Matisyahu shaved his beard. "No more Chasidic reggae star."

[Ralar]

“Sorry folks, all you get is me … no alias,†he wrote on his website today. “When I started becoming religious 10 years ago it was a very natural and organic process. It was my choice. My journey to discover my roots and explore Jewish spirituality — not through books but through real life. At a certain point, I felt the need to submit to a higher level of religiosity … to move away from my intuition and to accept an ultimate truth. I felt that in order to become a good person I needed rules — lots of them — or else I would somehow fall apart.

 

“I am reclaiming myself. Trusting my goodness and my divine mission.â€

 

He also said he uses hotel swimming pools as a mikvah!

 

 

http://www.jewishjournal.com/hollywoodjew/item/matisyahu_shaves_his_beard_20111213h/

http://www.heyreverb.com/2011/12/13/matisyahu-shaves-beard/#9

 

 

I suspect he is leaving Hasidism and going Modern Orthodox.

[GeoBQn]

This is reminding me of when orthodox rapper 50 Shekel became a Jew for Jesus.

[PennySycamore]

Wow! I saw Matisyahu on the new show Chef Roble and Co. on Bravo Sunday night. Chef Roble was asked to cater a farewell dinner for Matisyahu before he left on tour. He still had his beard at the time of the dinner. A rabbi supervised the cooking which was done in a kosher kitchen. When Chef Roble met Matisyahu's wife, she did not shake his hand when he extended it. She also asked that the servers be modestly dressed. I vote for going Modern Orthodox, too.

[Beeks]

My husband just told me this and I had to confirm it on tmz because I didn't believe him! I love his music. I hope he's happy in his new journey - it's hard to break away from chassidism, and I imagine even harder when you're so well known.

[meda]

I wonder if he will stay married, won't his wife have to leave with him? She seems pretty attached to her community.

[Ralar]

*UPDATED: To be clear, none of this is to suggest that Matisyahu no longer identifies as a Jew or even as an observant Jew. By “post-Orthodox,†I simply meant that his understanding of what it means to be Jewish has changed and is no longer confined to the Chasidic rituals that his beard has long identified him with.

[finleeport]

What is so tough about Chassidism? is it fundamental/fanatical?

[kemme]

He tweeted this: For all of those who are being awesome,you are awesome.For all those who are confused:today I went to the Mikva and Shul just like yesterday

http://twitter.com/#!/matisyahu/status/ ... 3457310721

So he's still practising. I think he and his wife will remain married, I've always thought of her as kind of modern, I don't know why.

I can see them either going modern or just spiritual (that's the vibe I got from the message on his website anyways).

[ilovetchotchkes]

He looks like a completely different person!

[FaustianSlip]

I've gotta say, I didn't see this coming at all. I loved Matisyahu's album Shake Off the Dust... Arise!- it's just brilliant. His other stuff is okay, but I don't think his subsequent albums have matched that one. I enjoy his music, though, and like the general message he's been putting out. As others have said, I have a hard time believing he's just chucking everything after being so religious for so long; I'd put my money on Modern Orthodoxy, as well.

Whatever he does, I hope his wife is on board, at least; it would be pretty rough if he's ready to quit the religious life entirely and she's not. I feel bad for both of them in that he's going to take a ton of criticism for this (though with the Tweets, I suppose he's bringing some of it on himself).

[Soldier of the One]

Using a swimming pool as a mikveh? A very lenient and controversial opinion within the Orthodox world. On the other hand, immersion for men is only minhag (custom) and not Halakhah (law) so that might explain his approach.

I think 'Modern Orthodox' could be an option although it wouldn't solve the 'legalism' he is struggling with. (This, by the way, is no judgment on my part of Modern Orthodoxy, I am just lining up what Matisyahu himself wrote). I could also picture him going the 'frum Renewal' way. Think Rabbi Zalman Shachter-Shalomi, or even Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach in a sense.

We'll see. I also hope his wife is on board with this! If she's from a real Chassidic environment, it could be tough. I hope they make it through together.

But honestly, I am not surprised. I've seen this process happen before.

[Ralar]

I think 'Modern Orthodox' could be an option although it wouldn't solve the 'legalism' he is struggling with. (This, by the way, is no judgment on my part of Modern Orthodoxy, I am just lining up what Matisyahu himself wrote). I could also picture him going the 'frum Renewal' way. Think Rabbi Zalman Shachter-Shalomi, or even Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach in a sense.

