Hassidic Reggae Star Matisyahu Captivates Israeli Audiences

Up and coming Reggae music star Matisyahu played to sold-out audiences in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem last week.

The Israeli public warmly received Matisyahu’s mix of Reggae and Rap music with content containing strong Jewish spiritual messages. Matisyahu’s third album ‘Youth’ is slated for release by Sony records in January 2006.

Matisyahu, born 26 years ago as Matthew Miller, was an upper middle class unaffiliated Jew until he underwent a spiritual transformation during a trip to Israel. Upon his return to the US, Miller attended the New School for Social Research and explored the possibilities of Reggae music at various New York City clubs. At the same time, he continued to pursue his religious identity, eventually changing his name to Matisyahu and becoming a Lubavitch Hassid, studying Jewish texts at a Yeshiva (rabbinic seminary) in Crown Heights, Brooklyn.

Matisyahu decided to take a break from his full time Yeshiva studies and re-entered the music scene as the world’s first ultra-orthodox Jewish Reggae musician. His first two albums were huge commercial successes, and he was quickly snatched up by Sony Records, which will be releasing his next album at the start of the coming year.

Matisyahu attributes his newfound success to divine guidance, claiming that all of his efforts to succeed in the music business before he became religious did not yield results. Miller believes that after he began studying at Yeshiva, G-d began directing the course of his life, including his music, and that is when things started happening for him.

Matisyahu draws on his life experience and personal spiritual realizations to create his original music. His lyrics are replete with references to the constant conflicts for a religious person in a modern society and his continued hope for redemption to come. In the song ‘Warrior,’ Matisyahu writes, “You’re a warrior fighting for your soul/Taken from the world above and brought down the world below/You’re the son of his majesty/Remember how it used to be/In the light of day it’s easy to see/Now it’s nighttime/You had to leave.”

Although his Rabbis showed some concern when Matisyahu announced he would be leaving the yeshiva world to pursue a mainstream Reggae music career, they ultimately came to accept and even glorify Matisyahu’s musical achievements. Matisyahu describes his musical career as an extension of the Chabad Lubavitch outreach efforts; his goal is to bring the messages of truth and spiritual clarity to a wide-based audience. While some Jewish authorities may frown upon Matisyahu’s appearances to a mixed audience, the singer explains he is careful not to transgress any Jewish laws while still providing an atmosphere of freedom that welcomes anyone who wants to come to his shows.

Unlike most religiously motivated Jewish musicians, Matisyahu made the decision not to limit his music to a Jewish-only audience. As a result, Matisyahu has become the first religious Jewish artist to appeal to a mainstream audience. He attributes his ability to crossover into the popular music world to his continuing to see himself as the same person he was before he became religious.

Although Matisyahu’s music is enjoying growing popularity in the US, ironically, in Israel, he is still relatively unknown. Matisyahu continues to feel a strong connection to Israel, and described his visit to Israel as a visit home. He said he hoped to use his Israeli tour to forge contacts with local musicians and visit Israel’s holy sites, including the Western Wall and the mystic northern town of Tzfat. The audiences at Matisyahu’s Israeli shows were packed with a rare mix of secular, religious and hareidi-religious coming together to enjoy authentic Jewish Reggae.

“This is the real test, to perform close to G-d. My music makes a place for people. They can tear down the walls and go inside it. If the music was in the background and my whole purpose was to bring people closer to G-d, it wouldn’t have had any chance of catching on like it has. It goes way beyond that,” Miller told Haaretz.

He added, “It’s not that I think it will bring world peace or anything like that. But there will be religious people at the concert and a lot of secular people, just like in my shows here, in America, and I think this music has the power to bridge between the two.”