Preparing video...
0:00 / 0:00
#76: Behind the Bima - Nissim Black
4,220 views
Nissim Baruch Black (born Damian Jamohl Black; December 9, 1986) is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. He retired in 2011 to focus on his conversion to Orthodox Judaism, but soon returned under his new Hebrew name Nissim Black (nissim / ניסים means 'miracles' in Hebrew) and began writing from a more religious standpoint. He appeared on Shtar's song "Rabbit Hole" (2012). He has since released a mixtape called Miracle Music (2013) and the studio albums Nissim (2013), Lemala (2017), and Gibor (2019). Nissim Baruch Black was born Damian Jamohl Black in Seattle on December 9, 1986, the son of rappers Mia Black and James "Captain Crunch" Croone. His grandparents had also been musicians, playing alongside Ray Charles and Quincy Jones. He grew up in Seattle's Seward Park neighborhood. He was raised as a Sunni Muslim, but was non-practicing and converted to Christianity at the age of 14 after attending an Evangelical summer camp. His parents divorced when he was two years old, and his mother took him with her and remarried shortly thereafter. Both his biological parents and stepfather used and sold drugs from home, prompting an FBI raid on the house in 1995 which resulted in his mother's arrest; she later died from an overdose at the age of 37. - Intro - Interview - Outro Connect with Rabbi Efrem Goldberg: Website: https://rabbiefremgoldberg.org/ Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/efrem.goldberg Twitter: http://twitter.com/rabbigoldberg Rabbi Efrem Goldberg: Rabbi, Boca Raton Synagogue (BRS). Rabbi Philip Moskowitz: Associate Rabbi, BRS. Rabbi Josh Broide: Outreach Rabbi, BRS.
Chapters
Featuring:Nissim Black
Comments
Transcript
Auto-generated transcript. Not time-synced to the video.
From Boca Raton, Florida, Rabbis Ephraim
Goldberg, Philip Moskowitz, and Josh
Brody are taking you behind the Bima.
The BRS Rabbis schmooze about
contemporary issues and talk to special
guests who give a behind-the-scenes look
at how they got to where they are and
what keeps them going.
Welcome to Behind the Bima.
Good evening. What's the name on 9:00
p.m. Rabbi Ephraim Goldberg joined by my
colleagues and dear friends, Rabbi
Philip Moskowitz and Rabbi Josh Brody,
and we're here to take you
behind the Bima. We are here to take you
behind the Bima. We begin as we always
do with gratitude. A big thank you to
our generous sponsor for tonight, Ahavat
Agency dedicated to the core Jewish
value of Hesed, Tzedakah, Tikun Olam.
Ahavat is a repeat sponsor. Our dear
friends at Ahavat, thank you so much for
all that you do, bringing light to the
world, transforming the world. You could
download the 2022 A Kindness a Day
calendar. We'll post the uh link. For
more resources, go to the website
ahavat.org, a r e y v u t.org,
a r e y v u t.org. That's as close as I
get to rapping. Uh ahavat.org.
Go ahead.
Ahavat's really doing incredible things,
very very special things. Thank you for
your generosity. Thank you for your
sponsorship. A lot of people A lot of
people don't know that you could sponsor
again. Just cuz you sponsored once
doesn't mean it's like a one-and-done.
That's correct. We will try to squeeze
you in if you would like to sponsor. Be
in touch with us and we'll let you know
which week is available and we'd love to
have your support, your sponsorship. Uh
not one penny goes to any of us or our
guests or any costs of running Behind
the Bima. It all helps support the Torah
that comes from our community. Um and so
we thank you very much for that. Very
exciting night tonight. We have on a
Jewish music superstar, really a
superstar person, amazing life story,
amazingly inspiring person, and uh very
very excited to be able to welcome him
on. But, before that, gentlemen, how are
you?
I am fantastic. Although, I I will say I
would have liked a better outcome after
our guest last week.
So would I. I received texts directly,
and even one person I don't know tweeted
blaming us for the Max's loss last week.
50 games in a row, they came on Behind
the Bima, and people are trying to coin
the Behind the Bima curse, blaming us
for the Max's loss. But, here's my
response to that.
Naftali Bennett came on as a candidate.
He won prime minister.
Right. Bob Kraft came on, and then Tom
Brady won the Super Bowl for another
team. But, then Tom Brady won the Super
Bowl.
Ben Shapiro launched his career after
Behind the Bima. So, we clearly have a
winning record. It obviously had nothing
to do with us. Next thing, you're going
to blame us for Betty White instead of
People magazine. That we did not create
an Ayin Hara. We are all for the Max's,
but listen, Jews make it to the 50th
level, that's the top. Noon 50. That's
it for the Jews. So, they're back,
they're going to start a new winning
streak, and that's the lesson for a Jew
as well. You fall down, you get back up,
new winning streak. But, you know what?
