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Stardom 101: Lipa Goes To College

by Sandy Eller – Jewish Press

He is a singer, an entertainer, a performer, a composer, a lyricist and perhaps the most revolutionary force to ever hit the Jewish music world. But for the last two years, Lipa Schmeltzer has donned another guise, trading his microphones for textbooks and the concert stage for the classroom, as the colorful artist has headed to school in pursuit of a college degree.

Schmeltzer’s dream of obtaining a higher education began approximately two years ago as he drove past the local community college and began to contemplate the possibility of earning a college degree. Stopping off at the registrar’s office, Schmeltzer inquired as to the enrollment requirements and was told he needed a high school diploma.

“I never got an education other than biblical stuff,” reported Schmeltzer. “I called up someone in New Square and he got me a paper saying I had graduated high school.”

Not surprisingly, the registrar at Rockland Community College, a two-year school which is part of the State University of New York system, informed Schmeltzer that the paper he was holding was of little value. As English is actually Schmeltzer’s second language, he spent eighteen months working towards his high school equivalency diploma, taking classes at the Rockland County Board of Cooperative Educational Services as well as studying with private tutor Chaim Glovinsky in order to pass the series of five tests which would award him a General Equivalency Diploma and allow him to enroll in college.

Now completing his first full semester at RCC, the 34-year-old Schmeltzer is a firm believer in the value of proper schooling.

“I never had the opportunity to get an education,” explained the superstar. “It’s not fair what is going on in many communities today. People are getting married yet they have no way of supporting themselves and one day they wake up and realize they can’t manage. Even if someone disagrees with the idea of going to college there are still programs which can provide a college degree so that they can make something of themselves and support their families.”

Schmeltzer, who is pursuing a dual associate’s degree in performing arts and liberal arts, a two year process, took twelve credits in his first semester and hopes to take a full 18 credit course load for the upcoming spring semester. Among the courses Schmeltzer plans to complete in his first full year in college are acting, dance, musical theater, English, psychology and pluralism and diversity.

Both Schmeltzer’s classmates and the faculty at the college laud his exuberance, his talent and his determination.

“Lipa is kind, enthusiastic and nice to everyone,” said classmate Neidin Loughran. “Everyone in our acting class respects him, his beliefs, his decision to enroll in college at his age and his passion for performing.”

“Lipa has never boasted about his career but he is a superstar to us,” added department chairperson, Patricia Maloney-Titland, who was also Schmeltzer’s professor this past semester. “His manner, his work ethic, his creativity, everyone enjoys what he brings to the table. Lipa clearly inspires people and if anyone can be the messenger to remind us that we all need to find common ground to unite us, he is going to be that guy.”

In fact, Schmeltzer views his time at RCC as an opportunity not only for his personal growth but that of other Jewish students as well. Rabbi Dov Oliver, director of the RCC Hillel, which also doubles as a Chabad House, had nothing but praise for the college’s most well known musical personality.

“From his first days at RCC, Lipa has been here offering to do whatever he could,” reported Rabbi Oliver. “He has helped me put tefillin on kids and he brought his entire family for our annual Shabbat dinner. He made kiddush, sang zemiros, did badchanus and literally made his way to every single table in the room, making everyone feel good. Once, at our weekly parsha shmooze, Lipa spoke about his life, how unlikely it was that he would have ended up in college, explaining that you never have to accept your circumstances as the end game, you can control your own destiny and work towards what you believe. He made a very powerful impression on the students.”

Enrolling in college as an older student is just one of the many projects the enterprising Schmeltzer has undertaken. The entertainer is inordinately proud of the shul that he founded after relocating to Airmont, New York, several years ago. Having faced many challenges in his own life, Schmeltzer took great care to ensure that the shul be a place that is open and welcoming to everyone.

“I was a guy who wasn’t always welcome everywhere and I know what it is like not to feel comfortable walking into a shul,” recalled Schmeltzer. “For a long time I didn’t always have a place to daven on a weekday. I want everyone to feel welcome here, from those who come every day at 5:30 a.m. for the Daf Yomi shiur, to those who only come occasionally.”

