An outcry has erupted over a shocking display of pritzus at a concert held at Binyamei Ha’uma in Yerushalayim on Monday night.
At some point, the concert, performed by well-known frum singer Mordechai Shapiro, devolved into an event with mixed dancing and singing, with nobody at the event appearing to care of do anything about it.
The concert, which had already raised eyebrows over the mixed seating arrangement at the venue, drew immediate condemnation from rabbanim and other frum community leaders, with a number of them calling the event “disgraceful” and a shocking level of poretz geder.
In a letter from Rav Chaim Kanievsky last week, the gadol hador admonished those who make concerts, calling the events a “moshav leitzeim” and saying they can cause tremendous ruchniyusdike damage.
Following the outcry, Mordechai Shapiro said that he was unaware of the mixed dancing occurring during his concert, as he was unable to see the majority of the crowd due to the bright lighting on the stage and dim lighting in the seating area.
Shapiro said that he is working with event managers and production designers to ensure that mixed dancing never occurs again at one of his concerts.
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56 Responses
You mean they celebrated Tu BeAv early? Zerizin Makdimim.
the gadol hador in general opposes concerts so why are they still happening? If people need an “outlet” they can read a story about an adam godol, plus there is no heter to have concerts or music in general once the Beis Hamikdash was destroyed, 1 know of a family that doesnt allow their children to play or listen to any music for this reason.
Not even fractionally as insidious as forcing 5 South African Jews onto a flight ✈️ into חילול-שבת
I am so happy this happened. Maybe finally people will wake up and realize that this kind of ‘music’ and other things like it that have become so ‘normal’ are just the kind of things that made Yavan for what it was. but fear not! Just as Yavan fell so too will this horrible singers and entertainers that inject so much puke in to our society fall and disappear!
“However, videos of the concert posted to the singer’s social media accounts openly feature at least one instance of mixed dancing at the concert, raising doubts over the veracity of his claim to being oblivious to what was happening.“
Should he have been more prudent? maybe. Should we judge him lkaf zechus? Probably. He’s been singing for years, this is the first time I’ve ever heard of a mixed dancing issue at a concert of his. I don’t think it’s right to make it sounds like Mordechai Shapiro condones mixed dancing.
so, few people dancing at the concert or those who Chas VeSholom use “smartphones” cause so many rabbanim and other frum community leaders always to comment with strong words, as it in this case number of them calling the event “disgraceful” & that it causes tremendous ruchniyusdike damage. Really? How about to address the problems that so many Chasidic sects break in nasty way, with such hate for each other, expelling poor kids from schools because parents daven in different shuls etc. That is I guess a true “Leshem Shamaim” actions and no one wants to talk about it.
YWN, how come you can write Loshon Horah about concert and the Jewish singer, but some Loshon Horah you don’t write such as recent events with Ger rebbes. Do you have a Rav who picks which Loshon Harah is more kosher to print?
Frum convert?
I’m not sure how you define that word but if you’re familiar with the rules in Jerusalem by the Rabonim this has been strictly forbidden for many many years. Especially as you’re right if this is true that there was mixed seating. Is the total disgrace.
If you ever listen to some of your music you might question if this is really called a Frum singer .
Both as a ben torah and as a businessman it wouldn’t make sense for Shapiro to jeopardize his career by knowingly allowing mixed dancing. I believe he was clueless. His managers run his social media accounts. Additionally, the videos would have been put up post facto.
One non shrill observation :
One can clearly see from this instance how a lack of proper Gedarim can and does lead down a slippery slope.
“Shapiro said that he is working with event managers and production designers to ensure that mixed dancing never occurs again at one of his concerts.”
How about the fact that the way you sing and what you sing is goyish and causes those participating in the concert to act in a non-Jewish manner? You music is metamtem the lev, it’s the trief music that cause people to act in a trief manner.
Unfortunately we have become so immune to this goyishe music called “Jewish music” that we are surprised when we see the effects that this kind of music has on frum Jews, particularly our youth.
such tzadikim
The “Jewish music scene” is out of control. Frum women making music videos on the street, frum women singers posting their songs on YouTube and Instagram, frum male and female singers ripping off goyishe tunes and replacing them them with pesokum from the Torah or English words that only make sense to the composer and sounds like a third grader wrote it, the manner, pitch and the way they sing resembling goyishe singers, etc, etc it’s all fargoished and non Yiddish on the leady.
Remember when shlock rock was considered a copy of the goyishe style? I recently heard a song from them and it sounded tame and even somewhat Yiddish comparitively to the wild, out of control, goyishe singing you have nowadays.
The Yiddishe hartz is dead in “Jewish” music.
He obviously doesn’t run his own social media account. No celebrity does. That’s not proof he was aware of anything.
