EYES ON ISRAELI CULTURE #2

By M Wooderson

Photos by M Wooderson and Jewish Mayhem
Video provided by SHEVA and GlobaLev

Note: This article was originally written in the summer of 2005 with the Gaza disengagement looming and weighing heavily on the hearts of all Israelis. I have only added projects that have appeared in the past year where appropriate but have left the thoughts and outlook of 14 months ? and many realities ago, intact.

That in the course of one year we could endure Sharon?s stroke and Olmert?s ascendancy, Hamas actually being elected by the Palestinians, the continuing violence coming out of Gaza and the war against Hezbollah, not to mention heaps of internal corruption and hypocrisy, was, at the time, merely part of a worst-case scenario that seemed out of an unlikely bad dream even to the most pragmatic, battle-hardened and cynical of Israelis.

Nevertheless, the people, spirit and happenings described herein still thrive today ?in spite of it all?. This is the true account not only of what might have been, but of what still can be.

UPDATE – Sheva “Live in Australia” wins prestigious 2006 Independent Music Award for Best Live Performance

MW – November ’06′

GENESIS:IN THE BEGINNING This creation is a call for gathering all souls who wish in the depth of their hearts to amend the world and to heal humans and earth together in faith, in truth and peace, each one in their own way.

We are the old people.
We are the new people.
We are the same people.
Wiser than before.
-Sheva?s group invocation

This article was eventually gonna get written anyway. Sheva is my favourite band and seeing how I manage to write this gig every now and again it was a natural. So Sheva?s coming to the Montreal Jazz Festival while I?m in Toronto for the summer only five hours away was the perfect impetus to get me off my lazy ass and get some of this stuff down on paper.

I?ve been living in Israel more or less since 1997 ? the year of Sheva?s first release and since then Sheva?s music has been the musical accompaniment on many wild and varied adventures and experiences, filled with wonder and discovery, at times dangerous while at others bordering on the holy, but through it all, Sheva?s music has been the soundtrack.

There is a time and place for everything and while tattoos, a little bling-bling and being as hardcore-as-ya-wanna-be are totally cool, there is more to experience in life and sometimes, at least hopefully, there is some spirituality and nourishment of the soul thrown in for good measure. With this in mind, put the Jay-Z or Subliminal on pause for just a second and see what you?ve been missing out on in the holy land if you dare.

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Imagine you?re at the foot of King Solomon?s ancient temple in Jerusalem and there?s what could best be described as an all night 21st century style rave going down. Everyone is dressed in a sea of white and spinning rainbow colours. Young and old are singing and dancing joyously, hand clapping, chanting, and hollering in unison as if part of some elaborate ritual. Love, harmony and holiness are in the air. While the songs are familiar to all in this time warp of Abrahamic Jewish worship, you notice across the sea of revellers that there is actually a merry band of gypsy-like travelling minstrels leading the proceedings. That band is Sheva.

The centrepiece of the aptly named Globalev/Lev HaOlam (Heart of the World) Productions, Sheva is a musical collective spanning the diverse spectrum of modern Israeli society. They are loosely based in and around Moshav Amirim just outside of the holy city of Tzfat – birthplace of the Kabbalah in the mystical mountains of the Galilee. It is an area where a refreshing harmony between her Jewish and Arab residents reigns and where a myriad of naturopaths, healers, musicians, and artisans ply their trades. The Moshav also boasts a chilled-out chalet style vegetarian resort, and many alternative guest houses where you can stay and partake in some of these magical wonders. If you?re lucky, maybe you?ll even catch an impromptu jam session with whoever?s around.

The members of Sheva (which means the number seven in Hebrew for the unconnected) are all part of the first generation to have grown up in an Israel more or less secure in her existence and totally immersed in a native Israeli culture rising from the ashes of the Holocaust and dealing with the influx and amalgamation of diverse and disparate peoples all trying to reclaim their Jewish roots in this land after millennia of dispersal in the Diaspora. The ongoing sociological experiment that created Sheva?s existence is, for better or worse (and it is doubtlessly for the better), part of the realization, fulfillment and living testament to the original Zionist dream of a Jewish and democratic state of all its citizens.

