Modern Jewish music has come a long way since the main stream emergence of the artist Matisyahu. Music listeners around the world are beginning to appreciate the depth of the talent and skill of Jewish artists in rock and hip-hop. One band that I think could really make a wave in Jewish hip-hop from Tzfat Israel, is known as Kabbalah Dream Orchestra. The lead singer of the band is Shalom Pasternak who is a Chabad Rabbi, and musical arrangements in the band are done by multi-instrumentalist Dan Fries.

Tzfat Israel, also known as Safed, is in the Northern part of Israel and is where Jewish mysticism (known as Kabbalah) reached it’s peak. Jewish scholars and mystics who fled Spain in the 1500s during the Inquistion, made their way to Tzfat, and the city is still a center for Kabbalistic teaching. According to Dan, the foundation of all of the music by Kabbalah Dream Orchestra is “niggunim”, which are melodies without words. These melodies are composed by “tzadikkim” or righteous men, which give listeners the ability to, according to Dan, “communicate at a soul level with the composer.”

The music of Kabbalah Dream Orchestra is super cool! It is hip-hop, jazz, experimental, and traditional Jewish music all wrapped together. Poltavision, one of the best songs on the cd, sounds to me like an ancient scribe chanting Ay Ya Ya behind a hip hop drum beat with bass and with synthesizer fills. There are also mesmorizing synthesizer solos in Poltavision. The music on the cd is sung in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Yiddish, however, the cd insert gives an English translation for six of the songs. The translation for Avinu Malkenu shows that the song is a conversation between a king and his servant:

His majesty, His Majesty I regret to inform thee, I have misused and abused the funds of the royal treasury. I’m on hand and knee, please don’t execute me, ‘cause I put the key straight to the enemy. I stand with empty hands before He who shows mercy. You thought you were in secrecy. But I was aware of your misdeeds. Do you know what your life means to me my son? Our fate is one. Now claim your royalty.

Kabbalah Dream Orchestra can be found playing mostly in Northern Israel right now, but Dan has expressed his hope that the music will be heard by more people around the world. This is not music that only good Jews should listen to when meditating on ancient teachings. This is modern music, and really is deserving of a wider audience. Learn more about Kabbalah Dream Orchestra and listen to their music on their website: http://www.myspace.com/kabbalisticdreamorchestra