Journalism by Jewish college students, for Jewish college students.
In light of his new record, “Spark Seeker,” out now, I interviewed over the phone Matisyahu to discuss his body of work, the recording process and his creative future. The intent was to approach the music, rather than the chatter surrounding Matisyahu’s appearance. For a taste of that music, click the link above for information…
If there’s one thing Matisyahu wants to make clear, it’s that he, like his music, can’t be easily understood in simple terms, in boxes or categories. “I’m a varied artist, I don’t really have my foot stuck into one genre,” he explains in my recent interview with him. Important words from a man whose career has often depended on the assumptions brought on by labels: “Jewish.” “Orthodox.” “Reggae.”
But perhaps we’re getting ahead of ourselves. First things first: “OMG, did u c Matis w/o his yamikkuh (sp.?)???” “LOL! i no, rite?”
I hate New Year’s resolutions. I apologize to those of you who committed to some sort of positive change in your lives at the beginning of 2012 or of 5772, but I think that our current system of once-a-year goal-setting is silly. The problem with New Year’s resolutions is evident from their title: They only happen once a year! We decide to go to the gym on a daily basis on Rosh Hashanah, and by Sukkot most of us are already attempting to convince ourselves that shaking the lulav counts as a legitimate workout. In the Jewish world that I envision, effort toward self-improvement would be the foundation for all of what we do. We would set personal kavanot (intentions) on a monthly, weekly or even daily basis, and the result would be a thoughtful, purposeful community, constantly working to become better Jews and better human beings.
With the use of technology on the rise and our interconnectedness increasing, it is no surprise that for many Jews, the intersection of worship and tech — iPads, Kindles, projections screens, you name it — would be the next step. To understand the reasons for this and its implications, we spoke to Rabbi Daniel Medwin, publishing technology manager for the Central Conference of American Rabbis, the Reform rabbinic organization, about the movement’s much-praised iT’filah siddur app and what it may mean for the future.
Editor’s note, July 2012: As the 40th anniversary of the deaths of 11 Israeli athletes and coaches and a West German police officer approach, and as the 2012 London Olympics games begin, a call for some recognition of the Munich Massacre goes unheeded by this year’s organizers. We present this piece, written by our co-founder, David Twersky, in September of 1972, in aftermath of that tragedy.