“Dance because you are Jewish!”

In the early 199o’s Shlomo Carlebach (the well-known inspirational teacher, composer, folk-singer of hundreds of popular Jewish melodies) played his last concert in Albany. It was at the Albany Girls Academy auditorium on Academy Road and I remember it well. It was maybe a year or two before his passing in 1994.

In those years the Orthodox Maimonides School was located at Beth Emeth, the area’s largest Reform congregation. That is a story in and of itself, for another time. To make a long story short, Maimonides and Beth Emeth’s Religious School joined for a concert by Shlomo Carlebach held at the next door Girls Academy.

He sat up alone on the big stage, all the kids with their teachers and some parents in the audience. He played a bunch of songs, his classic favorites, but ones that you’d have to be much more traditional to recognize and enjoy.

Then a few songs later, he stopped in mid-song. He looked around the room, and I remember watching the recognition in his eyes, when he realized that he was playing for a mixed crowd. Some kids some kids were more Jewishly aware than others. Some wore kippas, others did not, some were Jewish day school students, and others were once-a-week Hebrew school students.

Then he asked the crowd. “Have you ever seen a Torah scroll?” All hands shot up. “Have you ever danced with a Torah?” Most hands went up.

“Kids! Get up and let’s dance because you are Jewish!” He stood up, and began to vigorously strum and sing “Am Yisrael Chai” with all his heart, and the whole crowd rose up too, and circles began to form…

I remember the energy then. I remember the vibe. Most of all I remember that mid-song stop, him scanning the room and his recognition that this crowd didn’t need fancy melodies. They just needed to be happy and proud that they were Jewish!

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and the beautiful thing? An after-glow of Simchat Torah… after this story, we started singing Am Yisrael Chai around the tables at dinner, and two large circles spontaneously formed, one guys circle, one girls circle, and there was dancing on Friday Night.