In spite of outward appearances (both theirs and their audience) Sheva aren?t hippies so much as the most visible representatives of the still growing battle weary and well-travelled generation of Israelis who want peace not because it sounds lovey-dovey good in theory, but because they know from experience both the damage and pain caused by the current situation and the potential benefits of peace and reconciliation – between both Arab and Jew and indeed amongst the Jewish people themselves. YOU NEED NO MEDIATOR BETWEEN YOURSELF AND GOD Many in this generation of Israelis were either turned off religion or, like many kibbutzniks for example, were simply not exposed to it. Having confidence in themselves after giving up the best years of their youth to protecting Israel, they went off and travelled the world searching for fulfillment and found spirituality for themselves ?often blending influences of other traditions with their Jewish backgrounds – instead of following how people back home told them their spirituality should be.

Sheva?s music evolved out of these same post-army treks and spiritual quests to India, Africa and other exotic destinations that many Israelis take. As they tell it, they were just a bunch of friends who all knew each other through various travels and projects who would informally play together, when one day a friend asked a bunch if they could get a band together to play his Moshav. That night there happened to be seven of them, and the band was born right then and there, taking the name Sheva – though there are now eight members of Sheva with the recent addition of Yonatan Oppenheim on keyboards and various other technological gizmos.

According to Sheva?s website (MW – now completely revamped and improved since the writing of this article), ?Our music is the result of a renewing, mixed, moderated peace minded Israeli society, that developed during the reconciliation atmosphere of the nineties.?

?We want to bring forth an important voice that is still alive in Israel, a voice of both Arabs & Jews that want peace and have trust in it. We represent tens of thousand[s] of people that have faith in overcoming the present conflict & violence. We live in the Galilee, a green island in the great desert, a meeting place for cultural landscapes.?

AND ALL THAT ONE WILL DO ONE WILL SUCCEED The sign of a band with staying power is that it is able to evolve and adapt to their constantly changing surrounding reality. This is evident on the progression of Sheva?s three concept-style studio albums starting from an experimental new age world sound on 1997?s HaChatuna HaShmiymit (The Celestial Wedding) (born as the musical accompaniment to a theatre production at the world-renowned Acco International Fringe Theater Festival to a more song and lyric based production on the thoroughly Eastern/EretzIsraeli/Canaanite tinged tour de force Yom Va Layla (Day and Night), to a mellower yet much more modern, technical and funky third release in Gan (Garden).

The releases also have some of the best quality CD packaging and presentation you?ll ever see – elaborate booklets and liner notes with all the lyrics both in English and Hebrew, trippy psychedelic drawings and inspirational dedications and invocations throughout. For example, the instrumental second track on Day and Night ?Musicelty? is ?Dedicated to the souls of Chaim Nachman Bialik and Jubran Khalil Jubran. With intention of peace for the children. Please, God, protect the children of the world and the child within us.?

They push the edge technologically as well with their just released Live in Australia that includes video footage on the same single sided CD. It is this ability to effortlessly blend the old with the new and stay relevant in modern times that makes Sheva not only one of the most creative and important bands in the world music scene, but in the world of music as proven by Sheva’s Live in Australia winning the prestigious IMA award for “BEST LIVE PERFORMANCE“.

Israel is the unknown land of the great concert venue. Though the days of Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan and Neil Young coming around these parts are fading further into the distant past, over the past decade Jethro Tull has played the ancient Roman amphitheatre in Caesaria, BB King at Sultan?s Pool in Jerusalem, and U2 in a park outside of Tel Aviv. Other gems for concert-goers include the Hebrew University amphitheatre on Mount Scopus and Nitzanim Beach – home of the Bombamella festival.

In reality, other than those random aberrations, very few foreign acts come to Israel these days leaving these beautiful venues to local Israel artists. Sheva is no exception and takes advantage of the unique concert settings Israel has to offer, preferring them to more traditional theatre venues. Without too much effort, I?ve managed to catch Sheva play Massada at sunrise, a small private beach in Yaffo and a way bigger beach up north in Achziv outside Nahariya, not to mention a special all-night Tu b?Av (Israeli Valentine?s Day) outdoor show with camping at little Moshav Kadita, built in part by settlers who were forced to leave their Sinai homes near Sharm-E-Sheik after Israel made peace with Egypt – and made a beautiful new life for themselves down the dirt road by the end of the valley with the graves of the tzaddikim (righteous/learned Rabbis) outside of Tzfat on the way to Ein Zeitim near their home base in the Galilee.

