Celebrating Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach with Songs, Story and Film

At 7:00 pm this Saturday night, November 14th, six Boulder Rabbis will share stories about and songs by Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach at the Boulder JCC.  Reb Zalman will introduce the program, which features Rabbis Victor and Nadya Gross, Gavriel Goldfeder, Marc Soloway and Tirzah Firestone.

Known as Reb Shlomo, The Singing Rabbi and The Pied Piper of Judaism, Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach is widely considered the foremost Jewish religious songwriter of the 20th century who continues to influence Jewish rock bands. His influence also continues to this day in the Carlebach minyanim located in many cities around the globe.

The evening program also features guests, film clips and personal stories.  Boulder Jewish News spoke with two of the rabbis who are participating on Saturday night; Rabbi Victor Gross said:

“I first encountered Reb Shlomo when the rabbi of the conservative congregation introduced some of his niggunim to our davennen when Reb Shlomo came out with his first album. The melodies were so compelling that the congregation started clapping and the rabbi admonished us that clapping was not permitted.

“Over the years I encountered Reb Shlomo in NY, San Francisco, and in Israel. The last time I was in his presence was when he was giving a concert at a congregation in Los Angeles and I was sitting with him in an office and suddenly I realized that I had to call Reb Nadya to accept an invitation for our first date. I told Shlomo I had to call a woman and he told me that was more important than talking to him. The rest became history. For me, Reb Shlomo was one of those few people who early on in the mid-20th century understood the need of Jews to connect with the Holy One and he along with Reb Zalman helped connect so many people around the the world with the spiritual dimension of Judaism.”

Rabbi Marc Soloway had this to say about Reb Shlomo:

“Even though I never had the opportunity to meet Reb Shlomo, his music, his stories and his unbelievably deep love of Judaism and Jews, along with his huge, open heart, have been a profound source of joy and inspiration for me as a rabbi. I could actually say that Reb Shlomo is one of my most important teachers as many of my mentors have been students and disciples of his, so my own soul has been touched by his continuing legacy.”

Tickets for Saturday night’s program are $8 for Boulder JCC members, $10 for guests and free for students with a valid student ID.  Boulder JCC, 3800 Kalmia Ave. This program is part of the MoVeRs series.  The thirteen collaborating organizations who worked to make MoVeRs possible are Allied Jewish Federation of Colorado, ADL, Congregation Bonai Shalom, Boulder JCC, Hadassah, Congregation Har HaShem, Hillel – University of Colorado, Jewish Mosaic: The National Center for Sexual & Gender Diversity, Menorah, Nevei Kodesh, Pardes Levavot, Program in Jewish Studies at the University of Colorado, and Soul Food.  MoVeRs is made possible with support from Rose Community Foundation, SCFD, and the Goldberger Fund for Jewish Culture at the University of Colorado at Boulder.