Original Article published in The Jerusalem Post

Matisyahu beats and breaks across the stages of the world with his long beard and ritual fringes flapping. His music can best be described as a cross between

reggae, Rasta Roots, rap, rock, beat boxing, dub and Hasidic nigunim which are sung in English, sprinkled with bits of Hebrew and Yiddish throughout. His fan base spans the young religious crowd, to hardcore reggae fans, to those simply intrigued by the idea of a rappin Hasidic Jew.

This past December, Matisyahu returned to New York City for the annual Chanukah Festival of Lights shows – four in Manhattan and four in Brooklyn. Matisyahu performed songs from his new album, Light, as well as such classics as King Without a Crown and Jerusalem from his albums Shake Off the Dust… Arise (2004) and Youth (2006). Fans were in for a treat during the show as a silver, sparkly, three-foot-tall revolving dreidel descended from the rafters. Several lucky fans in the packed club even got to join Matisyahu on stage to light the Chanukah candles. As Matisyahu got warmed up, he shed his black jacket, revealing a white jumpsuit with the Hebrew letter aleph on the back.

Matisyahu was born Matthew Paul Miller in Westchester, Pennsylvania. He moved to New York, attended Hebrew school at a Reconstructionist synagogue, and became bar mitzvah at Temple Beth Am Shalom in White Plains. In 1996, when Matisyahu was 16, he attended the Alexander Muss High School Program in Hod Hasharon, near Tel Aviv, in Israel. I loved it, he said. It was my first experience in Israel. I remember the day they took us to Mount Scopus, overlooking the Old City of Jerusalem. I was deeply touched when we sang ‘Yerushalayim Shel Zahav – Jerusalem of Gold. It was the first time in my life I had an emotional feeling about being Jewish.

Matisyahu has returned to Israel many times since, having grown a great deal both musically and spiritually. As a teen, Matisyahu discovered his parents record collection, and his talent for singing. He was instantly turned on to the music of legendary groups such as the Grateful Dead, Phish and Bob Marley and the Wailers. Matisyahu also became increasingly interested in his religion, ultimately becoming Ba’al Teshuva in 2001. The result is an incredible career which seems to balance his musical and spiritual needs together on stage, to the delight of fans worldwide.

In 2005, Matisyahu recorded Live at Stubb’s in Austin, Texas. He then toured extensively throughout the United States, Canada, Europe and Israel. In 2006, his second album, Youth, was Billboard magazine’s number one digital (most downloaded) album. His third album, Light, was released on August 25, 2009.

How is your new album, Light, different from your two previous albums?

What were some of your influences on this album? This album has been a progression, a continuation. I like to explore different genres, to write and to use my voice in different ways. I used a different method to write Light. I took more time and wrote it with different people. My friend in Israel, therapist and co-writer Ephraim Rosenstein and I studied and compared the teachings of the Alter Rabbi and Reb Nachman of Bratslav. Then we created the music, then the lyrics. I was in no rush – it took three years!

Your song, One Day, is the promo song for the 2010 Winter Olympics. How did that come to be? I don’t know! But I am happy they are using the song, and I have two shows there, one in Vancouver and one in Whistler (British Columbia).

What’s it like keeping Shabbat and kosher on the road? We have a tour with a full kitchen, and I have an assistant who cooks for me – breakfast and hot dogs! For Shabbat, we are wherever our tour takes us. We often just connect with the local Jewish community or Chabad. Sometimes, we are stuck at our hotel. At music festivals, we bring a Shabbos Team and create a Shabbat community!

Who are some of your musical influences? Bob Marley, Phish, Sizzla, OutKast.

You recently performed at Sultan’s Pool in Jerusalem. What are your thoughts on Israel and, what is it like performing the song Jerusalem in Jerusalem? Sultan’s Pool was a very special show. The fact that we were right there, just outside the Old City of Jerusalem, was very special and personally moving. For the last several years I have been going to Israel for Tishrei – to clean my plate and get focused. I think about my visit to Israel all year. I know I’ll be all over the world during the year, and staring off the year in Israel, making Israel the rosh is representative of something very special. And yes, it is awesome to sing my song Jerusalem in Jerusalem!

