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July 2, 2009

Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski: The hallmark of a person

Abe Novick: Up, up, and aliya

July 1, 2009

Rabbi Avi Shafran: The Road Taken

The Kosher Gourmet by Marialisa Calta: Get into the holiday spirit with these Star-Spangled desserts

June 30, 2009

Rabbi Binyomin Ginsberg: What makes a great parent?

Caroline B. Glick: Ideologue-in-Chief

June 29, 2009

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Beware of 'Caveat Emptor'

Steven Emerson: ACLU pushing for more money for Hamas

June 26, 2009

Rabbi Yoni Posnick: Learn the secret to a healthy marriage from a scriptural villain

Caroline B. Glick: Barack Obama vs. International Law

June 25, 2009

Rabbi Shimon Apisdorf: The Absurd Power of Truth

Jordan "Gorf" Gorfinkle's strip: Everything's Relative

June 24, 2009

Rabbi Yonason Goldson: Advancement of technology is a wake-up call for humanity

The Kosher Gourmet by Andrea Weigl: Summer on a stick: Making frozen treats can be easy, creative and fun

June 23, 2009

Martin M. Bodek: 'On Surnames': And so, We Begin

Caroline B. Glick: The Obama Effect

June 22, 2009

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Working for a corrupt firm

N. Richard Greenfield : Where are American Jews?

June 19, 2009

Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski: Emotion v. intellect

Caroline B. Glick: Israel's rare opportunity

June 18, 2009

Jonathan Rosenblum: Sometimes it is more essential to define the nature of evil than good

Jordan "Gorf" Gorfinkle's strip: Everything's Relative

June 17, 2009

Rabbi Yonason Goldson: The Language of Confusion

The Kosher Gourmet by Linda Gassenheimer: Nothing pleases Dad more than a thick, juicy onion-smothered steak. Add home-Baked Potato Chips and …

June 16, 2009

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Career v. Careersism

Caroline B. Glick: Obama's losing streak and Israel

Richard Z. Chesnoff: ‘Palestinians’: Never Missing an Opportunity …

June 15, 2009

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu: How Judea and Samaria can become 'Palestine'

Daniel Pipes: Where Netanyahu's speech failed

June 12, 2009

Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski: Some big thoughts about not acting so big

Caroline B. Glick: Obama's High Commissioner

June 11, 2009

Victor Davis Hanson: Our historically challenged President

Mitch Albom: Beware the True Believers

Lewis Grossberger: What we learn from the new Hitler photos

June 10, 2009

Mort Zuckerman: What Obama and his advisors won't -- or refuse to -- grasp about Israel and the Muslim world

The Kosher Gourmet by Steve Petusevsky Lotsa pasta: Tips, techniques and (amazing) taste

June 9, 2009

Anne Bayefsky: Obama's stunning offense to Israel and the Jewish people

Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: America's first Muslim president?

June 8, 2009

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Merchant must take responsibility for careless shopper?

Mark Steyn: A superpower that feeds on mediocrity cannot survive for long on leftovers from the past

Richard Z. Chesnoff: How do you say 'kumbaya' in Arabic?

June 5, 2009

Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski: In quest of spirituality

Caroline B. Glick: Obama's Arabian dreams

Charles Krauthammer: The Settlements Myth

June 4, 2009

Paul Greenberg: The War Comes to Little Rock

The Kosher Gourmet by Judy Hevrdejs: Splash it on! Tap your inner jazz musician and improvise when stirring up a vinaigrette

June 3, 2009

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Q. Should terrible teacher be exposed?

Jonathan Rosenblum: The Israel Lobby: Missing in Action

June 2, 2009

Dennis Prager: The Speech President Obama Won't Dare Give in Egypt

Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Pressure on Israel raises war risk

Oct. 29, 2003
Mortimer B. Zuckerman: Graffiti On History's Walls (MUST-READ!)

Jewish World Review Sept. 20, 2005 /16 Elul, 5765

New year, new and old sounds: Five new CDs for the High Holidays

By Paul Wieder

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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | Chanukah probably has the catchiest songs of any Jewish holiday, but the High Holidays are hard to beat for sheer musical depth. Jewish composers have been inspired by the season's themes of repentance and redemption for centuries, creating a whole body of profound work.


