So now it has happened. A “kosher certification” symbol (hechsher) has now appeared for music in Israel and a new committee, the “Va’ad ha’Rabbanim l’neginah Yehudit” (the Rabbinical Committee for Jewish Music), has come to provide kosher supervision, and “affix their seal to music that it deems appropriate Jewish music.”
“The committee, comprised of four individuals, will give its approbation
to those music albums that they feel is appropriate for the every
Jewish home (sic) and will enhance one’s connection to [G-d]….information in the guidelines include that percussion should be used
sparingly, guitar and saxophone should not be used at all, and *all
forms of modern music, including pop, reggae, disco and rap, are
forbidden.*”
So they really went ahead with this. NO Torah authorities have signed on to this, and I fail to see what positive benefit this could POSSIBLY have. One more thing to be mocked in media, חלילה.
– Y-Love
p.s. Diwon says that if even one of the Shemspeed CDs get’s approved, I know we are doing something wrong!
Shemspeed is an independent recording label and promotional agency highlighting cross-over music artists with positive and unifying messages. Founded by Erez Safar, an American-Israeli DJ/Producer, Shemspeed promotes over 15 dynamic artists representing a wide range of genres including hip-hop, reggae, and rock. These artists include Y-Love (revolutionary Jewish hip-hop), Diwon (Yemenite / Sephardic hip-hop, Israeli music and more), DeScribe (soul-awakening dancehall, hip-hop, & soul), and Electro Morocco (Israeli rock, dance music.) Shemspeed artists, collectively showcasing the diversity in world Jewish music, have performed with musicians as varied as Snoop Dogg, Lou Reed, Idan Raichel and Eminem; they’ve been profiled in Rolling Stone, SPIN, The New York Times and XXL; and they’ve been seen and heard around the world on various TV appearances (Conan O’Brien, CBS and BBC World) and global radio. Shemspeed’s mission is unifying people through culture and education, celebrating diversity and common ground. By way of this work, we add a public Jewish voice to multi-cultural, inter-faith, creative and collaborative bridge-building.
So now it has happened. A “kosher certification” symbol (hechsher) has now appeared for music in Israel and a new committee, the “Va’ad ha’Rabbanim l’neginah Yehudit” (the Rabbinical Committee for Jewish Music), has come to provide kosher supervision, and “affix their seal to music that it deems appropriate Jewish music.”