HASHTAGS and ACHDUS

         HASHTAGS and ACHDUS
     
How the #BringBackOurBoys campaign united Jews around the globe
                   Dave Sharper

We live in a age where every thing gets posted online. Everything going on in the world around us, and everything in  our lives, gets posted.
For better or worse, social media has become a part of our life.
Many leaders and others in the religious world decry the constant use of social media as a distraction in our day to day lives.
And they have a valid point.
Social media can become excessive and a distraction to acheiving ones goals and or duties.
But just like everything else in life, social media also has a very positive side to it.
This is the unity engendered among people who are uniting for a cause.
Yes. This is the true power of a simple hashtag.
Early Thursday morning, as we Jews were going about our buisiness, heading to shul, going to work, and where ever else, the shocking news came to us like a punch in the gut.
Three of our beloved Yeshiva boys had been kidnapped.
Eyad, Gilad and Naftali were on their way to yeshiva, when the unthinkable happened.
As the world reeled in shock, pious Jews from across the globe gathered together.

They gathered to do what we Jews have always been doing in times of crisis for the last few thousnd years.
We prayed.
We organized mass vigils and prayer rallies in shuls, schools, and public centers around the globe.
We tore apart the heavens with our heart felt pleas for the safe return of our brothers.
All this praying and pleading is great, and neccessary of course.
But the inevitable question always arises, what else can be done?
Yes, we pray. Yes, we learn Torah. Yes, we do good deeds. But is there any thing more we can do for our boys?
The answer came surprisingly enough in the form of a tweet.
One innovative social media activist decided to take up the cause on twitter, and created the simple hashtag #BringBackOurBoys.
And it worked.
With in just a mere few hours, the hashtag had caught on, and was being posted on thousands of twitter, facebook, and instagram accounts around the globe.
#BringBackOurBoys had taken on a life of its own.
Its now six days later, hundreds of thousands of tweets later, and now, thanks to one man's ingenuity and a simple hashtag, the entire world has taken notice of the plight of our three boys.
The hashtag has literally united people of every stripe race and creed to pray and call out for the safe return of our boys.
Politicians everywhere have shown their support for Israel with this hashtag.
Busses have the hashtag emblazoned now across their sides.
And even a song has just been written by two of the Jewish Music world's  big superstars titled 'Bring back our boys'.
What we can take out from all this, I think, is how powerful social media can be when used as a tool for  the good.
Technology when used in the service of a good cause has literally endless potential.
This is the true story behind how one hashtag has united klal Yisroel, and caused the world to take notice of our plight.
What are you going to accomplish with social media and technology today?
The possibilities are endless.
Let us hope and pray that this story ends well, and our boys are quickly found and reunited with their families immediately.
May it be his will.

When Zaidy Was Young 3- Review

I will start off this review with a guilty confession.
I don't really listen to kids albums any more.
I don't know why, but I just don't.
Oh yes, I might occasionally hear a  uncle moishy tune blasting from a minivan as a mom drops off her kid at one of the many gazillion play groups in my neighborhood.
But thats about it.
Its not really that I don't care for kids albums any more, you see. I think  Its more just a matter of me  not having the time.

That being said, when I heard that Shimmy Shtauber was working with Reb Shmuel Kunda ZTL's son on a tribute album to my hero of blessed memory,  I perked up and took notice.
And then whats more, when I heard that the album continues where Reb Shmuel's beloved When Zaidy was Young 2 left off, I really grew excited.
You see, Shmuel Kunda has always been (and still continues to be) one of my biggest heroes and role models. His albums were always my favorites as a kid growing up.
He had something unique about him that to this day remains unequaled.
Reb Shmuel was a man of many talents.
He could tell amazing stories, Write awesome songs, draw charming illustrations, crack hillarious jokes, come up with the craziest voices and (to top it  all off) create the most unique and lovable characters ever.
His charachters were all so real to us. They had real human qualities and shortcomings we could all relate to.
Wether it was Mr. GinukShoin and the "bullzoders" or Mr. Galamoochi attempting to eat his pasta and being rudely interrupted, we felt these charachters were real true to life 3 dimensional human beings. We empathised with them.
So its March 2014, and I hear about this new album being created from the late Reb Shmuel's script which Reb Shmuel wrote before he passed on.
Right then and there I say to myself  "I must get this album."
Fast forward a few weeks, and here I am writing my take on this blockbuster tribute and continuation memorial album.
Here goes..

So it happened on that late Monday evening in early May. I'm kicking back on the couch with my iced coffee in hand. I reach for the remote, and hit play.
Suddenly, as if by magic, I'm propelled back a few decades in time, to a old magical world of familliar voices and diolauge!
Im back in the loveable and fun world of funny charachters, zaniness, humor, excitement and adventure.
Im back in the world of Kunda.