What should mordechai shapiro have done if he did know(claims he didnt)?
walked off stage???
I thought we can’t have music in Jerusalem because of the mourning of the Beis Hamikdash.
Restrictions against music at weddings even existed outside Eretz Yisroel. In the 19th century, the Maharam Shik of Chust in the Ukraine ordered all those who listened to him (which did not include everyone in his community as the Haskalah was on the rise) to not take musicians at weddings. He feared that the levity induced by music might lead to mixed dancing (Likutei Mahari’ch).
Duhhh?? Once you have mixed seating at a concert that attracts a younger crowd with Mody’s dynamic genre of music, it is 110 percent certain there will be some who get up on their feet and engage in movements to the beat that can only be defined as “dancing”.
So what!
Did the world end?
As long as there was no touching , that would lead to mixed dancing C”V . Wasting my time . On a more important note how are we doing with Omicron?
Bob:
Had he known, and I believe him that he did not know, he should – and likely would – instruct the band to immediately stop playing.
Reb Eliezer:
Yes, it is forbidden, and not just in Jerusalem but everywhere else. There is little-to-no heter for live music for concerts. Halachipedia has a whole article on this.
(As it happens, though, the wicked Zionists’ definition of Jerusalem is not the halachic definition of Yerushalayim; Halachipedia brings a machlokes whether that gezeira against music in Yerushalayim included areas outside the Old City.
Either way, if that area wasn’t part of the gezeira then perhaps it’s not included in the gezeira even if the Zionists call it now part of Jerusalem.
Finally, that gezeira was for weddings; I don’t know that it would apply to concerts, too, because a wedding is a great simcha, unlike a concert.)
crazy!these are yiddishe neshumes and they are being ruined!RUINED!!!!!!
I always think of my maids husband in South Africa whenever I hear Mordi singing.. they sing pretty similarly
Philosopher: I don’t disagree with a lot of what you wrote but the idea that music can be Jewish or not Jewish is a falsity. The music that you consider Jewish is a rip off of older songs that came from the non Jewish world. Every single tune. Without exception. Now it’s true that certain segments of Jewish society adopted a certain Middle Ages European culture which includes style of clothing and music. A white shirt, long white stockings and Italian fedora can be seen as Jewish but it’s not actually Jewish. Same with music.
I spoke to someone who attended this concert. He said that at no point in time were men and women dancing directly together. He said that when leibadik songs were played that got people to dance, you had men dancing in the aisles, and women dancing in the aisles. He said that the location where the men were dancing was probably close to the location where where the women were dancing, and, yes, this might probably be a tzniyus issue, but at no point were the men and women holding hands, or dancing directly together. He said that to describe it as mixed dancing is “clickbait” (that is a direct quote). While I definitely am not trying to say that men and women dancing close by is OK, and I am not trying to minimize the seriousness of this issue, and I will leave that shayla to the poskim, I am just saying that this is not nearly as bad as men and women dancing directly together. Let us be dan Mordechai Shapiro l’chaf zechus.
On a positive note, the Shidduch Crisis has been solved. May these concerts continue until every Bochur and Maidel is married.
Kach; neturei karta held a protest and kissed the Iranian supreme leader. The UN made 100 resolutions against Israel. Rockets are shot into israel every few weeks.
Did the world end?
You can say that about anything that you don’t care about
‘Not even fractionally as insidious as forcing 5 South African Jews onto a flight ✈️ into חילול-שבת’
Says who??
‘Both as a ben torah and as a businessman…’
Ben torah singing to a mixed seated crowed?
‘What should mordechai shapiro have done if he did know(claims he didnt)?
walked off stage???’
Um, yeah. Duh.
So what!
Did the world end?
Sdom didn’t fall in a day..
‘As long as there was no touching’
Glad you ain’t my Rabbi.
B”H so far sanity prevails here as majority. Thanks guys.
Mordechai Shapiro is known to have mixed seating at his concerts. Is anyone really surprised this happened
Another problematic issue are the music videos these “tzaddikim” produce with women featured in their videos. They are setting the bar very low.
Boycott these individuals who are bringing hefkeiros into our ranks.
However, videos of the concert posted to the singer’s social media accounts openly feature at least one instance of mixed dancing at the concert, raising doubts over the veracity of his claim to being oblivious to what was happening.
Do you seriously think he carefully watches every video posted to his social media accounts?! Even if he does his own posting, which may not be the case, I can almost guarantee that he doesn’t even watch the videos all the way through, let alone pay so much attention that he would notice dancing in the audience. If he says he wasn’t aware of it, he has a chezkas ne’emonus and we have no reason to question it, so we’re required to take his word for it.