For the casual or first time listener it really doesn?t matter what the words are or what the songs are about because the music is so beautiful. This is confirmed by the band?s resident horn and woodwind master, musical healer Avishai Bar-Natan, who insists that language is not a barrier for Sheva?s music and even makes it sound more exotic for those who don?t understand the language.

Be that as it may, there is so much more to this music with inspirational lyrics, stories and messages throughout their songs that it would be a shame not to delve deeper into the song meanings of a band whose poetic lyrics are often adapted from the bible, holy teachers and Jewish prophecy. Amongst these experiments is a reggae-tinged send-up of 16th century Yemenite Rabbi Shalom Shabazi?s ?Im Ninalu? (If The Doors Are Locked) that by the end of the song has evolved into a full out tribal trance dance.

Their original compositions are no less powerful and you often find yourself wondering if that was an original or from the book of Psalms. For those who understand the language, the Hebrew they use is strikingly poetic ? often using biblically rooted ?high Hebrew? words more similar to Aramaic and Arabic words that in fact flower throughout the revived modern Hebrew ? a literal reclamation of the roots of Jewish culture. FOUR SIGNALS COME OUT OF THE GARDEN Sheva is the reigning heavyweight champion in the flourishing Israeli ethnic, or world music scene ? a genre that boasts such other highly recommended talents as Shotei HaNevua (The Fools of Prophecy), Yair Dalal, Gaya, Yuval Ron, Idan Reichel, Bustan Abraham, Eyal Sela, Zohar Fresco and a few others – all who follow in the footsteps of the granddaddy of them all, HaBrera HaTiveet (The Natural Gathering) and their mesmerizing Moroccan drummer/lead singer Shlomo Bar who was the first to blend Jewish, East Indian, Arab and North African music all together in the tension charged atmosphere of the late 1970s Jerusalem student protests looking for equal treatment and respect for Israel?s Sephardi Jews.

Alternatively fun and serious yet somehow always tasteful, Sheva has a great knack to be both spiritual and sexy at the same time. In Eastern teachings there are 7 chakras in your body. The way drummer Lior Shulman explains it, ?Hip hop moves the lowest of the chakras in your groin and prayer the highest in your head.? It dawned on me that Sheva knows how to move all of them with precision, separately if they so choose or altogether, which is often the joyful case.

Oh and by the way, there really is nothing better then shtupping with Sheva on in the background as the East Indian influences can really bring out the Tantric, go-the-distance master in all of us. In the words of Homer Simpson (no stranger to the festival scene himself), its sacrilicious. Mmmmmm….Saaaacrrrrillllicccciousssss.

In Sheva, everyone brings their own creations to the table when it comes time to go into the studio. On Day and Night for example, the first six songs are each the contribution of a different member of the band. To an unfamiliar ear, the first reaction on hearing some of the acoustic guitar based songs and jams ? especially live, would be Rusted Root ? which actually isn?t such a bad thing – however unfounded the comparison may be. What puts Sheva over the top though is that they stray into territory totally uncontemplated by most Western jam-bands. Reggae, Eastern spiritual trance, African chants, Indian style qawalli hip-hop, native American chants, Latin and Cuban influences, not to mention the ancient Jewish melodies and teachings serving as the leitmotif that lingers through their compositions, these are all part of the sonic ambrosia. AWAKENING/ JEWISH RENEWAL Over the last few decades it has become common for many Jews to dabble in Zen Buddhism, transcendental meditation and other world religions in search of that missing ?something?. While there?s nothing inherently wrong with that, and to each his own, it seems that many Jews have forsaken their own rich spiritual tradition without ever bothering to get to know it. By drawing on external and individual influences but remaining loyal to the roots of their shared traditions of the children of Abraham, Sheva?s music serves as the unifying guide on a spiritual path of renewal to a holy, sensual and cool Jewish soulfulness – the way you always felt it was supposed to be, not the way your Rabbi told you it HAD to be.

While no one in Sheva is traditionally religious, they are people of deep faith and spirituality and show great respect for all religions and the oneness of God. Amongst them, there are those who have also been known to dabble in Jewish mysticism. From this point of view, and very much living in the present while rooted in the past, Sheva has given their generation both in Israel and abroad a uniquely accessible way to reconnect with their own roots.

