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No fooling
Megama aims music at assimilated Jews
by Naomi Shalev
Megama, which is the Hebrew
word for aim or direction, is also
the name of a new Israeli singing
duo which in the few months since
it began, has already given more
years of living as rather assimilated
Jews in various parts of America.
During that time, they both
worked as professional musicians.
Shalom, formerly Steven, who is
tall and bearded and now wears the
traditional Hassidic garb of wide-
brimmed black hat and long black
coat, played viola for years in the
instruments (as well as cowbell,
drums, and whatever else they find
appropriate or pleasing). Their
repertoire includes standard Israeli
and Jewish songs, but what stands
out are their original songs which
express the experiences and
longings of a Jew in society.
“Before I became religious,”
‘Dear God, here I am, calling myself a
Jew. I can fool my friends and my
neighbors. But there ain’t no
fooling you.’
than a dozen concerts throughout
Israel, as well as several
television and radio performances.
What’s so special about these
two immigrants from the U.S., one
with a guitar and one with a viola,
that has brought them so quickly
into the limelight? As their name
implies, they have a specific aim,
and though it may not be new to
Israelis, the method which
Megama uses is very different.
Their aim is to bring Jews back to
their heritage, and Megama is
doing it with songs, music, and
even comedy.
The two young men who make
up Megama, Shalom Levine and
Moshe Yess, have themselves
“come back" to Torah after many
Puerto Rico Symphony, and later
in the Jerusalem Symphony, and
in between was a band musician in
hotels and night clubs.
Moshe, formerly Maury,
travelled through the western U.S.,
playing and singing country music.
Unlike Shalom, Moshe looks quite
Western except for his Greek
sailor's cap and the white ritual
fringes which fall over his cowboy
belt.
When Shalom and Moshe met
and discovered their similar
musical backgrounds and
interests, as well as their mutual
desire to reach young assimilated
Jews with the message of what
living Judaism really is, it was
natural for them to form Megama,
in which Moshe and Shalom sing
and play their respective
rehearsal party, wedding, Bar Mitzvah
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Shalom said, “my whole life
revolved around music, and
though I was successful
professionally, I wasn't very
fulfilled personally. Now, I have
meaning in my life. Every day is
important because living is
important—not just making
music.
Moshe’s positive inner-
experiences as he became religious
were accompanied by a new
awareness of the society of which
he’d been a part—until then. “I was
quite surprised to find that my
peers who were supposed to be so
liberal, who were so open-minded
and tolerant of every other idea
and ‘ism,’ were extremely
intolerant of my commitment to
live as a religious Jew. It seemed to
awaken in them a sense of guilt.
though it may not have been
conscious. When they interacted
with us they realized that they, too,
could be living as Jews, since they
are Jews. But they preferred to
avoid, rather than encounter this
fact. It was quite a disappointment
to me because until then, they had
been my friends.”
“What’s really satisfying is
knowing that there are so many
yeshivas in Israel which are
specially for Jews who haven't
learned before, and now want to
learn more about their history and
religion. So when someone is
moved by our performance, by
what we’re singing about and
saying, it’s not a short-lived
experience, but rather something
which he can follow up on in a real,
concrete way. It can affect his
entire life, if he’s sincere, and that’s
what we’re aiming for. No matter
what age he is or what his
background, if a person wants to
learn, he can.”
It says in the Torah that in every
Jewish soul there is a spark of
holiness waiting to be kindled.
Shalom Levine and Moshe Yess
are both guarding their own
sparks, and as the Megama duo,
trying to kindle the spark in others
because, as one of their songs says,
“Dear God, here I am, calling
myself a Jew. I can fool my friends
and my neighbors. But there ain't
no fooling you.”
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• Deer G Wine
• Homemade Dough
• Sidllion or Thin Crust
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Page 13 THE SOUTHERN ISRAEUTE October It, 1979