Our story starts off where many of our previous stories started off, in our beloved zeidy's house.
After receiving a visit from his grandson, (the famous Eli "from all the tapes") zaidy introduces Eli ( and us) to cousin Zundel.
As we get cozy and comfortable, Zundel proceeds to share with us the story of how he and his family struggled in Russia.
The tale continues  through out the album delivering sequence after squence of non stop, action packed,  spellbinding suspense.
We find out about a diabolical plot.
At this point the listener is growing anxious, wondering if Zundel's family can ever be safe again.
In between fast and furious action takes, we are treated to a shmorgasbord of clever puns and side splitting comedy, all delivered in Kunda's trademark style.
The delivery is very authentic, as they stay true through out, to the classic humor and wise cracks we have all come to know and love.
Its kind of scary.
Because, as I was listening, I felt like I was actually listening to an authentic all new Shmuel Kunda production.
Yet, we know Reb Shmuel is now in a better place.
The other thing is the characters.
They all seemed so real.
It seems Reb Shmuel has left some of his talents over to his son.
And Shimmy Shtauber.
What a job Shimmy has done!

All in all, I will say, that this ambitious undertaking has succeded far beyond  any one's expectations.
The action, the dialouges, the lessons, the humor, and most importantly that trademark Kunda style, is all there.
I have no doubt that Reb Shmuel is looking down with pride, and dare I say enjoyment, upon seeing the fruits of his creative efforts being borne out.
And surely enough so will you, enjoy this mega production of a new Kunda tale  for many many good years to come.

YES YOU CAN (Write a cd review with out the cd)

Note to reader: 
I originally, had no intentions of reviewing this cd; Or  any  cd for that matter.
Yes, I know that its true, I have done many many reviews to date.
In fact, (for those of you who are of  age to remember) way way back  in the day,  I used to do record reviews about once a week.  It was fun writing these reviews. And it was even more fun going to the bank afterwards.
    I knew that I could (usually) come away with some decent measure of profit.
A measure which helped in part to renumerate me for the many hours of toil and sweat I endured  while sitting here hunched over my dimly lit desk writing;
Not to mention the cost of the type writer.
(And of course the ink.)
But these days, I am finding, that more and more, every one just copies (& pastes) my articles, from their friends copy machine instead of actually going and getting them online at jmr.com.
   Its a shame, really.
But alas, copy machines have killed the entire review industry.
What's a writer to do?

And even if you will say to me (as many people often do) "Well ok, at least these reviews can serve as a buisiness card for you."  To that I say, "So what?" Undoubtedly, some body will still go and copy and then distribute free copies of the buisiness card!
And then there you go. We're right back to square one.
No profit.
All this, thanks to the great and powerful Xerox.
So as you can see, it is just simply no longer worth my while.
Hence the reluctance on my part to continue with any more of these reviews.
      "So  why the sudden change of heart?" you ask, as you read on further into this lengthy note.
Well, as it happened on that fine day last week, I had just purchased my new Michoel cd.
Excited as ever to listen to it, I tear off the plastic.
And then, as I look  down at the jacket, the words "YU DU KENTZT" jump out at me. (For those who like me are not so fluent in Yiddish, it means Yeshiva University, you can)
Then, when I saw the picture of Michoel breaking through the fence, I thought to myelf, Gee whiskers, if he can break through a fence, then surely I could find it in me to write a review of his cd!

And so I did...

   ....INTRODUCTION:  When was the last time a cd release needed no advertisement at all?
When was the last time a cd was released and nobody even bothered to ask "How is it"?
And  when  for that matter, was the last time we had such confidence in a singers hit producing reputation, that we just bought his latest album no questions asked?
And finally, who is the singer that refuses to be satisfied with groundbreaking, but rather aims for fence breaking?

Who indeed?

The answer of course is our favorite optimistic jolly man, Michoel Schnitzler.

Let me ask you, my dear reader, How do you describe a man who embodies the word Simcha in its totality?
How do you describe a man who brings smiles and cheer to every place he goes, with out even having to try?
The answer of course, is you don't.
He is simply indescribable.

This my friends is Michoel Schnitzler.

And should you dear reader, perhaps be so naive as to think that Reb Michoel's so unique, so gifted, and so talented, that there's no way in heavens holy grace that you could ever possibly be like him;
  well then, surprise, surprise; Because Michoel's here to tell you, YES YOU CAN.

This is the message and theme written all  over the cd (and booklet).
The idea here being that yes, you to realize your unbeleivable potential.

The over all theme of this album is
YES YOU CAN. But this is broken down further into 2 sub themes.
THEME 1.  Is about personal potential.
YES YOU CAN succeed in life.
THEME 2. Is about the importace of  keeping ads and (photo) albums (chol) out of cd jackets (kodesh).
YES YOU CAN keep them out.