To their detractors who may criticize Sheva as not being according to their ?traditionally accepted? interpretations of Judaism, holiness, and spirituality, the closed-mindedness is saddening. Sheva?s music is not sacrilege, it is invocation and sanctification adapting Jewish spirituality to modern times.

It is a poorly kept secret that when Madonna came to Israel last year on a spiritual retreat sponsored by the Kabbalah Center and she had a private concert by Sheva, she was so completely blown away that she wanted to sign them to her Maverick record label. When asked why they didn?t jump at the offer, vocalist, storyteller and percussionist Gil Ron Shama simply replied fatalistically, ?Not now, not yet.? Apparently the white dress she wore at Live 8 was suggested to her by Sheva and they keep in quite good touch. Think what you want about Madonna (who rocks by the way?you got a problem with that?), but there is no doubt that she is not a bad babe to have in your corner.

Much of what is considered ?mainstream? Israel is rabidly secular, which makes it all the more impressive that Sheva has had is its adaptation of Psalms 121 Shir Hamaalot (Song for Ascents) become a campfire favourite even amongst the most secular of Israelis ? a success in bringing Judaism into the lives of your average Tel Aviv party goer that few of the holier-than-thou types can claim.

As this article is written in the shadow of the painful but necessary Gaza disengagement, at no time in the recent past has there been such discord amongst Israel?s citizens. It is becoming increasingly clear that it will soon be more important then ever to heal the distressingly widening rift tearing into the soul of the Jewish people. Those in the settler movement who undoubtedly truly and sincerely love their land and their country will have to cope with their changing reality and be embraced and brought back in to the fold of Israeli society whose equally important obligation is to empathize with and respect the settlers? sacrifices and spiritual connection to the land and to welcome them with open arms.

Sheva?s music has the power to be an important tool in this healing process and indeed many of Sheva?s members take very seriously the concept of healing through music. While Sheva?s desire to reach out to bridge the gaps between Arab and Jew in this shared land may seem to put them at odds with the settlers, many in the settler movement identify very closely with Sheva?s music of Jewish spirituality and connection to the land. According to Persian Santur virtuoso, multi instrumentalist and musical healer Amir Paiss, ?The transformative power of sound is one of the oldest concepts in Judaism, the walls of Jericho were brought down with sound.?

For the Jewish Diaspora, Sheva?s music can be a profoundly liberating experience, as if to confirm that donning a black hat and pretending to be in 17th century Poland isn?t the only way, or even the best way to connect to real Jewish spirituality. It?s as if this first generation to grow up in the mosaic and balagan (mess) that is modern Israel is telling those in the Diaspora (and indeed the many in Israel who still live with the shtetl mentality) that it is ok to once again be proud of who we are as a people.

Percussionist and actor Ahmed Taher is an Arab Muslim from Acco and is an integral part of the band, with his outrageously complex yet steady darbouka drum keeping that funky Middle Eastern rhythm that is the backbone of this tribal dance music when it?s at its best. Quiet and unassuming with an endearingly goofy sense of humour, one wonders how Ahmed feels caught up in this phenomenon of his Jewish cousins seeking spirituality and renewal. In the true spirit of Sheva he is more than happy to take part and help his cousins, neighbours, and fellow children of Abraham get closer to God and share in their quest to make this holy, conflict-ridden land a better place for all.

The respect, friendship and affection that his band mates have for him is clear even to an outsider. It?s pretty obvious that no one in the band even thinks about cultural differences as being an obstacle amongst themselves anymore. Though perhaps they once were, the differences are simply not an issue after getting to know each other so closely as human beings who share so many more similarities then they have differences. WE ARE THE TORAH YEARNING FOR ITS LETTERS TO SPEAK THROUGH US

To coordinate a band over the long haul with so many people involved is no easy task, but Sheva does their best to make it work – giving time both for side projects (regardless of whose project it is, often with the other members still dropping by to lend a hand) and the central Sheva collaboration, not to mention their respective families. No doubt it is their sincere friendship that facilitates this successful balancing act.

