Waaaaay too much Auto-TuneâŚ
Isnât that point!?
I think I need a unicorn now. Maybe itâs because Iâm not American, but the whole religions-coopting-pop-music thing gives me the shivers⌠And is that Jerusalem? If so, itâs really in poor taste.
But hey, happy new year of whatever calendar youâre following from before science was invented.
We can at least be thankful that itâs not this. Judaism also seems a bit like an extreme form of Calvinism when it comes to membership, so you arenât going to be shown it hundreds of times by people who want you to âgetâ their religion.
I donât see why it would be especially tasteless to make a video like this in Jerusalem though. Itâs a living city and they donât seem to be damaging the walls at all. Theyâre basically just singing about their culture and history while surrounded by symbols of that culture.
God forbid citizens of a city which is home to three separate religions try to promote religious coexistance, especially through the medium of pop music and dance - itâs far too modern and peaceful.
Instead, they need to be carrying on the noble legacy of intolerance, hatred, and violence between people of differing religions that theyâve inherited from their past. If centuries of war and suffering were good enough for their ancestors, by God they should be good enough for them!
Theyâre basically just singing about their culture and history while surrounded by symbols of that culture.
Yeah I guess. But Jerusalem has a very special status, and claiming it as a symbol of this or that culture will always be problematic.
God forbid citizens of a city which is home to three separate religions try to promote religious coexistance,
What promotion? Iâve seen only Jewish people in that video. Which is why it troubled me a bit, I have to admit. Jerusalem is a very weird and delicate place, and as I said above, claiming it for this or that religion (let alone this or that state) will always be a problem.
Btw, wtf is wrong with Discourse on Safari today? The Reply button is acting weird, it took me five attempts to post this.
Jerusalem is a symbol of certain cultures, because it is home to those cultures.
Thatâs only âproblematicâ when one or more of the differing groups of citizens act like the city belongs solely to them, despite all the evidence of reality. Jerusalem is Jewish, just as much as itâs Christian and Muslim, and anyone who gets upset with others for being proud of who they are, or for being part of the history of Jerusalem, is delusional and egotistical.
I just figure itâs symbolic to many different cultures at the same time. It looks like the particular part of the city wall that theyâre using doesnât carry a lot of symbolic importance, so I doubt that what they were doing would offend too many people.
Only Jews in a Rosh Hashana video? Say it ainât so! Next thing you know, weâll only have Christians in a Christmas video! âThose filthy hypocrites! Wishing people âHappy Holidaysâ, but not having any non-Christians in their video! Who do they think theyâre fooling?â
As for promoting coexistence? Maybe if youâd watched and listened youâd have caught some of the lyrics which seem to do just that. âAll ends with beginningsâ, âLetâs raise the barâ, âovercomeâ âWe make mistakes / start anew, we can change / Take stock, search your soul / Shana Tov, time to growâ, âstop all the strifeâ, et cetera.
Moreover, youâve got a bearded Hassidic Rabbi playing electric guitar with a bunch of young kids dancing to modern western pop music. I donât know what more you want to demonstrate that this is supposed to be peaceable, inclusive, and celebratory. Could you imagine something like this happening fifty years ago? Because I canât.
âAll ends with beginningsâ, âLetâs raise the barâ, âWe make mistakes / start anew, we can change / Take stock, search your soul / Shana Tov, time to growâ, âstop all the strifeâ
Yeah, the usual litany. Nothing in particular about coexistence.
youâve got a bearded Hassidic Rabbi playing electric guitar with a bunch of young kids dancing to modern western pop music. I donât know what more you want to demonstrate that this is supposed to be peaceable, inclusive, and celebratory
I guess Iâm not familiar enough with the particular tribe customs (never heard of Rosh Hashana before, and Iâm not an expert in Hassidism), so I donât see why it should express such coexistence and inclusivity. Iâm reacting like Iâd seen a priest dancing to modern western pop music: Iâve seen quite a few and most of them were the less inclusive and peaceable people ever. Because youâre always welcome and weâre gonna have a lot of fun, as long as you accept etc etc etc. I guess it might be different for Jews⌠like @jsroberts said, at least I should sort-of assume theyâre not trying to convert me.
Dunno, the whole religion-on-pop thing just leaves me a bad taste, thatâs all. Ah well, time for bed.
Considering that Judaism has never involved missionaries on a fundamental level like the other Abrahamic religions, yeah, you should assume theyâre not trying to convert you. 
Also, if Rosh Hashana and Hassidism are alien to you, go ahead and look them up. Wikipedia is just a few clicks away, after all. You just might learn a few things about the world, and then youâll actually know things about other people instead of just having to assume negative things about them. 
Is it Rashomon season already? And then comes Sacre Bleu and, before you know it, Yul Brynner.
Reacharound isnât until spring.
I think Iâll sidestep all the hand-wringing about religion and auto-tuning and note that itâs kind of interesting that this seems more based on George Barnettâs cover of Get Lucky than the original:
never heard of Rosh Hashana before
Maybe you should just stop right there. Digging more is not the way to get out of a hole.
A very interesting comment, I see your point.
And to use in a few months time
That chap looks like a young Eddie Tudor-Pole⌠not a bad lookâŚ
Especially to us Jews!