This is going to be cheesy, but I mean
it. They may have lost the game, but
they won the hearts and the minds of
people all across this country. And if
you followed the tweets that came from
the other team and their coaches, of
just how classy and menschlich, you talk
about last week we had this debate,
what's a Kiddush Hashem, what's Jewish
pride.
When you see the tweets, when you see
the emails that came from the coaches
and the players on the other team, not
how the Max's behaved before the big
game, but how they behaved after the big
loss,
and I don't think anyone could argue
that it's not a Kiddush Hashem.
Amazing, very inspiring, and uh
disappointing, but uh
as you said, you fall down, you get back
up.
That's it. What else is going on,
gentlemen? Well, there's a lot of talk
after the episode also about JEC and
that MTA game, and there have been
people that have been calling for a
rematch right now. They want to say
who would really have won? Who was on
their way to the garden?
Jays
Brody and his one friend from high
school.
I got a call from Rabbi Parnes.
talking about it are people who went to
JEC. Rabbi Parnes?
Rabbi Parnes, he was in the Yeshiva of
North Jersey, one of the rabbeim in the
honors program. I didn't speak to him
much in high school, but I got a call
from him.
Talking about that game. We did not
mention a name that we should have and
that is our mutual good friend Chaim
Haas. Big JEC proud graduate who might
have blamed us for the Max loss, but at
least have pride in the JEC basketball
team. And I wanted to give a uh take a
personal point of pride, shout out to my
good friend Menashe Shapiro who was
named today Big appointment.
of staff of the city of of the mayor of
New York City. It's a big appointment.
Menashe deserves it. He's a powerhouse.
He's a good friend, good friend to our
community, was just down here visiting
his sister who lives here. One of our
great sponsors and supporters, but we
can't mention because she didn't sponsor
tonight. But Menashe, mazel tov and a
great appointment. We're very excited
for you. What else is going on that we
should be discussing or talking about?
That will make for some great schmooze
when Menashe comes down. He's always up
for a great schmooze, but something
tells me now that he has the insider
track in New York City, that will make
for even better schmooze. No question
about it. He has the inside look at what
is going on. We have a big event coming
up next week, a night celebrating
Israel, standing up for Israel.
We've got Ambassador David Friedman
keynote speaker. We have introductory
remarks by Governor Ron DeSantis and by
Senator Rick Scott. We have remarks from
Rabbi Yitzchak Adlerstein of the
Wiesenthal Center, a co-sponsor of the
event. Uh we're doing it together with
the Latino Coalition for Israel who are
going to bring out a big crowd, uh
evangelical non-Jews who care about love
and support Israel. We can be grateful
for their help and support. We got Ben
Shapiro, media personality, who's going
to talk about uh what it means to stand
up and support Israel and the risks
involved. So, we got a lot going on.
Rabbi Brody, I heard about somebody
who's going be in town, we may try to
get him too, and we may be giving him
like a Defender of Israel award. Let's
just say somebody who used to be
involved in music went to Israel, lost a
lot of followers, and is related to a
community leader in our community. I
understand that he's going to be in
Boca.
How do you not know who I'm talking
about?
No idea. Is it Nesanel
What?
No, it's not Nesanel Block. Has the same
last name as a leader of our community.
Is that heavy metal musician with the
beard?
Okay, now I got you. So, rumor has it
will be in town. Maybe we'll try to get
him to come to the event as well. He has
stood up for Israel at great personal
expense, and that deserves our
appreciation for that. So, big event
next week, super excited. You know, not
everyone is as excited. Some people have
some question marks about um what
justifies working for Israel, but we've
consulted our rabbaim, our poskim, we
have no hesitation or pause to be able
to uh welcome with appreciation
non-Jewish support for Israel. And I
wrote an article, we don't have to
rehash it right now, that describes how
much Israel uh increasingly needs
evangelical support, and evangelicals,
younger evangelicals, are increasingly
less supportive. So, if we don't reach
out and embrace them, um there's a lot
that would not have happened over the
last several years, and there's a lot
that won't happen going forward that we
take for granted. Financial support,
diplomatic support, if we don't have
that support, no religion, we're not
talking religion, we're not talking
Bible study, we're not talking what we
disagree, importantly disagree about.
What we agree on is standing up for
Israel, fighting anti-Semitism. We're
going to do that as a greater community
on Tuesday night. We're expecting a
large crowd, and we're we're really
excited to stand up with Israel. I know
that Israel deeply appreciates it, and
it's a Let let's take our listeners
behind the bima though. Rabbi, you you
yourself
mentioned the controversy, some
controversy surrounding our event on
Tuesday night that you had to an email
out to the community. Walk our listeners
behind the scene as a leader of such a
very prominent community, very actively
pro-Israel. And obviously with that, as
as many of our members gleaned this
week, comes a little bit of of
controversy and pushback. What goes on
as a leader of the community to come to
the conclusion that you came to? You
said we referenced our post-game and
that you spoken to a lot of people. Walk
our listeners through what that process
looks like. Who are the types of people
that you're consulting? What are the
calculations that you're making? And
where do you come to the point where you
say, I am convinced that this is the
right thing to do. I've spoken to the
right people. And even though there're
going to be the naysayers, we're still
going to go ahead with it anyways
because we believe it's the right thing.