Two of the more rewarding Sheva side projects are collaborations with Gabriel Meyer, an Argentinean Oleh (immigrant to Israel) who has been known to join the band on stage every now and again, whose Metatron Ritual Theater Collective whose productions play in Acco, including The Celestial Wedding and Gabriel and Gil?s current collaboration-in-the-works based on ?The mystical talmudic story of the “Orchards”, the esoteric journey to Paradise?.

For those who don?t know, Metatron is one of the most mysterious and important characters in Jewish mysticism. Even his identity is contested. One accepted explanation identifies him as Enoch who was ?chosen by the Lord as a writer of truth, the greatest scribe of the land.? Transformed, as the Archangel Metatron, these abilities followed him. Metatron’s ?many heavenly tasks included being a scribe and an advocate and defending the Nation of Israel in the heavenly court.? Pop culture even gave Metatron a tip of the cap recently being portrayed by Alan Rickman in Kevin Smith?s film Dogma.

The other extremely rewarding project with Gabriel is his collaboration with Amir on their band Amen?s Merkavah album – a ?Hebrew psychedelic opera? that is a ?biblical musical collage of four essential and universal texts: The Creation through The Ten Sayings from the book of Genesis, the Ten Commandments from the book of Exodus, Love your Kin as Yourself from the book of Leviticus, and the prophecy of the Holy Merkavah (Chariot) of the prophet Ezekiel.? These texts are all connected in one way or another with the Shavuot holiday and the album was performed a few years ago with great success at the Shantipi world music festival that coincides with Shavuot, which you can read more about below.

If Merkavah sounds like a lofty project it is with good reason, blending torah with folk, trance and everything in between and with the help of all their friends this is powerful music. Proceeds from this disc go to support the Sulha (a traditional Arab ceremony of forgiveness and reconciliation) Peace project, a multi-faith initiative aimed at ?Healing the Children of Abraham? of which Gabriel is also a co-founder. DAY AND NIGHT I WILL SEEK FOR YOU: TAKING PEACE SERIOUSLY ?We refuse to be paralysed by our fear, by our frustration and by our pain. We encourage each other to trust.

The next song asks:

How can there be peace in this world when there is no peace between fellow countrymen. And how can there be peace in this world when there is no love. We commit ourselves to remind each other of that love.? -Intro to ?Peace and Another Day? Live in Australia

As a band, Sheva believes it is not their purpose to find a political solution to the Israeli-Arab conflict or even to take sides. This is simply not relevant to their music whose purpose they believe is to provide hope and give expression to hardship and pain. They choose to let their Jewish soul music heal both themselves and others.

?Zion is not necessarily here. Zion is an outlook of peace, of love, of oneness? says Lior Shulman who is surprisingly knowledgeable in spiritual matters in spite of his heavy metal background, and hip-hop alter ego the ?Ma$iach? and (comparatively) straight-edge appearance. He is quick to emphasize that Sheva ?are not a bunch of Peace Now hippies with round rimmed glasses. There are, in fact a wide range of political opinions in the band and each member represents a different shade of the Israeli mosaic. The key though is if we can put aside our differences as a band and pray for peace together then it is possible to do it also in the neighbourhood, in the city, and in the whole country. If we can be united even when there are differences of opinion then it will be possible to find compromise with our neighbours.?

In the closing refrain of the Paiss penned Ba b?ahava (Come in Love) he implores: ?Please do not give up and do not avoid listening to the heart.? In conversation he relates, ?Everybody wants peace, everybody without exception. The question is how to get there and for every person he has his own idea if not two or three on how to get there.?

Indeed many of Sheva?s most powerful songs are prayers and pleas for peace. Many of you who have been to Israel even on something as superficial as a birthright trip probably know Sheva?s first hit ?Salaam?. However, only if you delve deeper into Sheva?s music do you get to know the much more intense, serious, pleading, mournful, yet still hopeful Mosh Ben-Ari tune Shalom vi od Yom (Peace and Another Day). An ex-Golani IDF officer, here he offers a plea for peace and calm clearly coming from the heart of a battle-weary warrior. In the liner notes the song is ?Dedicated to the souls of King David, the Prophet Jesus and Mahatma Ghandi. With intention of peace between the nations of the world and the fusion of peoples colors like a rainbow. Together, one is possible.?