Where have you been performing lately? What is coming up for you in the near future? I did a show in Tel Aviv with awesome Israeli band, Infected Mushroom, in early February, and then did four shows in Hawaii. I’m doing a few shows in Australia around Pesach time, then a few shows in Poland, Portugal, Berlin, and London.

Favorite place in Israel? I love the whole country, but Jerusalem is where my heart is.

Favorite Israeli Food? I like pizza from a place called something like Shalom Felafel.

Favorite Israeli band? Infected Mushroom they have such a great sound and I just performed with them as well, which was great fun.

Ever think of making aliyah? I’d love to!

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I was pleased to learn that the theme for a sophomore class Shabbaton at a Modern Orthodox High School is “Stand By Me–A Thought and Heart-Provoking Exploration of REALationships.

A very thoughtful, young woman shared her take on this topic. While she and five of her classmates, who were also asked to speak on the topic, were initially unclear on what, exactly, a REALationship is, this mature sixteen year old began to understand that it is a special, perhaps unexpected, relationship that she had been part of.

She shared her talk with me since I am the director of the Tikvah Program at Camp Ramah in New England. Our overnight program for campers with developmental disabilities celebrates its 40th Anniversary this year. We are very proud to be pioneers and leaders in the field of Jewish camping, and in the inclusion of campers with special needs in the camp community. Our Tikvah campers, and the members of our Tochnit Avodah (vocational training program) have always been full members of the camp community, but they have lived in their own bunks.

Seven years ago, we decided to grow with the times and push the envelope We created an INCLUSION PROGRAM for campers too young for our Tikvah Program, for campers with more mild impairments, and for those whose parents preferred a more inclusive approach.

The young woman writes, A child with special needs was put in a bunk of campers like you and me. Children with Down Syndrome, Asperger Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy, and other developmental disabilities joined typical bunks and spent their summer partaking in the same activities as other campers.

Three summers ago, R, a camper with Downs Syndrome, joined my bunk. At first, my group of friends and I hated it. We had extra responsibilities now. We had to help R. put on her pajamas, get into her bathing suit, brush her teeth, and pour herself water. These burdens were annoying. Why did we want to waste our time helping someone who probably didn’t even realize we were helping her? R was always stubborn and seemed to need our help for every single thing. It appeared that everyone was having a miserable summer, simply because she was in our bunk.

While these extra responsibilities were annoying and slowed us down, by the end of the summer, each camper in my bunk had formed a special REALationship with R. We began to enjoy playing sports with her, seeing her accomplishments, such as climbing to the top of the rock climbing wall, as well as surprising her with a party on her birthday. This entire experience showed us that it is not easy to go out of your way to help someone, yet once you do, the result can be something you never expected that it would be.

Over the year, my bunkmates and I continued to reach out to R. Many of us invited her to our Bat-Mitzvahs, we wrote her letters through snail mail, and we even planned conference calls with each other before Shabbat, so we could all sing the pre-Shabbat songs, just like we do at camp.

The following summer, many of my friends and I signed up for a special buddy program, where we got paired up with a special needs camper, who we did various activities with, like playing sports with during our free time. This past summer, we all signed up again, and were assigned to new buddies, who we swam with and built sand castles with during their swimming period. Since I have been on a swim team for many years, I did not expect any of the kids to be as good as me. Surprisingly, I raced one camper and was shocked when he almost beat me!

One can form a special REALationship with anyone. In my case, my friends and I were able to form REALationships with particular campers, simply by holding their hand and running with them to first base while playing kickball, helping to glue newspaper onto a paper mache balloon that would become a globe, writing a letter to their parents to tell them about their field trip, or singing and dancing with them in the dining hall after dinner. This summer, I am looking forward to being a CIT and strengthening my REALationships with some of the same campers I worked with in past years.

By partaking in these special REALationships, one can learn that when someone has a disability, that means they also have an ability. Over the years at camp, I have learned that children with disabilities really do have the abilities to express themselves and enjoy the camp experience. Even if you do not keep in touch with these campers, you can still have a REALationship, because you have made a difference in their lives.

