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Kabbalachia by Basya Schechter and Shaul Magid (2024)
Album review by Gabby Cameron
As the sun sets on a Friday evening over Fire Island, congregants gather at the Fire Island Synagogue to welcome Shabbat, donning their kippahs and tallit with shorts and sandals. What type of music might one hear in such a setting? Together, Cantor Basya Schechter and Rabbi Shaul Magid developed a localized musical tradition of setting Kabbalat Shabbat texts to Appalachian old-time music. Over the course of a decade, Kabbalachia was born.
Read the rest of this entry »This Is Your Song Too: Phish and Contemporary Jewish Identity. Edited by Oren Kroll-Zeldin and Ariella Werden-Greenfield. University Park, PA: Penn State University Press. 2023.
Reviewed by Dr. Robert J Wuagneux
What is the connection between Phish and contemporary Jewish identity? Why does Phish have a disproportionately large Jewish fanbase? Editors Oren Kroll-Zeldin and Ariella Werden-Greenfield argue that the answer to these questions lies in a complex mosaic of religious and cultural ties that link Phish’s music and their fans’ complementary scene practices with Jewishness. Using a broad and inclusive understanding of Jewishness, this book counts all who identify as “Jewish” as Jews and all who identify as Phish fans as such.
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Musica Judaica Online Reviews 