REASONING and APPLICATION

THEME1: Real life application  for theme :  when you dont think you have the necessary self control to buy instead of copy you're music, than Michoel comes along with his new cd to say unequivocally, that YES YOU CAN.
THEME 2: The reasoning behind the second theme is simple.
When you mix jackets with ads, photo albums, and song lyrics , you get a big mush of a mix, which the chasidim call Yuntif Indy Vuchen.  (The holy days mixed in with the week days)
This by the way is also the  opposite of the concept of Borer.
Borer, since youre probably wondering, would be for example, when you're extracting the good (photo albums and song lyrics) from bad (ads).
Where as over here, your adding them in.
Aditionaly, this is also the concept of Ad Dlo Yada bein "Wipe out all ads & photo albums." and "Blessed is the song lyrics."
And finally  the 3rd reasoning for this is that when you mix ads and photo albums, with lyrics, you make the job of the poor reviewer for JMR (not to mention the reader of the review) exceddingly difficult. (as we shall soon see) 
The reviewer simply has not the faintest idea where the lyrics end, and where the ads start. And where the ads end,  and the photo albums start.

Note to reader (2): Unfortanately  My cd  broke before I had a chance to put it in my player.
Actually it didn't just break on its own.
What really happened was: I usually put myJacket in the wash after a long day out in the woods chopping wood (for paper to write these reviews).
Then,  I will generally will play a cd while the jacket washes. But today the wood chopping really got to me, and I think I was feeling a bit confused.
I accidentally put the cd in the wash, and I put the jacket in the cd player.
The good news is the jacket turned out fine. (pun intended) 
Comes out its a good thing it turned out fine by the way. Or rather I should say turns out its a good thing it came out fine.
Actually I think it might just be a fine thing that it came out good  and turned out fine

Because fortunately, I have recently gotten really good at listening to cds and writing reviews. So good, in fact, that I now no longer need to hear the cd to write a review. I just look at the song on the jacket and I instantly can tell you how the song probably sounds.
Thank gooodnes for jackets! (And scarves. And earmuffs. Its getting rather cold outside).

(ok. ok. Yeh. I know.. you didn't come here to read a magilla. You have purim for that.. so Its time..Lets get to the cd review already!!)

1. THE COVER:*****
The cover here starts off with kleins kosher Ice cream.  I do actually love ice cream. But you see, the thing about kleins kosh...
..wait... oh..
hold on..
oh... I'm so sorry.... ..I'm used to reading left to right... Lets start this again..

1. MICHOEL SCHNITZLER*****
This song is awesome! Unfortunately Im having trouble hearing it clearly on my cd player. But by looking at the lyrics on the jacket, I can see its a good one. We first have the Hebrew lyrics "Michoel Schnitzler" (strange, how these lyrics remind of a name of some famous Chassidish singer I think I may know)
We then have those same lyrics pronounced in English. And Then some Yiddish is thrown in. I love when they do this! Hebrew, then English, then Yiddish, all singing together! Its like this big achdus going on  between Chassidim, Litvaks and Israelis.
I think 8th day started this multi lingual lyrics shtick, by the way with Yalili.
I don't really know Yiddish so well, so we will skip these words.
Michoel then really  show us all what potential is. We don't know exactly where Michoel was holding talent wise when started off his career. But one thing we can now know for certain is that he is now breaking through metal fences.
METAL FENCES!!
I mean, for cratzmachs sake,  even the black belted chinese guy who gives me Tae Kwan Doe classes twice  a week, can't do that!
Michoel is like the Michael Jordan-er-Michael Shnitzler of Jewish music. 
In fact as a comparison, I would say its fair game to put him up there some where next to superman.
So, now there you have it folks. We are undoubtedly looking here at our first ever Jewish superheroe.
And now, with that fence breaking breakthrough of a track broken up, broken through and broken down, we now are ready to move on to track 2.

2. HARAV ZAMIR COHEN**
There's not too many lyrics in this track, which is nice. I've always said that too many lyrics can kill a otherwise good track.
I like that they got new and never used before composers.
Zamir Cohen really outcomposed himself on this track.
When I said that theres very few words by the way on this track, I meant VERY few words. Theres exactly six words in total.
The first three words (ironically enough) are  the same three words as the title of this track. " Harav Zamir Cohen." Coincidece? I think not.
Will this become the new trend; the composer making a song out of his name?? I sure as snow hope not!!
Anyways, what this track lacks in words, it more than makes up for in color and personality.
Through out this track you can actually picture Michoel smiling as he sings over and over the title and the melody "Harav Zamir Cohen". "oooohhh Harav Zamir COHEN!!" Finally we get to the second part of this song; the epic chorus.
"HARAV DUDI FARKISH!!!"
Man does Michoel get emotional here! He must really be close with this guy!
I'm not sure what it is, but something about this track is giving me a "boxy" kind of feel. Almost as if the parts are neatly  arranged into many neat boxes.Whatever.
Anyways, all in all, I would say that other than the poor lyrics this is a smash hit track that surely will blow up big on the wedding scene.
                     
