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| MBD concert in Jerusalem (2023) |
My parents were religious Jews who grew up in pre-Holocaust
Europe. The religious values they absorbed stayed with them for life. I was
raised according to those standards in post-Holocaust America. Although the
world of European Jewry and American Jewry could not have been further apart
culturally, the primary tenets of observant Judaism did not diminish in the
slightest. Shabbos, kashrus, family purity laws (mikvah) were strictly
observed, and Torah study was considered paramount.
But for my parents, living in the New World meant adapting
to those parts of the culture that did not contradict halacha in particular and
Torah values in general. So we owned a TV and occasionally went to a movie as a
family. In short, we led a pretty normal American Jewish life without
abandoning observance or Jewish values in any way.
It wasn’t only my family that lived that way. The
acknowledged head of the Orthodox community in the city where we lived – Toledo
- was Rabbi Nechemia Katz, who was also Rav Moshe Feinstein’s brother-in-law.
He was my father’s posek, deciding difficult questions of Jewish law. Our
families were good friends, and we would often go to the beach together. (Yes,
you read that correctly.) What may be little known is that Rav Moshe used to
visit his brother-in-law in Toledo on occasion. That is how I met Rav Moshe.One
year when I came home for Shabbos Chanukah (from Telshe) my father and I walked
over to meet him on Friday night.
This, in a nutshell, is what life was like for Orthodox Jews
in America back then (early 1960s).
The idea of mixed-gender seating in any arena (other than a
shul) was not an issue. It was as normal as apple pie. Men and women were often
seated together in various forums, such as concerts or banquets. No one gave it
a second thought.
Fast forward to today. The following was published in Arutz Sheva:
A letter published in the sector’s Yated Ne’eman newspaper and signed by all the leading Lithuanian-Charedi Torah scholars announced the establishment of a new rabbinical committee called “Shira Kehalacha” (Song According to Jewish Law). The new committee will oversee the performance industry and act as a kind of “kosher certification” for the music world.
The committee’s directives include a complete ban on mixed-gender performances, even those with full separation. Male singers are prohibited from performing in front of women in any setting. Exceptions will only be made for events within synagogues under strict supervision.
Simultaneously, singers and producers are required to sign a commitment to adhere to these rules. Anyone who refuses will be subject to a ban.
Men singers can no longer perform in front of women?!
Wow!
To answer the opening question: I would think I had suddenly been transported to mars!
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