Fellow congregant Yoely Weiss describes the Airmont shul as a place unlike any other.

“It is a loving, accepting environment, that isn’t chassidish, yeshivish or modern,” said Weiss. “It is everything and for everyone. There is a seriousness in the shul for true yiddishkeit and clearly people respond to that because it is jam packed every morning.”

Not an official rabbi as of yet, Schmeltzer hopes to add that title to his long list of credentials one day and is currently doing a twice-weekly online semicha program via Skype.

“I don’t know if I can finish the whole thing,” admits Schmeltzer.

Despite a hectic schedule that begins at 6:30 a.m. with a vasikin minyan and includes concerts, weddings, a newly released music video, Schmeltzer remains dedicated to his goal of getting a degree.

“I try to tell people the value of an education,” explains Schmeltzer. “You never know what’s going to be fifteen years from now and having a college degree opens a lot of doors, doors that you might need one day in the future.”

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47 Comments

  • so proud of Lipa!!

    good for you. Hatzlacha Rabba and I am glad that the topic of getting an education is comng to light.

  • uregnt

    we must understand that he can takeh do what he wants, but as a whole, we should no longer be supporting him.

    we all can think individually that what he is doing may be okay, but as a community and as chasidim we can not endorse nor agree that what he is doing is right.

    in addition if you look at his music from when he started till now it is very noticeable that he has gone down hill Biruchuins, i am not judging him, i am stating the obvious.

    i plead with all of you that we must make a statement and no longer allow this guy in our homes.

    it seems that the rabonim that wanted his concert canceled a few years ago were right.

  • What are you trying to promote with this

    Great. Let’s talk but a person whose making lots of money (a superstar), but claims that he has “no education” other with that “bible stuff”. I wonder how the Rebbe would react if he saw that on his holya table. There is something terribly wrong with not just openly promoting college, but also bashing those whose education consists of Torah.

  • Adam

    Are you kidding? Anyone bashing this guy for actually trying to plan for the future and provide for his family should be ashamed of themselves? The article clearly states he helps out the Shliach, puts tefillin on with people, makes people feel at home at shul and brings them closer to yidishkeit. If going to college and doing all that is wrong, I don’t want to be right.

  • dovid

    lets face it today one needs a solid education, not to get one is robbing your children…i have a freind whos father told him dont do what a goy can do, meaning go into kodesh….well this poor fellow never made a living he was horrible at being a rebbe and he knew he wasnt fit for it…well one day he had the courage to goto to touro and pursue a degree at night…graduadted and has a great job making close to six digits…we learn twice a week together, he told me he will never forgive his father for his stupidity.mind you this fellow is a tmisdike and chasidesh as it gets…so to all you nay sayers smell the coffee…btw what the rebbe said regarding doesnt change and its important and helik untill moshiach comes.

  • No proper education?!!!!!

    No proper education??
    I must command mr lipa on his decisions it’s very brave to go back to school at his age. BUT!! We have an amazing education system in our yeshivos! Amazing teachers and dedicated staff in every single school!! And supportive parents! Let’s not forget that the Torah gives us a major advantage: the curriculum isn’t only in school it continues at home!
    So yes, there may be a lack of math, English and social studies, but to say its not proper education is WRONG! I think values such as honesty, bittul and kabalos ol are well worth this kind of education! U may not be equipped for the work market but coming out of yeshiva I would think u r ready for the challenges in life!

  • Yossi

    As a shliach on campus I cannot imagine how a course on music, dance or acting can be appropriate for a frum person.

  • CONCERNED READER WORRIED FOR LUBAVITCH!!

    YAY LETS THROW THE REBBE’S WORDS DOWN THE DRAIN AND THINK ABOUT HOW IMPORTANT IT IS FOR US TO MAKE SURE WE CAN LIVE A WEALTHY LIFE STYLE… I MEAN NO ONE EVER MAKES IT JUST FROM LAERNING TORAH AND BELIEVING IN THE ONE ABOVE THAT’S JUST NONSENSE THAT THE REBBE SPOKE ABOUT IN THE OLDEN DAYS!!!