Another powerful prayer for peace is Sheva?s 1998 collaboration on Shalom Om Salaam (S.O.S) a collaboration with world music stars Omar Faruk Tekbilek and Jai Uttal that was originally released as a single but also appears as a bonus track on Sheva?s 2002 album Gan where a simple prayer for peace is repeated in each singer?s native tongue.

?The politicians do not have the answer and please do not believe what you see about us on CNN.? says Gil. ?We are capable of forming our own reality and we try to improve ourselves and our surroundings the best we can.?

According to Mosh, peace is not made when leaders gather on the White House lawn to sign a meaningless piece of paper. Rather peace is only made in meetings of the common man ?The simple people have to meet. Fellaheen and arsim have to get to know each other.?

The Galilee is also known with good reason as Eretz Ha Zayit – the land of olives. The shared love of the land is what can ultimately be the uniting factor bridging the diverse peoples of the region. In the song Rishikesh Gil, who had his Hebrew translation of the book “The Illuminated” by the Sufi poet Jalal A-din Rumi published in 2001, assumes his role of story teller, sharing of a meeting around a campfire with an old man from the Chaleb region of Syria who still yearns for the day when his tribe will return to this land. In spite of their substantial differences and suspicions, together around the fire they share a moment of feeling that there is still hope. That it is still possible to heal mother earth.

It is a powerful message and with this in mind members of Sheva are always looking to build bridges across cultural divides even when risks are involved. For instance, the Sulha Peace Project, is criticized in some corners for the rapprochement generally being a lot of Israelis and Jews apologizing and asking forgiveness while the Palestinians ?boldly? accept their apologies while offering none of their own or any evidence of introspection into the rot and ills of their own society towards Israel.

It can indeed be frustrating, but one gets the feeling that when the Palestinians will be able to apologize reciprocally, it will be under the terms set now by these brave people, thus making these initiatives and those who participate in them all the more important. THEY?RE A BAND BEYOND DESCRIPTION, LIKE JEHOVA?S FAVOURITE CHOIR In the North American Jewish Diaspora many youth searching for spirituality have identified strongly with the music and counterculture of the Grateful Dead, and this author was no exception. Since moving to Israel not only has Sheva filled that void, but there are some striking similarities between the two bands. In fact, that fleeting something of the holy that many found in the Dead?s music is way easier to find with Sheva then it ever was in those last few years of the Deadwhen fleeting moments of greatness were interspersed with much mediocrity.

From live concerts where songs and improvised jams can stretch well beyond the 10-15 minute mark to the communal atmosphere and appreciation of their fans to the independent family run style of an enterprise that supports many more then just the band members (for Sheva much of the credit goes to Globalev CEO and close friend of the band Ariel Rom who has become as good as they get at keeping his happy-go-lucky charges in tow and making it all happen), not to mention the familiar odours of patchouli and the Chronic wafting throughout the crowd, the similarities become stronger and stronger the deeper you look.

Start with Mosh Ben-Ari the uber-dreadlocked, bassist, guitarist and vocalist poster boy whose solo career is also at its peak with the recent success of his second solo release Derech (Road), and has become a sort of Jerry Garcia style reluctant ?leader? of the band in the media?s eyes – even though in reality there is no leader amongst this group of friends and Mosh is usually very reserved in public. (MW ? Ben-Ari?s start has continued to rise with the Fall 2006 release of his third solo album ?Masah u Matan?/Negotiations which is currently topping the Israeli mainstream charts)

Contrary to popular rumours, Sheva has not broken up. Remember that Jerry also maintained a fulfilling solo career with the Jerry Garcia Band throughout the Dead?s existence to explore other forms of expressing himself and it brought him, not to mention his fans, no end of personal satisfaction. Mosh?s solo projects should be seen in this light as complementing and facilitating future Sheva creations by keeping an integral member?s creative juices flowing and fresh.

Also similar to Jerry, Mosh gets a ?rough? time of it in Israel where he is worshipped as a bona fide celebrity by many who hang on his every utterance ? though luckily for him, Mosh?s admirers include many young and nubile females who seem to follow him everywhere he goes with very little effort on his part.

Then there?s the unfortunate cheesiness of the very beautiful prayer for peace ?Salaam?. Just like the Dead?s Truckin? or Uncle John?s Band, these songs became ?mainstream? in the first place because they were actually good, but after hearing everyone and their little sister singing along, its somehow not quite as cool a tune as it used to be.

