Digging (Into) Dylan & Lennon
As a pop music fan for most of my 67 years, with particular interest in rock and roll, I thoroughly enjoyed Dr. Saul Singer’s survey of superstars who sang tunes in Hebrew or with Jewish content (“They All Sang in Hebrew,” Parts 1 and 2, June 20 and 27 issues).
Regarding Bob Dylan and John Lennon, I suggest a bit more accuracy and nuance. Singer writes that Dylan was “very close” to the legendary Shor Yoshuv rosh yeshiva, HaRav Shlomo Freifeld. Having been associated with the Far Rockaway community for over 50 years, I have heard many myths regarding Dylan and Shor Yoshuv. (One could almost believe that Bob was asked to be a co-rosh yeshiva!) However, the truth is far more mundane. A female friend of Dylan had become close to Shor Yoshuv, and the yeshiva made sheva brachos for her. She invited Dylan, along with the beat poet Allen Ginsberg, and they attended.
As related to me by an early talmid of Rav Shlomo, the rosh yeshiva warned the talmidim that Dylan was “crazy” and not to accord him hero worship. They were, of course, also told to be polite, but Rav Shlomo wanted our heroes to be chachamim, not rock stars.
According to the book Reb Shlomo, an anecdotal biography, after experiencing Shor Yoshuv’s ruach (a ruach that remains so vibrant all these years later), Dylan hoped to attend the yeshiva. Rav Shlomo, however, sensed a lack of full commitment and would not accept Dylan. I don’t think it correct to state that Dylan and Rav Shlomo had a “deep connection,” and certainly not deeper than the rosh yeshiva had with his actual talmidim.
John Lennon, as depicted by Singer, was antisemitic and anti-Israel. Nowhere have I found evidence of the latter. Not only that, but the Beatles desired to play a concert in Israel. The government, citing potential corruption of Israeli youth (!), scuttled the idea.
Singer states that Lennon was wont to substitute the lyric “Baby, you’re a rich Jew” while teasing the song “Baby, You’re a Rich Man.” Singer is ignoring the fact that Lennon had an incredibly sardonic sense of humor. Everything was fair game for him. Inelegant, yes; antisemitic, no. I find it little different than the oft-heard casual racial prejudice from some Orthodox Jews. In most cases, they are not racist; rather, they are insensitive and sometimes ignorant. For Lennon, the context of his modes of expression was his sly, humorous, sometimes vicious view of the world, not of hatred.
Lennon reportedly would periodically salute with a “Seig Heil,” but it seems this mostly occurred when the (very young) Beatles played in Hamburg at the Cavern Club. Lennon may simply have been taunting his German hosts, and it seems he later apologized. Bandmate Paul McCartney evidently was guilty of the same, and no one can doubt Paul’s affinity for the Jewish people. Similarly, I don’t think that Elon Musk’s deplorable physical allusions to Nazi imagery make him antisemitic.
I remain a massive fan of both Dylan and Lennon. In July 2023, I saw Dylan in concert, and I was quite impressed by the performance, especially his willingness to rearrange his songs. He is a dynamic, not a static, performer. Due to tendonitis in both arms, he now plays keyboards in concert rather than guitar. When I was asked by a local newspaper some years ago to rank my favorite albums of all time, Dylan’s Blood on the Tracks was on the list. Lennon was represented by the Beatles’ Abbey Road (although that remarkable record is largely dominated by Paul McCartney).
Again, my kudos to Saul Singer for a job well done.
Avi Goldstein
Far Rockaway, N.Y.
Another NYT Hatchet Job
Re: Vlad Khaykin’s excellent takedown of Masha Gessen’s New York Times article (“Masha Gessen’s NYT Piece Is Dangerous; Here’s Why,” July 11): Khaykin astutely notes that “Gessen also props up this flimsy strawman: that Jews conflate every criticism of Israel with antisemitism… Criticizing Israeli policy is not inherently antisemitic, but denying Israel’s very right to exist – the essential creed of anti-Zionism – most certainly is… Because it denies Jews the only reliable means of refuge, rescue, and self-defense we have in a world still beset by genocidal antisemitism. And because, as Jewish history unerringly shows, anti-Zionism never remains a civil debate about lines on a map; it metastasizes into anti-Jewish violence and purges wherever it takes hold.”
Quite right. Let me also add these points:
- If Israel is the only country you ever criticize for doing the same things many other countries are doing (and in the case of some criticisms, the vast majority of other countries are doing them too), then it doesn’t take a detective to realize you’re being antisemitic by hyper-focusing on one country but giving every other country a free pass. Want to dismantle the ethnostate of Israel? Great, why don’t you start with the more than 20 Arab countries that treat their minority populations (if they have any sizeable ones) far, far worse.
- When other minorities and religious groups organize for their goals and celebrate their strengths, the Masha Gessens of the world praise them. When it’s Israel, the very acts are the source of Gessen’s disdain.
- Criticism of Israel is remarkably out of proportion in most Western countries. Are there zero other issues that could qualify for just one lousy protest on campus over the last 20 months? This is the only thing that qualifies for highway closures and criminally taking over campus buildings? Otherwise, the world and the country are just peachy keen? Please.
I thank Vlad Khaykin for his perfectly argued essay.
Heschel Cowan
Via E-mail
