Q:
Is it proper to go to a Jewish concert?
A:
It depends what kind of a concert. It’s a concert that’s held let’s say in the yeshiva for the yeshiva men, well, on certain occasions yes. Purim, certainly. Other occasions.
But concerts that are done for the public, I’m going to reserve my opinion because sometimes the atmosphere in these so-called Orthodox concerts is not what it should be. There’s a lot of mixing and leitzanus and it looks a good deal like a rock-and-roll gathering and it’s not the spirit, not the spirit of Torah to come together just to hear singing; just to hear singing alone.
Now, I wouldn’t say it’s forbidden. I’m not going to disapprove of it, but it’s not the derech of the Am Hashem to come together to hear singing. When people are performing mitzvos and they sing during the mitzvos, that’s a different story. It’s avodas Hashem. They sing Shabbos zemiros, they sing at simchas beis hasho’eva, simchas Yom Tov, different things.
But to come together in a hall especially for singing, it’s not the Jewish method to do. It’s an imitation of umos ha’oilam and therefore we’re not so enthusiastic about it.
April 1993
