K
eeping up with the times while producing powerful, authentic Jewish music is something like walking a tightrope, according to Baruch Levine. While the artist always works to come out with something innovative and contemporary, he also believes Jewish music should stay Jewish and be able to spiritually elevate the listerner.

Levine quotes one of his main musical mentors, Abie Rotenberg — “You have to look to the future with an eye to the past”— to explain why he doesn’t want to let loose and get uber-creative with electronic dance music.

“Jewish music has a mesorah. We all grew up on it, so that is like an inner compass. But like cuisine and styles, music takes on the nuances of the times. You can’t put out music from 1984 today, because the tastes of the public have morphed. It has to be fresh, yet at the same time, connected to the musical mesorah.”

Another signpost indicating if a composition is “real music” is whether the song can actually be sung, he says. “If you need beat and electronics in order for the song to happen, and it can’t be sung with family or friends around the Shabbos table, then in my view, the song has no neshamah. Secular music today is often just a progression of beats and rhythm but missing heart and melody, which you can’t actually sing as a stand-alone.”

(Originally featured in Mishpacha, Issue 758)