As for what he should have done had he become aware of it, no, he should not have walked off the stage, but he should have stopped singing and asked the dancers to either stop dancing or separate into single-sex groups. Once they’d done so he could have resumed singing. But since he wasn’t aware of it, the question is moot.
Those who compare mixed dancing to smartphones or other things they think are wrong, it’s not a comparison. Mixed dancing is an actual issur.
Laugh at chazal , laugh at rabanim and hence this is the outcome
lakewoodbt, yes there is!
But he do the Lipa dance though, that is the news I count on here.
Funny how strong the title that YWN has used is accepted!! I think that’s kind of chazerish!!
As long as there was no touching there isn’t such a issue! If there was I am sure YWN would of loved to post that!!
Oy
You can’t fir a moisid without this!!
What’s up dudes!! Heated topic woof!!
I love to see the achdus our yiddish kinder have the yeshiva bucherim and sem girls all in one place enjoying the light of chanukah dancing together and having a gevaldige time together!! It’s mamesh a nachas I hope my bucherim went and celebrated their chanukah like hidden and not in other places C”V!!!
Can you imagine if it c’v led to c’v a nice frum boy meeting a nice frum girl and c’v date and marry without a shadchan?
“If people need an “outlet” they can read a story about an adam godol…”
Lakewoodbt: you are so, so right. Recently, I was suffering severe political trauma and went back and read several stories by Carl Bernstein and Robert Costa about the Trumpkopf (6ft 4inches and 265 lb..definitely an adom gadol in the most literal meaning). Almost immediately, I felt a sense of great Zen. We are fortunate to have so many great “outlets” about such a chashuvah adom gadol.
Seriously, though, are they adding some new chemicals to the water in Lakewood or did you obtain a prescription for medical marijuana. I can just see you giving musar to some stressed out BMG bochurim telling them to skip the concert and chill out and go read some bedtime stories about former NJ Chris Christie (an even bigger gadol than the Trumpkopf)
CRAZY!!!these are yiddishe neshumelech and they are being ruined!RUINED!!!and then some of you say so what!!!!????ill tell you what!you have no idea how many pure neshumes have been stained!listen to the words of the rabbonim!!!!!
was gonna leave an angry message arguing a point. not worth it. shame shame, how dare it be called yeshiva world. maybe ask Reb Chaim what he holds of this site, I’m sure he would endorse it, you seem to really be in alignment with all of his hashkafos. oy.
Very funny how so many commentators are bashing and calling out Shapiro. Calling out concerts – saying it’s goyishe etc but then they hide behind a smartphone or computer screen. The same rebbonim that assur concerts assur your iPhone 😉
I think this article was written in poor taste. We are obligated to be dan lekaf Zechus Mordechai Shapiro. Let’s not be so quick to just condemn each other. It’s the job of our gedolim, not ours.
#LakewoodChazer
Call yourself a chazer if you wish (and your post makes us think there might actually be something to it), but leave Lakewood out of it. Thank you, sir.
How dare those prutzadik women dance in full view of thousands of men, in the first place. Even if no men were dancing near them or with them. They are reashantas for dancing in front of them.
And how dare those men remain there once the women started dancing in their presence.
I think that the incident clearly points to carelessness on the part of Mr. Shapiro and the organizers of the concert. In Yerusholayim, a Torah-oriented musical event without complete separate seating? Unacceptable. Even “mixed singing” by the audience does not meet minimum standards of tznius of the Ir haKodesh (or anywhere, in most cases, for that matter). But if Mr. Shapiro apologizes in public, and promises to see to it that such a mistake never be repeated — I feel that he should be left alone and allowed to continue with his career in music, because he is very talented and has brought much simcha and chizuk to Yidden around the world.
Wow, hot topic, I guess it struck a chord in a lot of people – ha ha! A freilichin Channukah! and Lakewoodbt we don’t poskin by what other people do!
Some of you guys should get out of shteiging and go into stand-up comedy, or producing fantasy videos. You are so out-of-touch with reality.
Bottom line: mixed seating sends a message that tzniut is not a high priority. Ergo, why wouldn’t these kids get up and dance? Nobody’s stopping them from mingling, so making a spectacle of themselves isn’t so far-fetched.
As for the singer… if he allows mixed seating, he has set the bar pretty low. True, he probably couldn’t see so well, but his reaction of “not my fault” doesn’t ring true. His next concert ‘s seating plan will determine what is likely to happen at future events.
Lastly: thanks for brightening up this rainy day with your crazy comments. Keep ’em coming!
As someone who has produced much of this music and many of the events you seem to hate so much, I ask you this question: is it on us to stop making it or is it on you to decide what you will allow your children to listen to and events they can attend? I think it’s a pretty basic concept that not everything is created for everyone. Although, if you want to see the numbers, you’ll see huge swaths of listeners in Lakewood, Flatbush, and other Yeshivish neighborhoods.