I agree. In fact, I just posted elsewhere that Matis may be heading towards the Jewish Renewal movement (founded by Reb Zalmon).

FWIW, my cousins are friends (and received smicha) from Reb Zalmon, and I had the pleasure to daven with him in Boulder, CO a couple years ago on the occasion of his mother's yahrzeit. Reb Shlomo was my rebbetzen's uncle.

[Soldier of the One]

Reb Zalman is awesome. 'Out there', but definitely awesome!

I think Matisyahu is too much of a renegade hipster kid to fit into the Modern Orthodox scene. And taking a mystical approach to Judaism tends to 'stick' with a lot of folks, so he will still want that.

[2xx1xy1JD]

I agree. In fact, I just posted elsewhere that Matis may be heading towards the Jewish Renewal movement (founded by Reb Zalmon).

FWIW, my cousins are friends (and received smicha) from Reb Zalmon, and I had the pleasure to daven with him in Boulder, CO a couple years ago on the occasion of his mother's yahrzeit. Reb Shlomo was my rebbetzen's uncle.

Yeah, I can definitely see that.

I'm also not so sure that he would necessarily land within the strict confines of a particular movement again.

BTW, for anyone reading this and thinking "huh?", I'll give a bit of background.

He was Jewish but not very religious growing up.

As a young adult, he met up with the Chabad movement. Chabad is Hasidic, but known for being VERY into outreach. This means that initially, they will approach any Jew, and be totally friendly and open. Because of the outreach focus, they can be more open than some Modern Orthodox or even Reform. At the same time - they are still ultra-Orthodox Hasidic Jews. Part of the Hasidic aspect is that they are very into spirituality and mysticism (eg. Kabbalah, but not the fake Madonna variety). He obviously got into that in a big way. Another aspect of Hasidic movements is that they each tend to follow their own Rebbe, or leader, in a major way. Chabad follows the late Lubavitcher Rebbe. He was undoubtedly a great guy who spearheaded the whole massive outreach approach, but those who are fully committed to the movement as opposed to just being loosely affiliated supporters are expected to see him as a perfect figure. They are also expected to take on a whole slew of Lubavitch customs, dress, etc. The process for those who were brought in through outreach and who become full Lubavitchers is not always easy and smooth, and I've known people backed out. Think about it - you take people who were attracted by warmth and open and spiritual seeking, and at some point they encounter the more insular part of the community where they may always feel like outsiders, where they will be expected to dress a certain way and do things in a certain way, and to take on the party line on a variety of viewpoints. There's also a weird split in the movement, with some heavily involved in outreach around the world, while others live in insular communities like Crown Heights in Brooklyn. [it goes beyond a post - people have written books on this.]

There are a few high profile rabbis who were part of the inner circle, who had disagreements and left the movement but still retained the spirituality and influence.

Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach (sp?) is best known for his music, which had an influence over much of the Jewish world, and bringing in a very joyous, musical style to worship.

Rabbi Zalman Schetcher-Shalomi, who was a friend of Rabbi Shlomo, also went off around the same time. He explored a variety of spiritual traditions and started the Jewish Renewal movement. That movement is fairly small, but he had a lot of influence on general American Jewish society through his connection to the Jewish Catalog (a 3 volume set from the 1970s that was a standard fixture in many Jewish homes, synagogues and libraries). I heard him speak almost 20 years ago, and it blew my mind.

Rabbi Shmuley Boteach (author of Kosher Sex, and for a while the star of TLC's Shalom in the Home) didn't start his own movement, but he was also a formerly less religious outsider who joined Chabad, became a rabbi and representative in England, and then clashed with the leadership.

It sounds like Mattisyahu is still developing and finding himself, and would want to keep both the spirituality and individuality. I saw him at a conference in LA a Jewish pan-denominational conference (LimmudLA) a few years ago.

[Soldier of the One]

I think you're right.

I also think that it is important to mention that Jewish Renewal - Reb Zalman included - is staunchly egalitarian. I am really curious to see the direction in which Matisyahu will grow. I wish him luck either way.

Yes, Chabad has its share of 'renegade' celebrity rabbis!

[FaustianSlip]

Thought this might be an appropriate place to put a musical response from The Groggers:

b8wi-MbnlnI

[lizzy]

This is reminding me of when orthodox rapper 50 Shekel became a Jew for Jesus.

There is seriously a rapper named 50 Shekel? That's hilarious!

[Witsec7]

The granddaughter of an Iman turned me on to his music. I've just been watching some YouTube interviews with him this week.