested. Her latest CD, however, would appeal to almost anyone
RMG's reply: And I would love it if she could make an impact on the general public but I am not sure she stacks up as a representative of the Jewish community.

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richardmgreen
Now, Neshama may be “too big” to discuss all this on Jewish radio programs (Rabbi Dov Shurin in Israel might do it on his show in Israel) but on this board, the issue is being scrutinized. We have to give our viewpoint. Rabbi Dov Shurin said that those of us, who follow after Shlomo Carlebach, have to kasher or “purify” his legacy. If Neshama has fallen down in any way, she would have to explain her actions.

She says that her actions are consistent with the philosophy of her dad. I do not know enough about SC to question it.
RMG''s reply: Shlomo pretty much skirted many issues when it came to Yiddishkeit and his observance of it.

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richardmgreen
I think that Neshama has a very good voice. And I play her music every single day. I really am a big fan of hers even if she just sings for entertainment. Whether or not she will be able to break into the jazz/pop market as she wants to is a good question. There is a lot of competition out there and I hope if it doesn’t pan out that she won’t be hurt psychologically over it. My inability to break into the music markets really depressed me. I am only now overcoming the problem.

The key for her is to sing in English if she wants to become more popular in the US. This applies to non Jews as well as Jews. Most Jews in the US do not understand Hebrew.
RMG's reply: Soulfarm and Lanzbom have impacted the secular market too.

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richardmgreen
I already heard it discussed by a rabbi who used to live in my area years ago (he was a next door neighbor), that he had her for a concert but never wanted to hire her again. (That may only be him though he was kind of radical – he said that when it comes to Israel “There is a military solution” as per the Arabs). He said that she wanted everything done her way and she was very demanding. He also said that she didn’t have her father’s charisma. He wanted her to start small and work her way up.

It is difficult for me to comment on that, but that may be related to sexism. A woman's asertiveness is not appreciated by all men.
RMG's reply: And even more so as per assertiveness in the Orthodox world.

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richardmgreen
Actually I think it’s good that she is not going to extremes the way her father did. It would be positively ludicrous if she ran around hugging and kissing everyone like her father did.

Perhaps she is more conservative than you think.
RMG's reply: I think she is exercising some good prudence here.

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richardmgreen
Neshama isn’t the only woman in Jewish music. Debbie Friedman is also there and she is a Reform Jewess. I don’t know anything else about her though. It might be good to compare notes.

I have a couple of Debbie Friedman CDs and they are good. She does alot of holiday related stuff, which is another area that Neshama should consider. After listening to Neshama's latest CD, I have no reason to listen to Debbie Friedman's non holiday stuff. It is time for Debbie Friedman to pass the torch.

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richardmgreen
I bought the One and One CD off of Amazon for over $32.

You paid too much.
I am a rational consumer as per economics. I thought the convenience of buying it with 1-Click on Amazon and the fact that I didn't have to go to a local store was worth the extra 12 bucks.