3.WHEN YOU NEED A FRIEND PREFFERED IS THERE****
This track was composed by Preffered home care. Its a inspirational song about a older man walking alone down a deserted highway somewhere in the mountains. The intro starts off with a big open sky which really sets the serious mood for the rest of this track.
The open sky slowly leads us into the airy mountain rocks. The rock part quickly turns into country, as we feel the cool country air blowing through the song now. And then we have the lyrics "When you need a friend." The English lyrics are very appropriate here. Finally we get the prechorus, the sound of a man walking, and the walking man slowly fades out in to the rocking chorus. "PREFFERED IS THERE!" Wow! what a range Michoel has!! Finally in the end we have a few phone numbers thrown in. I'm not really sure what that's all about. But whatever.

4.ZAMRU LAMILKAINU*
This emotional song is composed by Michoel Schnitzler. This song has  lot of lyrics. In fact its almost ALL lyrics. Hardly any music here.
Ill be honest. This is not my favorite track on the cd.
I got lost somewhere through the first part of track. Way too many words. sorry.
I do actually like the second part though. It starts off with the words "BROCHOS VEHODAOS" being shouted out. Nice job Michoel!
Then they throw in a bunch of random names.
     WHY???
Why do they always do this thing with the names?????
    Its almost like the singer has to show off how popular he is and how many people he knows. For cholents sake! Maybe they should do away with all composers now and just open up phone books and rattle off names!!

5. CREDIT. THANK YOU NOTES*
The next track composed by Avrumi Zupnik has a great title. The meaning is simple. In life we only accomplish things thanks to significant others. Our teachers Rebbeim, Moras, grandparents, parents, friends and the catering hall.
I actually spoke about this concept at the end of my bar mitzvah speech. Incidentally, its the only part I remember.
Anyways, the meaning here really is that we have to give CREDIT and THANK YOU NOTES to all of above mentioned people for our accomplishments. And of course for the bar mitzvah pshet'l.

Then the song starts  and the lyrics are...... you guessed it names. NAMES??!!  WHY??? When willl this ugly trend in Jewish music stop already?? Enough name calling! Its almost as bad as taking random holy pesukim and making  rock songs and pop songs out of them! At least now its names.
But then it gets worse.
They throw in websites at the end of the song!!
Go figure.
I'm done with this track.
               
6. 1CHAMISHA KOLOS
CHAMISHA KOLOS**
This is a nice song. The theme is 1 and then 5 voices. Sometimes in life we hear one voice telling us to do something. Then we hear a different voice telling us to do something else. And so on. And so forth.
Soon enough we have 5 voices all together talking to us. I realy hope nobody reaches this stage. If you ever do, than I would reccommend seeking immediate psychological help.

I love the fiddle piece afterwards. Looks like we have 3 men on the fiddle here. And 2 men on the flute. Very very nice. Then we have a lot of lyrics going on. They're all nice lyrics.
   All in all a nice track.

7.  2A BRUDERUL'Z HERTZ****
This is a beautiful Yiddish song by Pinchos Mordechai Weber about the holocaust. There's a lot of Yiddish in this one.

8. 3YUNTIFFS INDERWAUCHEN****
Not sure exactly what this song is about. Too much Yiddish for me here. I know there's three yuntiff's (holidays) being discussed somewhere in this song from the title.
Additionally, we can deduce that it's a happy song, because there are three chasiddim dancing.
I would venture to guess further, each of these three chassidim represent 1 of the three Yuntiffs in the the title.
Furthermore, I would venture to say that each of these three chassidim, reppresent one of the three Rigalim. That is why they are dancing. They are being Oila Regel.

9. "YES YOU CAN"*****
The song starts off slowly, with the meaningful lyrics "Rely on us, when it comes to...
Then Michoel really gives it his all on the prechorus here "Pricing. Honesty. Service. Responsibility."
(These are all the different aspects of serving Hashem by the way)
Finally we get the smashing chorus "DRIVEWAY LEASING"
And as if thats not enough,  in case were still having any self doubts after listening to this song, Michoel leaves us his Phone number, Website, email adress, twitter account,  facebook account, home adress, and picture of him in his driveway, standing next to his car, and giving us the thumbs up sign, in the end, so we can contact him for some encouragement.
        Thanks Michoel!

                     10. YU DU KENTZT****
I love this song. Maybe that's because I love mountain climbing so much. I don't know. Michoel really reaches high on this. And the truth is if he can, you can too!

11. 5 (year old) SANDY, CANDY***
This cute song by LIPA is about Mandy who is 5 years old giving his candy to Sandy.Them Sandy gives his bike to Mandy. (Sounds like a fair exchange.) C Cute song. kind of reminds me of another song I once heard "SHE SELLS SEASHELLS."

12.  6 ROCKER FELLA'S*****
This cute song by Avrohom Yaakov Shtessel, is about 6 fellows who sing Rock and roll, meeting a Chasidish guy sitting on a park bench one day.
I didn't really understand the rest. Too much Yiddish. But, that it would seem to me is the gist of it.

