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Chabad.org

The entrance to the Atlanta-based Chabad-Lubavitch of Georgia

Recording legend Bob Dylan joined Chabad-Lubavitch of Georgia for Yom Kippur services over the weekend. Dylan, who was in town for a concert following the holiday, was called up to the Torah, but otherwise did not cause much of a stir among the congregation.

Singer/Songwriter Bob Dylan Attends Yom Kippur Services in Atlanta

Chabad.org

The entrance to the Atlanta-based Chabad-Lubavitch of Georgia

Recording legend Bob Dylan joined Chabad-Lubavitch of Georgia for Yom Kippur services over the weekend. Dylan, who was in town for a concert following the holiday, was called up to the Torah, but otherwise did not cause much of a stir among the congregation.

Arriving in a ski cap and tallit, Dylan stayed for the duration of the morning services, during which he was called up by his Jewish name Zushe ben Avraham. The singer/songwriter said the blessings in Hebrew without stumbling, like a pro, reported Rabbi Yossi Lew, co-director of the Chabad House.

Dylan’s appearance was kept under wraps at the request of his manager, who found the Chabad House through Chabad.org’s online directory.

From Chabad.org

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27 Comments

  • Moshe MS

    why lubavitchers should care about some non-frum singer is not understood.

    we shouldnt even know who he is.

    the news should be "famous not(yet)frum yid came to shul…some people say he is famous too….

    for chabad.org to post it is fine because they are posting news for the others to read. but for our eigener i dont think we should care about him and who he is….

  • Boruch ben Tzvi haKohaiine Hoffinger

    B"H
    Like a Jew I disagree with Moshe MS.
    If Bob Dylan, whose music I used to listen to, where to chose the true path in life, Torah, imagine the wonderful impact it would have on many Jews and even non-Jews!
    Dylan probably has no financial problems, so why not choose the "eitz chaim?"

  • member of the human race

    Excuse me, Moshe MS, but shouldn’t we we care about everyone? Whether he is frum or not. Human beings are human beings. What kind of a world would this be if we only cared about those who are just like us?

  • bob dylan

    i think thats incredible bob dylan coming to shul on yom kippur to lubavith it shows people that hes the man and when hes doing something hes gonna do it the real way

  • Come on!

    To Moshe MS:
    dont be such a yotz.
    The Rebbe always gave extra attention to big people when they came, even if they were not Jewish!

  • logic

    I got to disagree with Moshe MS, you shouldn’t be looking from that kind of low perspective. Just the fact that he came should be an example for non-frum, people half way off and non-Jews 2 show that even though he is what he is, he still comes to shul and shows some respect for who he is, a JEW. I think this should make us proud of our Shluchicm and Chabad houses. I

  • Positively Union Street

    Moshe MS, are you serious? You ask why a Lubavitcher should care about a fellow Jew??! Looking down one’s nose at another Jew was one of the things the Baal Shem Tov came to teach us NOT to do.

  • impressed

    wow im impressed!! amazing job atlanta- your shul is beautiful. keep up the great work…

  • another atlantan

    YAY ATLANTA!! yes that right he said the bracha very quietly and the over 900 congregants were very attentive! for neilah he was in chabad of gwinnet- about half hour away, where his concert was planned to be….

  • Moshe M.S.

    All of you who wrote comments against me;

    You guys obviously did not read my full comment, the proof of this is that you wrote such foolish responses.

    So just to clarify what I wrote:

    Lubavitchers (Lubavitcher chasidim followres of the Lubavitcher Rebbe – generally referring to frum lubavitchers). should not care about bob dylan.

    By caring i mean to say that we should not know who he is or where he went or what he did. we should not know who he is. our websites should not have stories about him either.

    For our websites that cater primarily to non-frum yidden (chabad.org and the like) it is advised that and encouraged that they do post such stories about bob dylan, it can help other yidden come to shul by seeing that famous people go to shul.

    15 years ago we would not be publishing such news in our papers.

    When our children see this big koch we are having about some dylan guy, they will wonder who he is and what makes him so famous – which will lead them to his music and then to all other music and then to all other garbage.

    Yes, we should care about him and we do, but as a yid, not as a famous star.

    If you guys still don’t understand my point, then i don’t know what to say.

  • Some Person

    Bob Dylan used to come to yom kippur in the lubavitch shul in minnesota for a long while. I think he is friends with Manis Freidman.

  • Admirer

    You are all missing the point.

    Thank you Rabbi Yossi New for hosting him. Rabbi New has built an empire of Chabad in Atlanta that should be looked up at.

    Chazak V’ematz

  • Rock Star

    Your argument is a classic example of a "slippery slope" argument.

    A has occurred; therefore
    B will inevitably happen.

  • To admirer

    The article quotes Rabbi Yossi LEW. I believe he has a lot to do with the main Shul in Atlanta. He also heads the Semicha program there…

    So, to both Shluchim, and to all you folks down there: Keep up the great work!

    – Another admirer

  • Robin Varon

    Moshe MS- On one hand your comments are correct. However, on the other hand Baruch Hashem, within the past 15 years there have been many people who have become Balei Teshuva. Therefore, they are very familiar with Bob Dylan as well as many other famous people from the days before they were frum. We need to be tollerant and accepting of these situations. It is therefore appropriate for this website to post this information. It inspires many people to do more
    It’s nice to be chassidishe but it’s more chassidishe to be nice.

  • jacob s

    shouldnt a chabad chosid get up in the morning and look at crownheights.info and think to himself look at what kind kind of orginzation im in it will give him insparation so please moshe ms keep your pointless comments to yourself

  • grew up in cali

    well to all that know who bob dylan is should also know that his son in law peter himmelman davens only at chabad and is frum and for many years i remember bob coming to shul on rosh hashanah amd regular shabosim to chabad of s.m. cali and that he definetly likes chabad

  • Dave from New York

    Its well known that Chabad brought Bob Dylan (aka Robert Zimmerman)back to his Jewish roots after a brief flirtation with Born Again Christianity. The Chabad-Lubavich I know and love should and indeed does care what this important Jewish soul does on Yom Kippur. To Moshe Ms- I would like to call attention to the fact that you called Bob Dylan’s msuic garbage. Do yourself a favor and read the lyrics to both "Blowing in the Wind" (about universal respect for humanity, something the Rebbe cared about very much–see his comments on the 7 Noachide Laws) and "Neighborhood Bully" (in which Mr. Dylan very eloquently defends the State of Israel for having the right to exist). Then come back on this forum and say what you said. Being frum doesn’t have to equal being ignorant and intolerant! Especially of our Jewish brethren!

  • anna

    hey guys bob dylan is da man. if he davens at chabad that makes me like chabad more. you see bob dylan and his songs gives people hope in themselves and the world, and in ways this is how it is similiar to torah. to call someone’s music garbage that is a legend who inspired millions and brought goodness and happiness into people’s hearts is really moronic and really funny. it says more about the person speaking than anyone else. anyways open your mind even more open your heart. does anyone wanta give me a free bob dylan ticket? anyone has one? ill go on a date with you if you have one. lol . peace