The Religious Rockstar
Ishay Ribo brings Israelis and those abroad from all walks of life and all styles of religion (or none) together in an almost transcendent musical experience
This week’s post dives into the world of Israeli music.
An Israeli singer who epitomizes some of the best qualities of Israeli music is Ishay Ribo. This humble generational talent does something quite special. He brings together Israelis from all backgrounds and those abroad to feel the music. It’s not that he happens to be religious and also writes and performs music. His lyrics draw on the Torah, the midrash, and poetry. When those unfamiliar with certain texts sing along, they are in a way engaging with ancient wisdom.
Ribo also draws inspiration from the weekly sermon at Shabbat services. He tests his memory as he doesn’t take notes on Shabbat because of his religious practice/observance. He must hold onto those ideas and words until he can commit them to paper and give new life to them on the stage. One can easily see a song’s connection to an external event. He releases music about Yom Kippur, Passover, Corona, and now following October 7th. The lyrics aren’t necessarily explicitly stating a connection to these events, but the words paint a picture that lends itself to an interpretation of the event.
A few months after making aliyah, I was grateful to attend my first Israeli (official) concert: Ishay Ribo at the Sultan’s Pool in Jerusalem. It was everything I hoped it would be and more. I was moved and I could not get past the reality that those around me - with hair coverings and without, with dreads, and from all four corners of the world - swayed to the music together. Something I have noticed at the many concerts I’ve been to over the last 5 years since that first Ishay Ribo concert is that a large majority of the concertgoers knew the words to all of the songs and this created something holy that uplifted the space.
Sometimes I listen to music at home or commuting and I think, ‘this sound quality is so high, why spend the money to go to a live concert?’ And then I go to a concert and laugh at past me. Live music can be transcendent, it is a team sport, and I always leave feeling close to those who experienced it with me.
Back to the Present
Now let’s fastforward to the present day. About two months ago, I saw that Ishay Ribo would be performing in Tel Aviv. That was around the time that some people started to return to cafes, restaurants, and concerts. I wasn’t sure how long it would take to get back to that space of joy, so I wasn’t sure about going. As the concert got closer, I craved that togetherness with other Israelis and for the music to move me out of the darkness of the last few months if only for an hour or two. Alas, it seemed not in the cards to go to the concert. I spent a good part of that Shabbat - the concert was motzei Shabbat - holding onto a faint hope that it might be possible to go to the concert. But as it got later and closer to the 9:30 showtime, I turned on ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ and entered a different world than the musical one that I had hoped for. I’ve been quite engaged with Avatar lately, but I happened to check my phone and see a message in a Whatsapp group that I’m a part of and this is what it read:
That message came at 10:05 and I saw it at 10:15. I had the reaction more of the former than the latter emoji in the message. I was in disbelief that my wish had come true. I was comfortable on the couch and on the fence about pulling my act together for a night of spontaneity. With some encouragement from my wife, I jumped up, got dressed, and took a cab to the venue, Hangar 11 in the Tel Aviv port, or namal.
I arrived at 10:45 and things were winding down. I thought there might have been an opener and it would have been in the middle of the show when I arrived. It turns out there wasn’t an opener and I made it in time for about five songs total.
Those were moving songs and I looked around and felt a part of something special. People swayed and sang along. It was funny to see a very large group of seminary girls so excited to be there. There was even a Purim song to bring some joy.
All things considered, my cup felt a little fuller and I came away from that concert nourished and my sense of Jewish peoplehood strengthened in a way by some of my favorite music.
This beacon of talent has accomplished two major feats recently:
He became the first Israeli singer to perform at Madison Square Garden (Shlomo Artzi has performed there, but not as part of his own concert).
He and Omer Adam performed at the March for Israel in Washington, DC on November 14th in front of almost 300,000 people with another 250,000 watching remotely. That was a special window into seeing just how much Ribo means to Diaspora Jews as well.
These are clear signs of Ribo’s success not only in Israel, but in the US (and the greater diaspora)). I only wonder what his next big accomplishment will be. He has made a name for himself, but what sets him apart is his ability to unify people and melt away differences. A talent that has become all the more important today.
Song of the Week
“The song embodies Ribo as an artist. It is both delicate and energetic, full of longing yet exploding into hope. It is also a deeply religious song, with sources in Navi, Tehillim, and Mishlei, and yet its lyrics are easily accessible. It is a foot-tapping pop song with lyrics worthy of poetry.
The song is Ishay Ribo and Ishay Ribo represents the Israeli moment. He is Sephardi but appeals to the entire mishmash of Israeli society — Ashkenazim, chassidim, unidentified. He is a yeshivah graduate who wears a big black kippah and long tzitzis, yet secular Tel Avivans sing along to his songs with the same gusto that chareidim from Beit Shemesh do. He is a former singer in the army band who was invited to perform at both Israel’s nationally televised Independence Day celebration and its Memorial Day commemoration.”
-Gershon Burstyn, ‘The Great Harmonizer’, Mishpacha Magazine
Slang of the Week
בול
Bool
Exactly
This week’s episode of the Sababoosh podcast features Professor Alon Tal, environmental activism champion and former Knesset member (Blue and White). He talks about Israel’s environmental future, what we can do, and about his time in the Knesset on the policy side of things.
Thank you for reading. It’s fun to write these and I hope you enjoy reading them. Wishing you a Shabbat shalom and a Purim sameach!