Abie Rotenberg ( he, אברהם יום טוב רוטנברג) is a prolific Orthodox Jewish musician, composer and entertainer from

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

, Canada. He has been producing music since the mid-1970s with a style which has been described as "soft and sweet" with a strong

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fol ...

influence. Rotenberg grew up in

Queens, New York Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long Is ...

, surrounded by other up and coming religious Jewish musicians, including Eli Teitelbaum, who directed the first ''Pirchei'' boys choir, as well as Rabbi

Baruch Chait Baruch (Burry) Chait is an Orthodox Jewish rabbi, musician and composer. He is Rosh Yeshiva of the Israeli high school Maarava Machon Rubin. Personal life He is the son of Rabbi Moshe Chait, the former Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivath Chafetz Chaim of ...

and Label Sharfman who attended

yeshiva A yeshiva (; he, ישיבה, , sitting; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy are stu ...

with him. Rotenberg studied piano and taught himself guitar at a young age. Interview for ''JE'' magazine, December 31, 2005
,

Musical career

Rotenberg has cited the musicians Rabbi

Ben Zion Shenker Ben Zion Shenker (1925–2016) was a world-renowned American Hasidic composer and hazzan, associated with the Modzitz hasidic dynasty. Shenker was born in the heyday of the American hazzan. He became interested in the art as a child, and was perfo ...

and Rabbi

Shlomo Carlebach Shlomo Carlebach ( he, שלמה קרליבך; 14 January 1925 – 20 October 1994), known as Reb Shlomo to his followers, was a rabbi, religious teacher, spiritual leader, composer, and singer dubbed "the singing rabbi" during his lifetime. ...

as strong influences. While his folk-inspired sound and inspirational lyrics are strongly reminiscent of Carlebach, Rotenberg's soft and sometimes melancholic voice, however, contrasts with Carlebach's ecstatic style. Rotenberg has collaborated with other Jewish musicians including Mordechai ben David,

Avraham Fried Avraham Shabsi Hakohen Friedman ( he, אברהם שבתי הכהן פרידמן, born March 22, 1959) better known by his stage name, Avraham Fried, is a popular musical entertainer in the Orthodox Jewish community. Career Fried was encourage ...

, Yehuda Schechter,

Yaakov Shwekey Yaakov Choueka, better known by his stage name Yaakov Shwekey, is an Orthodox Jewish recording artist and musical entertainer. He is of Egyptian and Syrian Sephardic heritage from his father's side; and Ashkenazi from his mother‘s side. Fami ...

Baruch Levine Baruch Levine (born December 28, 1977) is a Canadian-born American Orthodox Jewish composer and singer whose songs have become popular and classic throughout the Orthodox Jewish world. His slow, soulful, heartfelt tunes have gained wide popularity ...

Moshe Yess Moshe Aaron Yess (April 18, 1945 – January 8, 2011) was an Orthodox Jewish musician, composer and entertainer from Montreal, Quebec, Canada. A member of the Chabad community in Montreal, Yess was a regular performer at Chabad House events and ...

and

Shlomo Simcha Shlomo Simcha Sufrin, better known as Shlomo Simcha (Hebrew: שלמה שמחה) is a UK-born Canadian Hasidic Jewish cantor and singer. Shlomo Simcha began his career in a small kollel in Montreal, where he was discovered by a local wedding band ...

with whom he co-starred in

Israel National Radio ''Arutz Sheva'' ( he, ערוץ 7, lit=''Channel 7''), also known in English as ''Israel National News'', is an Israeli media network identifying with religious Zionism. It offers online news articles in Hebrew, English, and Russian as well ...

's Miracles 18 concert. Rotenberg has also been a main fixture of the annual HASC ''A Time for Music'' concerts. He has produced a children's audio series called the '' Marvelous Midos Machine'' comprising four volumes, with all original material. Rotenberg said that wanted to raise awareness of different traits inherent in each child through this series. He also produced the children's audio CDs ''The Golden Crown'' and ''The Lost Treasure''.

Writing career

In September 2015, Rotenberg published his first

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

, ''The Season of Pepsi Meyers'', a book about an 18-year old Jewish boy playing for the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one o ...

, set in the future (Feldheim Publishers). In November 2016, Rotenberg released ''Eliyahu Hanavi'', under his full name Avraham Yom Tov Rotenberg, an in-depth analysis of the life of Elijah the Prophet (Mesorah Publishers).

Discography

*''Clei Zemer - Ki Lecho Tov Lehodos'' (Composer and Vocalist) (1971) *''D'veykus: Volumes 1-6'' (1973, 1975, 1981, 1990, 1995, 2001) *''

& the Children of Jewish Song sing Ani Maamin'' (Vocal Arranger) (1975) *''Kol Salonika - Songs of Shabbos'' (1977) *''Achva'' (1985) *''Journeys: Volumes 1-5'' (1984, 1989, 1992, 2003, 2022) *''The Marvelous Midos Machine: Volumes 1-4'' (1986, 1987, 1988, 2011) *''A Time to Laugh'' (1988) *''The Golden Crown'' (1989) *''Lev V'Nefesh: Volumes 1-2'' (1990, 1998)
''Aish: Volumes 1-3''
(with

) (1997, 2003, 2020) *''The Lost Treasure'' (2015)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rotenberg, Abie Jewish American novelists Jewish American musicians Jewish Canadian musicians American Orthodox Jews Canadian Orthodox Jews Living people Musicians from Toronto Year of birth missing (living people) Musicians from Queens, New York 21st-century American Jews Orthodox pop musicians