Hopefully in the future Sheva can take another page out of the Dead?s book and start mixing up their setlists and making more, if not all of their live shows available to their fans through their website, both of which are great ways to build and maintain their substantial and growing grassroots following. AND IN MY DREAM I HEAR THE SOUNDS OF THE FLUTE FROM THE EAST ?Pass here and go on, you?re on the road to heaven.?
-Jack Kerouac

While writing about music is one thing and is often maddeningly pedestrian (something this humble writer has tried to avoid like the plague in this article), writing about your experiences of music, how you interact with music, how you USE music, how music can and has affected you?well that?s another beast altogether.

For years now, Sheva has been my little secret. Through their music I learned a language that is now my own. Through their music I found myself becoming in tune, at home and at one with the Negev and Sinai Deserts and the rolling hills of the Galilee. These sounds of the Levant, syncopated drums, exotic strings, wind flutes, and ancient chants at first so foreign, gradually became mine as I reclaimed my ancient Jewish identity as a native of this land.

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Hilula Layla! Ein Siba Li Pachad! Hilula (Sanctify the prophets) tonight! There is no reason to be afraid! While serving as a paratrooper in the IDF – embarking on an immersion into the heart of Israeli society while training and fighting in the intifadah I culled courage and bravery from Sheva?s music. During that same time, their music saved, guarded, protected and nourished my soul while the war all around me did its best to rip my life force away in the environs of Hebron, Ramallah and Jenin.

Their music kept me appreciating fun and beauty in situations where others might not see it so clearly. The song associations are apparent to me still – floating through my mind in a sort of stream of consciousness flow as I close my eyes and pop in a disc?Basic Training? 90 kilometer march in the middle of the night…60 pounds on my back and already been walking for what ?10, 12 hours? 6, 7 more to go? Root (10-4 in Hebrew military jargon)? Keep it down that next town is hostile. Root?Take the lead around that next pack of houses. Root?.Sunrise?Coffee Break?what a view?crack out the finjan?ya-salaam. Shalom vi od yom – Peace and another day.

So how do you explain such a personal connection to someone?s work when you meet them for the first time, even though it?s as if you?ve known them for years? Slowly and bit by bit, that?s how.

Gil Ron Shama is the band member that has always intrigued me the most. Singer, percussionist, healer, performer, teller of ancient stories. He is the archetypal coyote trickster, blurring the line between the holy and the hedonist.

Hanging out with Gil on the lawn on a sunny Montreal morning I tell him about listening to his music after coming off missions in Hebron and how his music and words were a constant reminder that my purpose was not to kill for killing?s sake but to bring peace to this troubled land. How in the midst of unreported firefights in the hairiest parts of the territories my thoughts would always drift back to the tribal gatherings of Sheva and that as long as those people are safe and sound to pursue their spirituality in peace, my cause is just and intentions are pure. That?s a lot to handle for a jet-lagged Jewish Gypsy on a Sunday morning in Quebec. He understood though.

(MW Nov. ?06) In the past two years Gil, along with his side projects Diwan HaLev and Chalomot Sinai has also been the leading force of the movement that is bringing this vibe straight to the heart of Tel Aviv – loosely based around the Lev Tahor spiritual community and the Indian style Rupee 24 and Hodaya restaurant and cultural center. Diwan HaLev plays a standing monthly gig at the Hodaya where, in audience participating sing-along fashion they breathe fresh new life into some of the most ancient prayers and texts in Judaism.

COME WITH US TO THE GARDEN ? SHEVA AND THE ?SHANTI? PHENOMENON A popular, though misunderstood catchword amongst Israeli youth these days is ?Shanti?, which loosely means a mellow, exotic, chilled-out atmosphere. Fragrant Chai masallah sweetened with brown sugar. Nagchampa incense wafting through the air. Black coffee with fragrant cardamon and the pungent sweet apple smoke of nargillah tobacco. These are some of the scents and smells that conjure up the Shanti vibe.

Though many – including those in Sheva dislike the description, it has become a way of life for a large segment of Israelis that love nothing more than leaving their watches and omnipresent cellphones at home and heading down to Sinai or camping up North for a few days trying to get back in touch with nature, leaving the stresses and madness of the modern Israeli reality behind them, if only for a short while.