    THIS ARTICLE IS GREAT, DON’T GET ME WRONG JUST NOT FOR A LUBAVITCHER WHO BELIEVES IN WHAT THE REBBE SAID!!!

    IF U READ THIS AND DON’T WANT TO POST IT THAN READ THE ARTICLE AGAIN AND REALIZE THAT THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT IT SAYS TO ANY LUBAVITCHER AND U SHOULD TAKE IT DOWN!!!

    PROMOTING COLLEGE IS WRONG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • Chana

    All those saying that the Yeshiva system is a good education – clearly you have never been to a good school! I went to an excellent frum school, outside of the U.S. and my high school education is of a higher standard than many American four-year colleges. The American level of education is abysmal even without the handicap of a Crown Heights education. I applaud Lipa, and everyone else who has the understanding and courage to pursue a higher education.

  • YOSSI A

    TO #5 ARE YOU KIDDING

    SHAME ON YOU

    DID YOU EVER LEARN THE REBBE’S SICHOS “AGAINST” GOING TO COLLAGE????

    JUST LOOK AT WHERE HIS BEARD AND YOU WILL SEE WHER LIPA’S YIRAS SHAMAYIM IS.

  • IMPRESSIVE!!

    The concept of earning a degree, of recognizing the value of education, is very important. Truthfully, Lipa doesn’t need to plan for the future…he is fortunate that he found his niche & attained great personal & financial success.

    But most people never get to that level, most people need to plan for the future. In our circles, men generally have 2 choices: they go on Shlichus or they get a job. And without a proper education, it’s very, very hard to succeed in the world of work. Sure, we have a number of young guys who are very entrepreneurial & are B“H millionaires, but most never get close.

    I advised my sons to go to school after smicha but only when they are married (for obvious reasons.) One did, the rest didn’t and truth to tell, they are struggling financially.

    I admire Lipa in many ways, although I think some of the courses may well give him a problem. But it sounds like the faculty respects his Chassidic lifestyle & will accommodate him in coursework, performances etc.

    To those who don’t get why he felt rejected (my word) let me say I teach in a system very similar to the one in which Lipa grew up. It’s a very unforgiving one in many ways & I’m sure his extrovert personality was very hard for them to swallow. He marches to a different drummer, that’s all. Personally, I think he’s great!

    Hatzlacha, Lipa! You continue to inspire ordinary people to aspire to extraordinary heights & I think you’re a great role model. Wouldn’t it be nice if other so-called ”entertainers” had kept true to their religious path while succeeding professionally (you all know who I mean.)

  • Anon

    A parent must provide for his son the skills to make a living(teach him a trade.If this is not done you are teaching him to steal.How else will he be able to survive?

  • please keep him away from us.

    This fellow is clearly not an example for Chassidim anymore. He himself is ever so slowly falling further and further away from our values and should be distanced.

    There is no problem getting a secular education at the right time but the kind of comments attributed to him regarding our chinuch, his cutting of his beard, the melodies of his songs, the style of his presentations and I can go on is a disgrace to chinuch al taharas hakoidesh.

  • joke

    BTW
    if you look in our daled amois of crown height, you will notice it is precisely the ones who had a yeshivah education only that are successful.

    we have had a few of our guys that went to law school, or went to become CPA’s or anything else that they found intellectually stimulating and for the most part barely earn a living.

    on the other hand most people who are comfortable and better are the ones who went to yeashivah and have the proper drive and work ethic.

    so drei mir nisht kein kop that you need college to get rich.

  • Lipa is Uneducated Jewishly

    I find a lot of these chasidishe guys/girls don’t get an education, not secular, but Jewish. He does not have a Jewish education, and that’s why he calls it ‘Bible Stuff’.
    He is right that it is important to have an education; but the only he is lacking in is in the Jewish studies.
    His comments prove that, or he isn’t that bright,even with his college education…

  • Lipa not to far from Mattisyahu

    Go Lipa Go!!
    over 50% of college kids can’t find jobs, you pay your student loans for 30 years. please look at the % of wealthy people in CH to see if they have a college degree.
    I don’t believe you should be looking for handouts you should learn a trade electrician, plumbing, etc….. there is plenty out there to do without going to college and with belief in Hashem you will have enough to support you and your family.

