Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach : Life, Mission, and Legacy

Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach (1925–1994) is considered the most influential composer of Jewish religious music of the 20th century and a progenitor of the modern neo-Hasidic renaissance. To date, there has been no systematic study of his life and very little scholarly analysis of his teachings, innovations, and music.

This book examines Shlomo’s life and career via the prism of the historical and cultural developments of his time, including the Holocaust, the Six-Day War, the hippie phenomenon, the New Age movement, and other events that were channeling the course of Jewish life. It also attempts to understand the roots of the Carlebach phenomenon and its wide-range appeal. Above all, this book provides a new framework to evaluate and appreciate the unique form of heartfelt Judaism, joyful optimism, and soulful rejuvenation that Reb Shlomo inspired.

About the author:

Dr. Natan Ophir (Offenbacher) grew up in Philadelphia and graduated from the Talmudical Yeshiva of Philadelphia. He first met Reb Shlomo in 1969 when his family moved to 81st Street in Manhattan, two blocks from the Carlebach Shul. Natan graduated Yeshiva University in New York in 1974 and then moved to Israel. He studied for seven years at Yeshivat Mercaz HaRav Kook where he received ordination from the Chief Rabbinate of Israel. Then he completed his M.A. and Ph.D. in Jewish Philosophy at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem where he served as rabbi of the campus from 1982–1998. Currently, he directs JMIJ, the Jewish Meditation Institute Jerusalem, whose goal it is to teach practical Jewish Meditation in the light of research in neuropsychology. He also teaches at the Jerusalem College of Technology and the Ono Academic College.