{"id":10998,"date":"2015-06-04T15:00:32","date_gmt":"2015-06-04T15:00:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jewishaction.com\/?p=10998"},"modified":"2020-07-27T08:16:49","modified_gmt":"2020-07-27T08:16:49","slug":"musical-birthright-hits-all-the-right-notes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jewishaction.com\/inside-the-ou\/musical-birthright-hits-all-the-right-notes\/","title":{"rendered":"Musical Birthright Hits All the Right Notes"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n

\"Jamming<\/a>

Jamming on the bus during the musical Birthright trip. Tour leader Yitzy Glicksman is playing a melodica, a combination between a keyboard and a harmonica.<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

In December, twenty-seven Jews from North America toured the land of Israel for ten days, singing the entire way and joined by Lipa Schmeltzer, one of Jewish music\u2019s biggest stars.<\/p>\n

\u201cMusic on Tour\u201d was one of the few Taglit-Birthright Israel trips solely devoted to the music of the Promised Land. Organized by Israel Free Spirit (www.israelfreespirit.com), the Orthodox Union\u2019s Birthright division, the trip brought together participants who share a love of music.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe realized that there was a need and interest in the musically oriented part of the Jewish population,\u201d explains Scott Shulman, program director of Israel Free Spirit. \u201cThe land of Israel has so much to offer in this regard.\u201d<\/p>\n

The first step in running the trip was finding staff members who are involved in the music scene. Israel Free Spirit recruited Yitzy Glicksman, a knowledgeable freelance musician from Teaneck, New Jersey, and Liat Lemberger, marketing director at Universal Records, where she represents successful artists like Owl City. Participants came from all over North America and Canada, each of whom brought his or her own musical appreciation. Many brought their instruments: guitars, harmonicas and even a saxophone. Once the trip began, the connection between the participants was immediate.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe music bridged a gap because everyone was singing and playing music,\u201d says Lemberger, who taught the unaffiliated Birthright participants Jewish songs throughout the trip, including \u201cHinei Mah Tov<\/em>\u201d as they hiked down Masada.<\/p>\n

Along with all the experiences expected of a Birthright trip, the trip explored the musical side of Israel with participants meeting with local musicians and popular artists and visiting the Rimon School of Jazz and Contemporary Music in Ramat Hasharon.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt transcended our differences and brought us closer together,\u201d says Glicksman.<\/p>\n

\"Birthright<\/a>

Birthright participants Kurt Gray and Ben Spielberg playing their instruments outside the Shuk in Jerusalem. Photos: Laura Bergstein<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

On Friday night, as the group prayed at the Kotel, they were joined by a special guest, Jewish music superstar Lipa Schmeltzer, who not only sang with them on Friday night but stayed with them the entire Shabbat, and even led a moving Havdalah service. Former Chair of OU Birthright Henry Orlinksy generously sponsored the superstar\u2019s visit.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was everything I ever wanted,\u201d says Eitan Prouser, twenty-six, a graduate of Molloy College. \u201cI needed some inspiration and I needed to see something I hadn\u2019t seen before. The trip gave me that.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  In December, twenty-seven Jews from North America toured the land of Israel for ten days, singing the entire way and joined by Lipa Schmeltzer, one of Jewish music\u2019s biggest stars. \u201cMusic on Tour\u201d was one of the few Taglit-Birthright Israel trips solely devoted to the music of the Promised Land. Organized by Israel Free […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":718,"featured_media":10999,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"_cloudinary_featured_overwrite":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10998","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-inside-the-ou","issues-summer-20155775"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nMusical Birthright Hits All the Right Notes - Jewish Action<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"  In December, twenty-seven Jews from North America toured the land of Israel for ten days, singing the entire way and joined by Lipa Schmeltzer, one\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/jewishaction.com\/inside-the-ou\/musical-birthright-hits-all-the-right-notes\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Musical Birthright Hits All the Right Notes - 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