When you see a video of men and women separately dancing & celebrating to the words “geshmak to be a Yid” and your first instinct is to start blaming the performer, quoting halachos, and condemning these youth, it sort of tells the narrative of what’s going on in your neighborhoods. What I’m about to say is not an attack on you, your institutions or your community leaders (Rabanim/Daas Torah), but y’all ain’t perfect. Your “OTD” rates are significantly higher than those of the modern/YU communities. The Yeshiva world is spending an untold amount of money on weekends in Mezhbizh for families of OTD youth to support each other along with other similar organizations and events. Does that yeshivish world have some fantastic mechanchim? Gedolei Torah? Huge Baalei tzedaka? Fantastic Baalei Chasadim? ABSOLUTELY. The amount of Torah being learnt is likely at historic highs and for this you should be very very proud.
However, it’s time to adjust your Q&A session at the Agudah convention from trivial topics like “can I go on a vacation with my friends” and “should someone vote in elections” to “how can we teach our children to continue to love Yidishkeit?” And “how can we spread the light of Torah to the rest of the world ?”. If a Mordechai Shapiro concert isn’t for you, don’t go. But it might very well be how someone else connects with Hashem, and that’s not something you should ever interfere with.
This is not newsman YWN is not the only “newssite” making this mistake , and if it is news , then report it like that , not some loshon hara session on a Sunday morning in the shade in your bungalow colony , title is PORETZ GEDER: who are you to decide whose poretz geder and even if your right! Have you not been to Yeshiva as a kid???? It’s loshon hara if it’s true and show me the toelles bc this is not news, it looks more like anger u sit here bending the gadol hadors words and wonder why ur own kids r no longer frum ? You think your an askan ? Stay out of other ppls shmutz this is not news .
Jersey Jew, you are trying to get out of the responsibility you share but you won’t be able to do that before God. Secular immoral wild tunes and manner of singing, mixed concerts, especially in Jerusalem, you will give din v’cheshbon for everything negative that comes out of these fargrebte songs and concerts. Your trying to blame the tzibbur doesn’t get you off the hook.
To say that Yeshivishe have more OTD than MO is ridiculous. The bar for MOs is set much lower, often compromising halacha. A Yeshivishe buchar acting like many MOs are would be considered OTD. If secular music is not a big deal, certainly “Jewish” secularized music is totally a non-issue for them.
As for not letting the kids have this music, you are right. But when every Monday and Thursday a new “Jewish singer” releases a fargrebte, secular inspired CD and music video it’s very hard to ban almost all new cds. Kids get these things from other kids too. It’s like a virus you can’t contain.
I hope the lesson learnt from this concert is that parents be more involved and regulate what their kids listen to. If the tune and manner and style of singing an “artist” produces is secular then responsible parents should ban it. From now on I will be more assertive in telling my kids what they cannot listen to.
We cannot let people like you, producers and singers who do not care about corrupting the hearts of our youth, have any say in what our children listen too.
Big Deal. Maybe become secure enough in your own Yiddishkeit to not freak out about a little mixed dancing. Grow up and let people do what they want. It doesn’t affect you.
#MichiganderMeshuga
Yes, you are a little meshuga. Thats the only sensible thing that you wrote.
The Girls were dancing with Girls,
The guys were dancing with guys.
They were NOT dancing “ Together”.
There is a severe Shidduch crisis, a severe Crisis of Molestations cover-ups by Jewish Leaders and Rabbis, Severe tuition prices crisis,
yet the “Leadership” screams out and blocks every opportunity for SINGLE People to meet.
why didnt they listen to the rabbonim like the great people of london who listened to the wise words of the rabbonim and didnt go to the ishai ribo concert because of mixed seating and that concert that was scheduled for tommorow night has been cancelled because of to few seats sold.#LONDONROCKS
#LISTENTORABBONIM
#GEVAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALT!!!!!!!!!!
we need a kol korei banning concerts altogether, as since the Beis Hamikdash musich is assur outside of weddings.
Enough is enough! When will the riboynishiloilam stop this pain and suffering?! Why must we live through such turmoil, such sorrow & sadness. Our precious children are seeing things we didn’t even see in Sidoim. At least during the holocaust we had separate barracks for the men and women. Even the nazis weren’t stopping so low.
Moshiach needs to cum and he needs to cum immediately. As parents we have an achrayus to stop this. We must band together and boycott all of this guys music. THats the real mitzvah mitzvah. He knew exactly what he was doing when he started making music movies with goyish dancers and rihannas umbrellas.
In the zchus of our vigilance we should see the geula binhayra violamainu amein