13. 7 DOES (the) LAZITTA DUKINAN***
I like this song. A lot. Its very calming to my soul. Basically, its about contrast. We have 7 guys who are part of a dance group known as "7". And one day in middle of shul,  they do the new Yiddish dance known as "LAZITA DUKINAN" named after the late Mr. Dukinan, may his soul rest in peace.
The contrast to be found  here is  in the gactvthat the other guys in shul are so into their praying, and so deeply wrapped up in their prayer shawls, that they don't even notice anything going on.
I love how Michoel always manages to find these original stories which really make for interesting social commentary.
And I really also love the lyrics in the end "David Farkash is helping to protect your future well being" This really adds a lot to the extreme contrasts and the strangeness of the song.

14. 8 SAYS "GAVIN GOOT"****
This a song about a group of 8 guys who say the words "GAVIN GOOT" while their dancing.
Or actually, on second thought, it might be about a guy named Gavin Goot  who likes to say the number 8. (Although that kind of sounds like something you would read in a Dr. Suess book )
Ummm... To be honest with you, I'm not really sure the meaning behind all this.
And the Yiddish lyrics don't really help me much either. Next...

15. 9 SHIMA YISROEL'S **
By the same guy who wrote Rockefeller. Its a really nice song about a big  Tzaddik who says Shma 9 times a day.
Though the rest of the track, I can't really follow because there's just too much Yiddish for me.

16. 10 DEAR GALACTIC AMPURS******
This song is definitlely a first in Jewish music.
Its the first time ever that a Jewish album deals with the subject of attacking alien space space ships.
Until now this issue has been cinsidered  taboo and has been swept under the carpet in most  frum circles.
This song particularly is about 10 dear invading alien spaceships called Galactic Ampurs.
This track kind of got me thinking, if these invading alien space ships are really so dear to Michoel, then he must know them well.
And if this is true. that he really knows about these invading alien space ships so well, than you've got to wonder what else does he know about that we don't??
  hmmm... makes you wonder...
And finally, the real question is, what do these invading space craft have to do with the mysterious water carrier here?
     Wait....
..Maybe,  the water carrier is really Michoel, when  was younger?
Is this perhaps really all one big conspiracy going on between the space ships and the water carrier? Are perhaps all water carriers really secretly working with each other and the CIA? Are they all perhsps one big front for a big planned world take over by extraterrestrial alien forces?
  Gosh...
There are so many questions left unanswered here!!
Maybe if I knew Yiddish a bit better, I'd have all the answers to these questions.

17. 11 M.S. OPTICAL. CAN YOU SEE ME NOW?*****
That's a lengthy song title, I do say. This track is humorous and playful. And to answer the question being asked in the title, "Yes Michoel. We can see you now. Youre at 11 M.S. Optical trying on glasses. And what we also can see over here is the vast range of Michoel's playfulness, and exuberance as he tries on the various amusing assortments of eyewear. I think the glasses on the top middle picture are the best fit for Michoels awesome personality by the way.

The arrangements are a bit over the top on this track. we get all kinds of glasses on pictures of Michoels faces popping up everywhere through out the track. I usually don't complain much about things like arrangements. But you got to ask your self, do we really need this all?
  And then we have the adress and phone number thrown in randomly at the bottom. I'm sorry to say, but all these extras take away from the meat of the track. Michoels smiling face with the cool glasses.
finally were left with the one thing I liked best about this track.
Ms Optical.
The logo is simple and flows beautifully with the rest of this bizarre track. And the final lyrics "A frame for every face." Brilliance!
   
18. ZARG NEESHT R EED (raining on)11**
I honestly have no idea what this song means. I can't even figure out the meaning of the title. I'm guessing its Yiddish again.

19. DEPART in confidence ARRIVE in satisfaction.****
This song is a very deep Mussar song about our journey through this world. Ironically enough, this song is composed by Destiny Travel.
   I really  love how they end off "service to the skies".

20. BAD MEMORIES?*
The song begins with a oompah style tune playing over the words "We hide them in the blind spot"
This track was actually going pretty well until this point. But what we get next is just one big wreck. Everything about this part just doesn't go. Im sorry. it sounds like a dying engine of a sports car.
Which is why it doesn't go.
Sports cars with dying engines just don't go.
Actually, at this point I'm thinking, they should have perhaps called this song Tefilas Haderech. Maybe they would have had better luck with this track. 

  Well, ok, to be fair, at least they were  kind enough leave a phone number here on the bottom  so we can have some one to speak to about the insurance claim.
I don't know. whatever. This song is giving me whiplash.
I'm done. Next.

21. WORLD CLASS QUALITY HEALTH CARE*
This song is too long for me. Im sorry but Im going to have to skip. And anyhow, at this point I think I've already been up a whole night reviewing this random and seemingly endless album.
In fact  at this point now,  I think I may actually NEED some world class quality health care.
sorry. But I'm going to skip this track.

22. KLEINS REAL KOSHER ICE CREAM!!**********************************************************
Yes!! Finally!! I love kleins ice cream! This song is just delicious!! I really could use this song now after finally being done with this whole long Magilla of a review.
Especially since its parve, and I'm allergic to Dairy.
This by the way, was I think a very smart move by Michoel, saving the final desert for last. Yes. This song really has a lot of flavor to it.