Even if it used to be a fitting description in the early days, Sheva?s music is unfairly limited by the Shanti description since now they are very much about throwing hi-tech dance parties with a spiritual twist. At the same time, there is no doubt that aspects of the Shanti atmosphere and lifestyle are incorporated into the Sheva experience.

Shavuot. The springtime festival where Jews gather to celebrate the receiving of the Revelation at Sinai. Back in the day (and I mean in the time of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem and not the late 1980?s as probably springs to mind for way too many of you) this was a traditional time for ascent to Jerusalem and a ritual festive gathering.

Now if you did, ?good on ya mate,? as they say in Australia, but how many of you in the Diaspora consider yourselves hip, in touch, and actually celebrated Shavuot this year? And I don?t just mean going to pray and eating some cheese blintzes?

On Shavuot in Israel you can go to the Shantipi Festival ? one of the best illustrations of the Shanti lifestyle – where Sheva and its various side projects, peers, friends, and fans gather together at a festival so peaceful, beautiful and full of good vibes and karma that Woodstock could have only dreamed of such a community. Here you can really take part in a tribal Jewish-rooted sanctification.

This is one heck of a party. 3 days of camping beside an abandoned Club Med right on the Mediterranean just a few kilometres from the mountain range demarcating the Lebanese border with a wild and eclectic mix of music, theatre, crafts, prayer, food and friendship. Throw in tents for gathering and meditation, oriental healing, didgeridoo lessons, group hugs, side stages with spontaneous performances, some spices of Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and you have one potent mix.

Sitar, Lira and various other strings player Udi Ben-Knaan has also spent significant time travelling and studying music. He is also involved in a number of great side projects ,both past and present? notably the groundbreaking 1995 Between the Walls project at the Acco Festival along with Ahmed, Hebrew Qawalli (Sufi Muslim devotional music made famous in the west by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan) musician Shye Ben-Tzur?s sublime group and album Heeyam: The State of Supreme Love (on which Gil also adds hand-claps and chants) and in another sublime example of blending the old with the new, there is Udi?s funky Yemenite groove outfit Zafa. At Shantipi 2004, it was a great moment when Shlomo Bar came out after Zafa and was overflowing with complements on what he?d just seen.

One of the coolest parts of Shantipi is the total breakdown of the barrier between performer and audience. ?I been livin in a Babylon and I want to get to Zion.? Sang Mosh as he wandered on to the makeshift stage in his self-run chai tent on the beach at Shantipi where he?ll get up and play whenever the feeling strikes, be it two in the afternoon or two in the morning. There were a bunch of us who had all been through tons of stuff back in ?Amereeka? before coming to Israel, sitting there on some pillows in the shade listening to the impromptu jam and we all just knew that we did it! We got out. We saved ourselves. We?re here and we won.

You literally get that feeling that you?re supposed to get at a Passover seder (but often don?t in the 35 minute lets-get-through-this-and-eat-there?s-a-basketball-game-on-TV seders that many have) ? that it was you who not only personally went out of Egypt, but who was at Sinai, received the revelation, and five thousand ?years? later (as if time and space meant anything) you are still the carrier of that revelation.

What is the revelation? Love? Light? Pride? Self-realization? Recognition of the other? Of God? All of it? Call it what you will. Believe it if you need it or leave it if you dare. Perhaps at this most fractious time for our people?s identity this seems to fit as the challenge that the 20 and 30 something generation is Israel is presenting to the world. You can either embrace us, love us, build, share and grow with us and our successes or you, both on the anti-disengagement right and the Israelis-are-Nazis extreme left – can turn your backs on the beautiful, creative, brilliant, spiritual, sexy and wonderful people of modern Israel. Your loss. We will continue to rejoice and exalt, sharing in the wonders of nature and trying to make planet earth a better place to be for all.

For indeed this can be ours and more, for as we all know, if you will it, it is no dream. That sounds like the best, healthiest expression of Zionism I?ve heard in a long time.

Waking up on a dew filled morning in the Galilee when the sun finally pierces your shade and the heat makes it impossible to sleep anymore, your consciousness finally noticing the chickens clucking and tractors humming off in the distance, you get the feeling that with just a little bit of effort from us all, it is still possible that all will be right in the world yet. Like the music of Sheva, there?s a message worth listening to.

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