My Shul has held a Yachad Shabbaton one Shabbat for the past few years. I have noticed that the Yachad members are not the only ones who enjoy these experiences. The members of my Shul also look forward to this weekend, and everyone takes something away from the experience. I hope that in camps and Shuls around us, we can take advantage of opportunities like the ones I have had, like at the Yachad Shabbaton coming up in a few weeks.

The program certainly has its challenges, but the benefits to the typically developing campers, the campers with special needs, and to the entire camp community, are amazing.

We hope our attempts at inclusion at Camp Ramah in New England (and throughout the Ramah Camping Movement) will inspire others in the Jewish World to follow our lead and in turn, inspire others. Please share your inclusion successes and challenges so we can all help each other!

This article on inclusion in the Jewish world deals with special needs in the Jewish community.

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In past blogposts, I have shared news of the Jim Joseph Foundation Fellows Program.  The fourteen fellows, from across the country and from various fields of formal and informal Jewish education, are learning to develop online communities of practice.  I look forward to sharing more about our program in future blogposts. 

Today, the fellows have launched our own blog, “Davar Acher:  On the Other Hand.” Please visit the blog regularly and share thoughts and comments. I am pleased to be the “first blogger” on Davar Acher.  Check it out!   http://jjffeducators.blogspot.com

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The Original Article

I’m sitting on a 20 seat minibus with fourteen North American Jewish educators on an unseasonably warm December day. We are accompanied by three teachers and an amazing tour guide, and we are on the road from Mount Carmel in Israel to our base, the Jim Joseph Educational Building at Bar Ilan University in Ramat Gan. Rachel Meytin, a new friend and the Vice President of the Panim Institute for Jewish Leadership and Values/BBYO turns to me and asks if I will serve as guest speaker on an upcoming service learning conference call. All she had to do was share the proposed title and I was in! For a guy who directs the Tikvah Program at Camp Ramah in New England, an overnight camping program for children and young adults with special needs, this was a dream come true. I would get to speak to BBYO professionals across the country on the topic of “Integrating and Partnering with Students With Special Needs!” We opened our laptops, confirm the dates, and start generating ideas (which we share by email, thanks to Israeli wireless Pelephone technology!)

I am most appreciative to Rachel for the opportunity to share my talk and Power Point slides with her colleagues from LA, Austin, St. Louis, and DC. Where else could a Ramah director and BBYO professionals share information and best practices?

Thanks to the Jim Joseph Foundation Fellows-Leading Educators Online Program, the fourteen of us in the first cohort are working with the staff of the Lookstein Center at Bar Ilan University and with experts from around the world as we learn to develop and lead online collaborative communities in our professional fields. Our group of fourteen Jewish educators come from formal (e.g. supplementary, congregational, and day schools) and informal Jewish education settings (e.g. camps, youth groups, Jewish Community Centers and early childhood programs, we come from eleven states (California, Arizona, Texas, Georgia, Illinois, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia), and we represent every imaginable movement in the American Jewish community. And we are loving the excitement of sharing and beginning to collaborate with colleagues from “across the aisles” of the Jewish world.

We have discussed ways to use Wikis in afternoon schools, blogs in early childhood centers and Animoto and Make Beliefs Comix in community day schools. We schedule meetings on Meeting Wizard and chat on Oovoo. We regularly Tweet during our conferences and lectures. We have experienced the frenzy of collaborating on a Tu B’shvat on an admittedly early version of Google Wave. We’ve even had fun sharing fun facts about ourselves using worlde.net!

And this is the tip of the iceberg. We firmly believe that it is time for Jewish educators from all parts of the Jewish World to share technology, best practices, ideas, thoughts and support. The fourteen of us and our teachers have decided to create a blog. After a pretty crazy “naming contest,” we have all agreed that our blog should be called, “Davar Acher: On the Other Hand.” In that spirit, we invite you to join us—read our blog, share your ideas, thoughts and perspectives, and consider being a guest writer! Beruchim HaBa’im and Welcome to Davar Acher!

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