In conclusion parts of this album were very unexpected and out of the box.Some were in fact out of their mind.
The album itself is long with 22 tracks in total, but  still it never drags. (Except for the 20th song where it drag races [and crashes]) There are no filler songs here.  And I musy say, Michoel sounds even better here, than he's ever sounded before. The songs are extremely orginal and varied. With songs about spaceships, dance groups, airports, and driveways, your'e  sure to get your moneys worth. Oh, and it also comes with a nice jacket.

p.s. Please don't play or read this jacket (or review) on shabbos, as it contains ads. Many ads.
p.p.s.You can if you would likemove the ads from the songs and photo albums, in the jacket after shabbos if you like, but preferrably not on Shabbos, as this may be a question of Borer. (And tearing.)

Disclaimer: In my booklet reading, I found many pictures thrown in amongst the lyrics. Many of these pictures are beautiful. I usually will try to stick to the song lyrics only in my review. but being that  these pictures are beautiful I will ocasionally speak about the accompanying images for each song. I originall
*writing cd review* **Michoel Schnitzler Yu Du Kentzt review**

LIPA CHARLIE CHAPLIN PURIM AND US

                     Dave Sharper

         Yeah, I know. That is a rather strange title I put up there. isn't it?

"What in the world (you are probably asking yourself) do all these random things have in common with each other?"

Well, its interesting, because I was actually also wondering the exact same thing until early this morning.

This morning, I stumbled upon a article on C.O.L. Live, (The big Chabad website) about a new video by Danny Finkelman.

The video, as C.O.L. Live describes it, is "A leap back in time." 
What I found really interesting in the video, was how it actually brings one back in time, to the early age of cinematography. 
It is filmed in black and white, and features costumes reminiscent of the early 20th century fashion of dress.
Additionally the acting by Lipa Schmeltzer is purposefully very stilted and dry so as to further give us that early stilted slapstick Charlie Chaplin kind of humor.
And it works.
We feel ourselves traveling back in time to a different era.
We then have Tzvika Bornstein, actually playing the part of Charlie.

As the video progresses we move on from one comic scene to the next, with Lipa riding a bike, giving all his mishloach manos away to an old vagabond, meeting up with Charlie Chaplin and his team of young street musicians, getting chased by a angry policeman, and finally we end up at a purim party with lots of different  people of all ages. 
We than have the megilla laining-aka-rapping, by Lipa Schmeltzer, who is then joined in by the famous Jewish rapper Ari Lesser. 
At first the elderly people are shocked and slightly disturbed in fact, by the rapping.
But they quickly warm up to the rap tunes and begin dancing and enjoying themselves.

Now, getting back to the title.. 
 What I think is really  the main message over here that Danny's trying to convey to us, is  the idea of outsides being just a facade or a shell, if you will, for the inner reality. The concept is about how all of the outer appearances of our religousness, our clothing, and everything else going on around us are all just superficial costumes and masks of this reality.
The one thing that is real and remains constant throughout all time is that God is always watching out for us from behind the curtain, so to speak.
It is in fact, those  same miracles that god did way back then, that god is secretly still doing for us right now as we speak. He is doing these miracles for all of us, no matter who we are.
 Because God loves us all dearly. 
He always has, and always will.
We often don't feel it or see it. True.
But that connection to god is always there, nonethe less.
And in fact Lipa himself said about the video. 
"Sometimes, we only feel this connection to god, by Neilah at the end of Yomkippur. But the truth is were always connected, even if we dont see it, and this is the message of purim. God is always there for us."

And this, I beleive, is also a theme that Charle Chaplin has always conveyed. Through his timeless acting and silent humor he conveyed a message of timelesness of the human condition. We still relate to his humor now, in 2014, because he captured something timeless about our lives. 
These comedy sketches and skits which he created about happenings in our day to day lives is something that we all can relate to.

But what Charlie may not have known or realized as he sat down to write these sketches, is that God is actually orchstrating things always, and he is the reason behind all the human emotions and challenges that he had acted out so well.

Now the reason Charlie may not have known or been aware of this, is because god has chosen to remain in hiding behind this curtain.

And so, that my friends, is what all of these things have in common.

  All those outer layers and appearances that we show out, wether we look like Charlie Chaplin, or Lipa Schmeltzer, or whom ever else it may be that we choose to identify with, it doesn't really matter.
God loves us all.
And now this Purim, as we all go about celebrating and being joyous together, let us not forget this main purpose of purim to celebrate "The big reveal" of god always having been there for us all. 
And being there for us right now as we speak.
Danny, job well done!








                                                                      

                                                             

Here is a link to to the new Lipa Schmeltzer video "THE REVEAL".