  • Oserver

    I think those that say he cuts his beard are wrong.
    He just has a skimpy beard that he rolls under.

    Gut Shabbos

  • smh

    “I called up someone in New Square and he got me a paper saying I had graduated high school.”

    Is that how they do it now? Wow.

  • to complainers

    Why would you want someone to be a burden to society? My tax dollars should go to better use.

  • Maybe no longer a fan

    The Jewish Press is not a professional newspaper and I do not accept what it says at face value. However, if Lipa really did refer to his Torah education as “biblical stuff,” it is clear that he is on the way out.

    Going to college is not a problem, and his taking an acting course is no different from chazzonim having actually studied music – Lipa is an actor far more than he is a singer.

    However, if he really is disparaging Torah in this way, he is on a path that will lead him to not only fall but fail. He has nothing with which to engage the non-frum world, and if he becomes an oisvorf only the marginals in the frum world, who are marginal economically as well, will care to watch him or buy any albums he puts out.

    I hope he finds proper guidance in any event; he is dangerously close to the edge in many ways.

  • Nothing wrong with college, but

    Good for you Lipa, do what you want!!, college is good for all, but, to crownheights.info, Lipa is not as talented as MATISYAHU.

    GO matsis go!!

  • Highly Educated

    I have a master’s degree and we still struggle. I went to school thinking when im done, we will have financial stability. Let me tell u people, education does not equal having lots of money. I know many people who have no higher than yeshivah education and they are doing very well in business. We have 2 decent salaries and pay lots of money for health insurance rent etc..

  • What-s wrong?

    What is wrong with all the negative comments here! i wish lipa nothing but luck in his endeavor to get a college degree. You lubavitchers should follow suit. you should get your degree

  • Go Lipa!

    Ignore the haters and do what you think is right.
    They will remain uneducated and you will grow and be a better person.

  • Chusid 770

    The is exactly the opisite of what the Rebbe has taught us. The Rebbe was against going to college. The Rebbe has said on many occasions the importance of learning Nigla & Chasidus, and this will help us succeed in our life.

    We all know that in Crown Heights all the Yeshivas ONLY teach in Yiddush, and there is NO limudei chol. So how can this website write and dictate words of someone who is going downhill……

    We must bring Moshiach Now and have this idiote stop with his stipideties. We must now make sure that we do not allow bis albums into our houses.

  • yitzchak

    Angry at his past.
    It is very obvious that Lipa has an agenda.He is getting even with
    his old buddies in New Square.
    Its been going on for a while quietly but steadily.
    But you can get even without attacking the whole Torah.
    I also went through a similar system Lipa did but i don’t go around behaving like him.
    i learned to separate the Torah from those people who present it in the wrong way. Too bad Lipa didn’t learn in a Chabad school.
    May hashem guide Lpa to the path of truth.

  • Matisyahu

    Oddly enough, Lipa doesnt realize that he is living proof that Birchas Hashem Hi T’Asher – not the college degree.

    Think of all the wealthy people in our community and you will see that a college education is not part of the equacion. In the same vain, look at the numbers of college educated people who are without jobs.

    “Im Bechukosai Teileichu – Vinosati Gishmeichem B’Itom”

  • not okay

    bekochem uveztem yadi. you can NOT control your destiny.
    college is okay as long as there is hashem there.
    dont tell people that they can control their destiny. hashem runs the world.
    ever heard of hashgacha protis?

  • College educated

    If someone has entrepreneurial skills he will not gain much from a college education. Sure, it can help him prepare a buissnes plan and meet with bankers but you can always find others to help you with that.

    If someone has great managerial skills, a college education will open up more opportunities to him but not necessarily earn him more money.

    The difference of a college education is in the amount of jobs earning $50,000-$70,000 a year that are simply closed to those who are not educated.

    So a person who does not have a college education can only blame his education if he works hard and earns $35,000 instead of $50,000. The education does not look for a job for you, does not wake you up in morning, does not make you pleasant to work with etc.

    With regard to needing skills, the vast majority of what you will actually gain from college are things that you can learn yourself with a little help.

