Tag Archives: Music

Jew of the Week: Don Fernando de Aguilar

Shana Tova v’Metuka!

Don Fernando de Aguilar on the cover of a children’s book

Don Fernando de Aguilar (c. 1500) When Spain expelled its Jews in 1492, some chose to stay behind and convert superficially to Christianity, practicing their Judaism in secret. One of these Conversos (or Marranos) was Don Fernando de Aguilar, who also happened to be the conductor of the Royal Orchestra in Barcelona. Despite the fact that Judaism was outlawed in Spain (until 1967, in fact) de Aguilar organized secret prayer services in the basement of Don Manuel’s leather shop. But there was one mitzvah they could never keep: hearing the shofar. After many years of longing for the sounds of the shofar, Don Fernando came up with a clever idea. He wrote a concert featuring the “melodies of the world”, set to play in Barcelona over the High Holiday season. Fernando expertly weaved the shofar into his opus, with packed crowds of hidden Jews listening in, along with the fooled Inquisitors. Rabbi Eliyahu Kitov writes: “It was said that no one had ever been more successful in confusing Satan on Rosh HaShanah than was Don Aguilar.”

Words of the Week

Three books are opened on Rosh Hashanah: The righteous are inscribed in the book of life; the wicked are inscribed in the book of death, and the judgment of the intermediates hangs in balance until Yom Kippur…
– Talmud, Rosh HaShana 16b

Jew of the Week: Haim Saban

Haim Saban & the Power Rangers

Haim Saban – entertaining kids since 1975

Haim Saban (b. 1944) was born in Egypt. His family fled to Israel along with much of the Egyptian-Jewish community due to the 1956 Sinai War. After serving in the Israeli army, Saban formed a band called Ha’Arayot (the Lions), which gained fame across Europe. Building on this success, he started a record company in France in 1975, which went on to become the most successful of its time, selling over 18 million records. Saban then turned his attention to the TV industry and is noted for introducing Japanese Anime to European audiences. In 1988, Haim formed Saban Entertainment, producing such classics as the original X-Men TV series, and brought Dragon Ball Z and Digimon to the Western world. Perhaps most notably, Saban created the Power Rangers. In 2001, he sold much of his media empire to Disney, which remains the largest cash transaction by an individual in Hollywood history. He is worth over $3 billion and currently runs an investment group called Saban Capital. BusinessWeek lists him as one of the 50 greatest philanthropists in the world.

Words of the Week

Don’t tell God how big your problems are, tell your problems how big God is.
– Bumper Sticker

From the Torah

“You shall surely open your hand…” – Deuteronomy 15:8.
It is one of the 613 commandments to give charity to the needy. Even a poor person must give charity to one needier than they.

Jew of the Week: Gene Simmons

Gene Simmons, Family Jew

Chaim Witz, aka Gene Simmons

Gene Simmons (b. 1949) Born Chaim Witz in Haifa, Israel to Hungarian Holocaust survivors, he emigrated with his mother to New York when he was 8 years old. Witz attended Yeshiva Torah V’Daat in Brooklyn. Later, he took up his mother’s maiden name and was known as Eugene Klein. After having played in several bands, he formed a new one called Kiss, a Hungarian translation of his last name, which means “small”. Due to their love of Purim, the band has become famous for their flamboyant costumes and make-up. Simmons has since starred in multiple films and TV shows, has published 5 books and several science fiction magazines (he is a fan of the genre). On a recent visit to Israel, he said “I’m Israeli. I’m a stranger in America. I’m an outsider”.

Chaim Witz, aka the Demon

Words of the Week

One whom people are pleased with, G-d is pleased with him; but one whom people are not pleased with, G-d is not pleased with him
– Pirkei Avot 3:10