Lipa Schmeltzer free style rap purim song Queens College 2014

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfePoGEuRzo&feature=youtube_gdata_player

THESE ARE OUR KIDS

         THESE ARE OUR KIDS

The next time you see someone feeling hurt or alone;
The next time you see some one with out a home,
  Show that you care.
Be there. Be there. Be there.
It is our job, our responsibility,
to care for our kids,
our precious family.
Yes, every single struggling kid
is gods beloved precious yid.

THESE ARE OUR KIDS.
Our family. Our precious souls.
Rejected, neglected, and feeling alone.
These are our kids starving to feel loved.
Their our precious kids with souls from above. 

Hurt and pained by the world they see;
Rejected for their differences and personalities.
Where can they turn to when the world seems so cold?
Where can one turn when he feels so alone?
Where can one go when he has no home?
Who will care for a child with nowhere to go?
You may not have the time to be there all day.
But that doesn't mean you can't find something to say.
just one kind word coming straight from your heart.
A smile. A good morning. Thats a great place to start.

THESE ARE OUR KIDS
Our family. Our precious souls.
Rejected, neglected, and feeling alone.
These are our kids starving to feel loved.
Their our precious kids, with souls from above. 

Every body wants to feel good and have pride.
To feel loved and accepted and welcomed inside.
But the pain of rejection is too much to bear.
Its time to start caring, loving, and drawing all near.
Every hurtful comment, every snide remark;
Every act of rejection slowly leaves Its mark.
Judging criticizing, rejecting, being cold.
Its these things that push kids far outside
the fold.
Taunting by class mates or a teasing rebbe.
Bullying, rejecting and being  so mean.
All these things take a toll on our kids and  teens.
When a kid feels like hes just second class. Or worse;
When he seeks to see love and only finds hurt.
Now at this point, where can he turn??

THESE ARE OUR KIDS
Our family. Our precious souls.
Rejected, neglected, and feeling alone.
These are our kids, starving to feel loved.
Their our precious kids, with souls from above. 

Every time we tell a kid its his marks that really count.
or we're upset with his Yidishkeit so we scream and shout,
we instill the message that he has no worth at all.
Its all just frumkeit that matters... and quite  soon he does fall.
And if he's a square peg, not cut out for round holes
then how's he to feel when we say round holes or no holes?
Are we only making place for the cream of the crop?
Dare we not include those who can not,
find meaning and yidishkeit inside our box?

           
             THESE ARE OUR KIDS
Our family. Our precious beautiful souls.
Rejected, neglected, and feeling alone.
These are our kids starving to feel loved.
Their our precious kids with souls from above. 

Yes these kids are starving for love and a chance
to be accepted for who they really are and to dance.
To dance to the beauty of the Yidishkeit they see.
And to fulfill their rolls in Yidihkeits beauty.
And to one day be a light for all humanity.
No two people of course are created the same.
There are 12 beautiful tribes with 12 beautiful  names.
Its time to open our minds and open our hearts
to millions of our precious kids who need a fresh start.
We've got to make our yidishkeit and Torah so exciting and bold.
  appealing to every one all across the fold.   
Because torahs never stale and never gets old.
Our Yidiskeit must become
a thing of real beauty and love.
where all are accepted.
none are rejected.
And may we all soon come together united connected
to serve you above.

THESE ARE OUR KIDS
Our family. Our precious beautiful souls.
Rejected, neglected, and feeling alone.
These are our kids starving to feel loved.
Their our precious kids with souls from above. 