Many recent releases, in a variety of styles, can help awaken sluggish souls to the spirit of this time of year.

CANTOR BENZION MILLER: THE FIRST S'LIHOT
The Milken Archive is dedicated to preserving and presenting the major works of American Jewish composers. Its two-disc edition of "The First S'lihot" features the powerful vocals of Cantor Benzion Miller honoring both the words of the liturgy and the arrangements of his cantorial forebears, including Yoselle Rosenblatt. He is accompanied by full choruses and both adult and young soloists. Haunting and stirring, this is very old school- old shul?- music that still resonates.

KOL ZIMRA: THE MUSIC OF ABIE ROTENBERG
There are no instruments on "The First S'lihot", and none on this disc, either. But you will have a hard time believing that the drums, basses and harmonies are all voices. Or maybe not, after you see which voices help Kol Zimra out: Shlomie Dachs, Elli Kranzler, Yehuda!, and Blue Fringe's Dov Rosenblatt, for starters. The performers and source material are strictly Orthodox, but the songs' treatments are not; Rockapella's Sean Altman produced this album, which may explain why it can sound like everything from Boys II Men to Manhattan Transfer. It is redundant to say that Jewish vocalists are "out of the chapel" (which is what "a cappella" literally means) but the guys in Kol Zimra are also out of this world.

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SAM GLASER: EDGE OF LIGHT
This album presents even fewer instruments --- just one voice and a piano.


But the voice is Sam Glaser's, and the piano his playing his arrangements. Which is plenty. Glaser moves beyond the usual and-here-they-are-again concept of best-of compilations with "Edge of Light", reinterpreting some of his most spiritual songs from his previous albums. Glaser's voice, unplugged and unadorned, is both strong and warm; why hasn't be been cast as Joseph in the musical yet? And Sha-Rone Kushnir's delicate, crystalline playing recalls George Winston's, and is also featured, solo, on a bonus disc. An inspiring work.

CRAIG TAUBMAN: INSCRIBED
Evidently, giving the Jewish world a new nigun (powerful wordless melody) for Sabbath on "Friday Night Live" and "One Shabbat Morning" isn't enough for some people. On "Inscribed", Taubman starts with the High Holiday liturgy and follows its themes throughout the Jewish year, touching on some of lesser-used material. After his showcasing some of the best Jewish musicians around on the Celebrate Series he produces, it is nice to see Taubman stretching his own musical muscles again. Here, he smoothes his sandy voice over some new moving and meditative melodies. The V'al Kulam here is one of the most simply and beautifully elegant settings of Jewish liturgy since... well, since the Hashkivenu on Taubman's Friday Night Live album.

LAZER LLOYD: HIGHER GROUND
Anyone who knows the blues knows it is a deeply spiritual music. And an album with tunes named "Peace Love & Joy," "Life Goes On," and "Higher Ground" certainly favors that side of the blues. But here, Lazer Lloyd does not forget the other side... the one that people need to be lifted to the Higher Ground from. Lloyd was born in Madison, Connecticut, played in bands starting in high school, and majored in music at Skidmore.


He eventually opened for Johnny Winter and Little Feat. Lloyd plays the kind of blues you would expect from someone who grew up wandering around Nature; call it laid-backwoods blues. His influences run from Stevie Ray Vaughn and Neil Young to Willy Nelson, and of course Bob Dylan. But also the Ba'al Shem Tov, the Chofetz Chaim, and the Rebbe. There are no overt Jewish references on Higher Ground, but the messages of faith, acceptance, and salvation are embedded in the lyrics... and flow from every guitar lick, slide, and wail.


The High Holidays are a time for introspection, reflection, resolution. They also gives us some of the most soulful music of the Jewish year. May 5766 be one of both melody and harmony.

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JWR contributor Paul Wieder is a public relations associate at the Jewish United Fund and a columnist for JUF News. Contact the author or the magazine by clicking here.

© 2005, Paul Wieder