Shlomo Carlbach

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.

Although his roots lay in traditional Orthodox yeshivot, he branched out to create his own style combining Hasidic Judaism, warmth and personal interaction, public concerts, and song-filled synagogue services. At various times he lived in Manhattan, San Francisco, Toronto and a Moshav he founded, Mevo Modi'im, Israel. Carlebach is the subject of '' Soul Doctor'', a musical that debuted on Broadway in 2013.

Carlebach is considered by many to be the foremost Jewish religious songwriter of the 20th century.

Carlebach was also considered a pioneer of the Baal teshuva movement ("returnees to Judaism"), encouraging disenchanted Jewish youth to re-embrace their heritage, using his special style of enlightened teaching, and his melodies, songs, and highly inspiring story telling. Following his death, numerous accusations of sexual abuse were levied against him, published in ''Lilith Magazine''.

Biography

Carlebach was descended from old rabbinical dynasties in pre-Holocaust Germany. The Carlebach family is a Jewish family originally from Germany that now lives in several countries. He was born in 1925 in Berlin, where his father, Hartwig Naftali Carlebach (1889–1967), was an Orthodox rabbi. He had a twin brother, Rabbi Eli Chaim Carlebach and a sister, Shulamith Levovitz. His family left Germany in 1931 and lived in Baden bei Wien, Austria and by 1933 in Switzerland.

Carlebach studied at Yeshiva Torah Vodaath and Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin in Brooklyn, New York, and Beth Medrash Gevoha in Lakewood, New Jersey. His teachers included rabbis Shlomo Heiman and Aharon Kotler. He was considered one of Kotler's best students. During his yeshiva studies he was often asked to lead the services as a hazzan (cantor). He received semikha (rabbinic ordination) from Yitzchak Hutner.

In 1950 Carlebach set up a small Torah learning group called T.S.G.G. (pronounced TASGIG), an acronym for "Taste And See God Is Good".

That year, Carlebach attended a Hebrew language ulpan class at the Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS), where he played hasidic melodies on the piano. Sara Schafler-Kelman heard his singing and invited Carlebach to sing chasidic tunes at the Hillel Center on Convent Avenue. Schafler prepared a poster for the event, entitled "The Place of Music in the Hassidic Tradition". This was Carlebach's first invited performance. Years later, Carlebach said to Schafler-Kelman, "You gave me a title for my life's work."Reb Shlomo Carlebach’s Early Years in New York
The Jewish Press. Nov 21, 2013

In 1951, Carlebach began learning English in a special program at Columbia University, having previously spoken mainly Yiddish. Becoming fluent in English only at the age of 26, he developed an unusual grammar, mixing Yiddish and English, that became his hallmark, and later influenced the language of his followers, as well as many other members of the neo-hassidic movement.

Carlebach became a disciple of Yosef Yitzchok Schneersohn, the sixth rebbe of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement. From 1951 to 1954, he worked briefly as one of the first emissaries ( ''shluchim'') of Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the seventh Lubavitcher rebbe, who urged him to use his special skills and go to college campuses to reconnect Jews to Judaism, but would later disapprove of the non traditional tactics he used. Carlebach left the movement in 1954.

In 1972, he married Elaine Neila Glick, a teacher. They had two daughters, Nedara (Dari) and Neshama. Neshama Carlebach is a songwriter and singer in her own right, basing herself on her father's style and name.

Music career

Carlebach began writing songs at the end of the 1950s, primarily based on verses from the Tanakh