AKA Pela 5 Review

A.K.A. pella 5. Review-Dave Sharpner Anyone who's been following the Jewish music scene over the last few years, will no doubt be familiar with the group called A.K.A.pela. This talented group broke onto the music scene a few years back with their smashing debut album Premium Blend. I remember hearing it for the first time. And I was like “WOW! These guys are really good!" They were at that point, combining secular intros with popular Jewish songs. And they were doing it well. Then along came Volume 2. This raised the bar a bit higher as they improved even more on their mixing. The next year was followed by ADAPTION which really started getting interesting. They were now mixing and weaving secular intros with Jewish intros, harmonies and instrument sounds so well that they had at this point already become one of the most anticipated CDs to be released from the entire year! And finally came along PLATINUM which basically blew away any previous notions of what a AKAPELLA album could be like! At this point, it had already become official. AKApella was now king of AKAPELLA! Their groundbreaking and original lyric adaptations, intros, outros, harmonies, and realistic instrument sounds simply had to be heard to be believed! I fondly remember listening to PLATINUM last year, and thinking to myself, there is simply no way in the world they would ever be able to top this. Well, top it they did! I have no idea how. But one thing I could say is this. The combination of professional sounding good music and hilarious shtick is something I have never heard before in my life on any album. Period. Okay, Now on to the songs. 1. KULAM AHUVIM TELEPHONE. The song starts off with a dial tone and automated voice telling us the number can not be reached. And I must say, I was caught a bit off guard. I knew there would be a lot of shtick in store. But I wasn’t expecting it right at the beginning. Once again very original! They then start off with Gaga's telephone intro to the words of Kulam Ahuvim. At One minute in, Avi Stewart comes on giving us a nice rendition of MBD's original low part. I've never heard his voice before. I would describe it in three words. Sweet and Crystal Clear.(Sort of how I like my chicken soup)Then we have C.D.Eichler, Shmuel Braun, and Sholom Engel doing the high part. One thing I just want to add at this point. I found the melodies and the harmonies on this song in particular blend so well together, that its hard to even notice where they start and stop! Its just One long beautiful seamless harmony! I've always loved the original Kulam Ahuvim. But I'll admit, I found this version much more exciting! In fact the Gaga song and the MBD song blend so well together, that if I didn’t know better, I'd be convinced their actually One song! 2. TGIF MEDLEY 2. They start off with the usual (yawn inducing)Akapella “DumDums”. And then suddenly they come on with the Flo-Rida Good Feeling intro. "On Shabbos,I get a good feeling!(YEEEEAAH!!)That I Neva Neva Neva had before!!(OH NOOO!!)” Then Pit bull(A.k.a.Yaakov Eidelman) comes on and he does the rap part about Shabbos! And I must say Yaakov really nails it! If Pitbull ever calls in sick One day, now he can always call on Yaakov! Special mention also by the way goes to Zevi Daniel, for the funky and inspirational lyrics! At 1:20 they “Find Sholom Aleichem in a heartless place”(Originally Rhianna)They then go through the entire Shalom Aleichem. Then at 1:50 they do “Lchah Dodi on the floor.”(The sefardim I think, actually do it on the floor. On a mat.)We then get some more rap, with Chris Brown’s “International Ashes Chayil”(I think that would help the shidduch crisis btw, if we had more international Ashes Chayils, instead of just marrying people from our hometowns.)Never thought I’d see a Chris Brown tune with King Solomon doing the lyrics! But here it is! I think this just may be the very first King Solomon, Chris Brown collaboration! 3. Moves like Nili Mili (Say what?!) Okay guys. If you’ve never heard Yitzy(Spinner) before, than you must listen to this! Yitzy, who btw, also was a major Miami soloist a few years back, really shines on this song! It starts off with the whistle of the original “Jagger” tune. And then Yitzy comes on with MBDs Im Ain Ani Li off Kulam Ahuvim. Surprisingly enough, this song actually goes on at this point for about a minute straight with just beautiful singing and no shtick! Then Yitzy does a nice spin (Pun intended) on the song and does it in English to the Jagger tune. And then at 2:52 WOW! Yitzy nails that high part, as his voice soars to a really scary height! And finally rounds it off with" And it goes like that!" Awesome Job Yitzi!! Next up is... 4. Gertners Hashomayim-7th Heaven. (No he doesn’t really have a song called that, But if you shut you're eyes tight, while listenening to Hashamayim, you’ll feel like your actually floating on a cloud somewhere in 7th heaven!)Just a word by the way, on the original song. I am a huge Gertner fan. And when I first heard the song on Say Asay, I was literally blown away! It is my favorite song on the album! They start off with the original Gertner song. And I just love how they do the high part on the second Yihaaaaaalilucha! Exactly like Gertner does it!! 10 points for that! Then they do Shwekey’s Mimkomcha from Ad Bli Dai .Beautiful job. But still not like Shwekey's original. Btw this is the first of the 2 slow songs on the album. (Actually, its 4 songs, if you break up the songs in both medleys) And its really beautifully done. If you're a “pure” akapella person, than this is just the song is for you. It's the only song with no fake music or shtick at all. 5.Tick Tock. It's back to the “DumDums” once again! This time its Shea Rubenstein’s Tick Tock. WOW!! Really Really great drum work btw!!(Ok. sorry. I know. I should really call it mouth work. But that would sound more like something that happens at the dentist) Anyways, They start off with the “Smashing” (There really is smashing btw, later in the song) low part and quickly move on to Kesha's revised version of Tick Tock. Love the part “Tonight we're gonna shteig til we see the sunlight!" And then back again to Shea’s Tick Tock. (This reminds me btw Hayom Kotzer, so I really got to finish this review already, and get back to my day job!)And then at 3:25 we get another surprise! It's Katy Perry’s California! And then back again to Shea’s Tick Tock. This song is just plain “CRAZY” with a Capital “C”!! Simply no other way to describe it! 6. MOSHIACH-MOSHIACH.This song starts off with Yitzy saying something in fluent Spanish. And to be perfectly honest, I really have no clue what he said. But I will definitely ask One of my Mexican Coworkers later what it means. So, We start off with Benny Friedman’s Moshiach. What could I say about this song that hasn’t been already said? Its just really really good! And these guys actually do Benny justice! Trust me, its no easy feat. But, they do it! Then they do Miami’s Moshiach which is also a great song. And finally at 3:23 we get Englaise’s Bailamos and Gaga’s Alanjenro. (I think Gaga’s on this cd btw more than cd Eichler himself)! 7.NO LYRICS. Starts off