It’s not the most complicated Shlomo Carlebach song – and, considering its folk, hippie origins, it has a certain innuendo to it. The song, originally composed for a wedding that took place in Golden Gate Park with the words “Yasis alayich Elokayich,” describes the aspiration to connect in a genuine way with God and people in a better world.
“Lord
get me high, get me high, get me high. Lord get me high, get me higher. (2x)
Higher
and higher, higher and higher, higher and higher and higher. (2x)”
I was thinking about soaring spiritual heights while attending Ishay Ribo’s sold-old Madison Square Garden concert on Sunday night. Together with 15,000 Jews (I’m guessing only members of the tribe would have paid those prices to attend!), we sang, prayed, swayed, and danced.
The attendees came from all different communities, affiliations, and religious backgrounds. There was a palpable energy in the room whenever Ishay mentioned Israel, the IDF, wounded soldiers, bereaved families, or, Israel’s ultimate victory. When the spotlight shone on Ronen and Orna Neutra, whose son Omer is one of the hostages, it felt like the entire audience was embracing them together.
Ribo began the concert quoting from the sefer (Torah book) he is currently studying about how there is tremendous koach ha-tzibbur, spiritual energy when many Jews come together. The assembled congregation heard lyrics such as “Rak Lecha – Only to You, Lord” and “Ein lanu Melech ela Ata – We only have You, Lord, as our King.” Ishay led everyone in the prayer “Ana Hashem hoshiah na – Please, God, save us!” and asked everyone in the arena to commit to speak less lashon ha-ra (gossip). The last words sung that evening were “Baruch shem kevod malchuto l'olam va'ed - blessed is the name of God’s glorious kingdom forever and ever.”
All in all, a pretty frum, religiously uplifting evening.
Ishay Ribo is one of a growing number of Israeli singers whose soulful songs are growing in popularity with religious and secular Jews alike. Not all the singers are religious, but the religious themes have become wildly popular.
From the songs to the prayers to the onstage persona with his tzitzit visibly out, Ishay is particularly soulful and religious. In a New York Times article last year, he mentioned that he envisioned his melodies might sound like Coldplay, the popular British rock band, but his lyrics “would be about God and faith.” The songs resonated more than he could imagine. In 2021, “Sibat Hasibot,” a song about God as the Cause of all, was the most played song on Israeli radio stations, religious and secular alike. “I never imagined I’d play to this kind of crowd,” he said after one concert. A decade ago, he said, “This kind of crowd just didn’t really exist.” Now, he has sold out the Garden twice.
All of this popularity of genuinely Jewish music today is response to the Jewish soul’s desire to rise. Shlomo Carlebach would call it “Lord, get me high.” I call it elevational. The Jewish soul naturally strives to ascend.
It’s a blessing.
This week, we read the tochecha, the blessings and the curses. Tucked into the blessings is one that, on its surface, may not seem all that special.
וְהָיִיתָ רַק לְמַעְלָה וְלֹא תִהְיֶה לְמָטָּה
“You
will only be up, and you shall not be below.” (Devarim 28:13)
What exactly is the blessing of being up?
Rabbi Ezriel Hildesheimer, a leading 19th century Modern Orthodox German Rabbi, explains that this blessing emphasizes the Jew’s gravitational pull towards spirituality. When we do our best to act like Jews, follow mitzvot, and connect with God and others, then we will feel uplifted, inspired, and elevated. That’s a tremendous blessing.
The natural state for a Jew is to connect to a higher purpose, something beyond ourselves. Living our most authentic Jewish lives is the pathway towards the blessing of being up.
Over and again, we discuss Judaism as a quest for being holy. What does it mean to be boly? Rabbi Chaim Vital, the famed Kabbalist and student of the Arizal, taught:
“A holy person is one who has opened themself up to holiness. A holy place is a place which draws people looking for holiness. A holy time is a time that awakens or invites us to holiness.”
Being open to holiness, to growth, and to the soul are the first steps towards acquiring the blessing of elevation. When people mention the pintele Yid, the spark of the Jewish soul, they are referring to just this openness. A non-observant Jew once noted, “I do not know why, but whenever I drive through an observant Jewish neighborhood, I feel a gravitational pull.” Somehow, the Chasidic Jew or the kosher restaurant or the Orthodox experience exudes a more authentic Jewish air.
We live in a world where so much seems to be dragging us down. The past 11 months in Israel have been a huge strain on our positive energy as so many thousands have been impacted, pained, and bereaved. Here in America, there is more and more Jew hatred and overall negativity. (Did you know there’s an election soon?) It would be very easy to just get sucked down into the negativity. Instead, we should follow our innate spiritual natures upwards.
Shlomo Carlebach, Ishay Ribo, the Shabbat table, the High Holidays, supporting Israel, praying for the hostages, performing acts of kindness and just being Jewish are all pathways to this elevated experience and the blessing of being up.
Lord, get us high!
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