    Also, those who have decided to go for an education can tell you that the fact that they only learned limuday koidesh was hardly a handicap and more than compensated by the unique skills they learned in yeshiva.

    Finally, I ask anyone here to please point to one person who’s Parnasa was enhanced by a liberal arts degree and the other coursework that lipa is taking.

  • Rebecca

    He is not a paper doll cut out like those who strive so hard to conform.
    I respect him for this.
    Not all can earn a living these days without an education.
    Those who are talented can and do, the rest go on welfare.
    Having said that, I see with my own 2 eyes most [not all] of unmarried kids who go to college slowly go off the derek.
    Jewish institutions must educate so theirs can earn their own parnassa with dignity, without having them feel like losers because not everyone can be a working rabbi.
    Back to Lipa, I understand at his age the craving to get the education he missed as a child.

  • Very Sad Mom

    Yasher Koach to all the Yeshiva bochurim who have made it financially, socially and spiritually. These guys would have made it under any circumstance. They are smart, intelligent, etc etc. But what about all the young men who are not so smart, who aren’t quick to learn and “chap.” Just average nice guys, who are/could have been chassidishe bochrim – but they just did not fit: they had trouble learning, and in a lot of cases, did not have a good family network(read BTs). These guys, unfortunately, are not making it anywhere, and perhaps just getting some solid secular skills at a community college will give them some self-esteem and new abilities. For so many young men, it is not a rejection of our life, but just trying to have a life.

  • moshe ben amram

    Pleas: when Lipa says “Biblical stuff” its just he way of lock of proper english…. not some well crafted line or pre meditated…
    MBA

  • To every negative comment here...

    Where on earth did you get your beliefs that the rebbe was against people going to college. He said that to one person in a letter he wrote to them and suddenly you all believe he said it to everyone? I hate to burst everyone’s bubble but UNLESS you have a master’s degree or higher, you really cant earn a living. You all say go to yeshiva and dont go to college – i hate to break it to you but thats why you guys are all on welfare. You cant sit on your butts all day, “studying torah,” and be on welfare and then tell others they shouldnt go to college. Im sorry, but the brutal truth is, yeshiva messes you up for life. Sure, be orthodox or whatever, but go to public school so you can get an education that is actually efficient and good – not like the crap yeshiva teaches

  • college

    If Someone is married and has a down to earth Mashpia’s approval, can go to college.
    Rebbe’s advice not to go to college is not directed to BTs
    Also every case is different, depends on your specific situation
    Find a down to earth practical mashpia, and dont be a chossid shoite

  • Fishy

    I spoke today to 2 of the Rebbe’s secretaries and both agreed the the Rebbe was very much against college. On indvidual basis the Rebbe would give permision.

    We all know that the Rebbe would not allow Limudei Choll in CH.

    Let’s not be carried away of the Emes.

    If the Rabbonim and Daas Torah is against it how can some….. Destroy their taughts and toughts.

  • your friend in Airmont

    Spoke to a classmate of Lipa…. In His “biblical stuff” he was failure as well, so what would it helped if his parents gave him a “Pro” Education. His father is a mesiras nefesh yid and gave him the best of the best, but he understood better and revenged. Chose a ………………life.

    Come on Lipa its not going to help you, your last name says it all………………

  • Maybe no longer a fan

    Not being suited for learning, especially for a creative person like Lipa, is not the same as revenge or disdain for learning.

    The question is, where is he headed? And poor English is not an excuse for his phrasing. My self-taught Yiddish is no better than his English, but when I say d…k or chozzerei vs zachen, inyonim, or whatever, I know exactly what I am saying, why I am saying it, and to whom I am saying it.

    However, just because the Tzioinish Mess, I mean the Jewish Press, quotes him in a certain way does not mean it is so.

  • Chen Goodman

    I love Lipa!! Durim, Durim!!

    I don’t know if chabad got more snagy/judgmental or what, but I don’t like it at all!

  • Chen Goodman

    I love Lipa!! Durim, Durim!!

    I don’t know if chabad got more snagy/judgmental or what, but I don’t like it at all!