Um
I had a root canal today, which I'm not
looking for sympathy. It was fine. A
great doctor, by the way. Highly
recommend Dr. Shapiro. He just called me
right before we started to see how I'm
feeling. I said, go be with your family.
I feel fine. Why am I telling you that?
Just to let you know that the root canal
might have been the most relaxing part
of the day today. So that tells you that
tells you about the day. I think I
actually fell asleep for a moment in the
middle of the root canal, which was Mr.
Thirsty was hard at work and
I closed my eyes. So that Novocaine is
good stuff.
Um
You know, I we want to focus only a
positive light on this event and and not
contribute to a controversy where there
isn't one. There's just one agitator.
But I do appreciate you bringing it up,
Rabbi Moscowitz, because I think there's
a bigger point that's worth making and
talking about. You talked about going
behind the bema with it. Um I think
Rabbi Brody was with me. I don't know if
you were there. We once had a guest and
we went out for lunch on Friday, guest
speaker, scholar in residence. Person
who pushes the envelope himself, is
controversial. Um and in fact, I don't I
don't think that we I don't think we'd
have him again. And I asked him at that
lunch, I said, tell me, who do you call
when you want to know where those
boundaries are if you've pushed the
envelope too far? Who's your rebbe? Who
do you talk to? How do you know that
you're you're inside the ropes that
you're doing the right thing? So he
looked and he said, "Huh."
I guess I don't really call anybody. I
guess if I had to think of somebody I'd
say it's my wife. Now, my wife is an
enormous resource. She is a partner.
She's a source of tremendous wisdom. Um
sometimes the pushback is their connect
though. Sometimes they help me by being
opposite. Sometimes uh by being opposite
they help me. Um but I I I
tried throughout my rabbinate our
rabbinate together cuz we do this as a
team to stay true to our obey him. So
that if somebody challenges us and says,
"Look, I think you crossed the line. I
think you're out of bounds on this one.
You think you're being creative. You
think you're being cute. You think
you're trying to attract attention. I
think you're pushing the envelope too
far." So it's critically important to
have obey him and to call and say
beforehand, "Whatever they tell me to
do, I'm going to do." If we have to
cancel, if we have to rescind an
invitation, we have to change a policy,
if we have to do something that's going
to be incredibly unpopular, we're ready
to do it. Because it's not about what's
convenient or expedient or comfortable
or popularity contest. It's about what's
right and what's true to our tradition.
So for something like this, it's it's a
big question and it needs a big person.
A big person. So I spoke to Shachter.
One of Rabbi Shachter Shachter is one of
my obey him our obey him I would say for
our community. He knows our community.
He's his finger on the pulse of our
community. And I called him. We've
spoken about this issue before and there
was no issue whatsoever. Uh he was
perfectly comfortable, understood, and
was supportive of it. I've called other
obey him. Not everybody is as
comfortable with their name being used
which is its own conversation and in
some ways a sad commentary not so much
on them but on their feeling, "Why do I
want to be public? And then the next
video will be about me. The next
postcard about me. I want to keep my
head down, teach Torah, learn Torah, do
my thing." We can debate right or wrong
but you got to respect their uh request.
Um but let's put it this way. I spoke to
enough people that I feel tremendously
comfortable and confident. Um I'll tell
you also Rabbi Adlerstein is a real Ben
Torah Rabbi Adlerstein uh across
currents Rabbi Adlerstein at the
Wiesenthal Center people really admire
including me respect Rabbi Adlerstein as
a religious leader as a Torah
personality. Not only is he comfortable
with this he's a co-sponsor he's
speaking at it he believes this is
critically important for US Israel
relationship even for Jewish Christian
relationships which is not the point of
this event but something he has an eye
on in his work. So you know it's really
important it's really really important
and there are moments of discomfort when
a postcard is put in every mailbox or
people make countless videos or even
describe that you're deserving of the
death penalty and call for your death
um which I would wish was hypothetical.
So you got to just stay true as long as
as long as you can live with yourself as
long as you can sleep at night believing
that Hashem is proud of you that your
family's proud of you and and how do you
know if Hashem will be proud of you cuz
you have rabbaim who you talk to I think
you feel good about it. So that's I'm
I'm blessed to have good haverim good
friends you the two of you and the rest
of our amazing staff that these
decisions are made together and
collectively and we live it collectively
and the consequences collectively
although I notice neither of you are
willing to stand too close to me lately.
I don't know
what you are you are afraid of. Just
joking.
Um So um yeah This clip is going to be
on another video somewhere in a few
hours so just trying to
smile into the camera.
Understood. Let it be. I'll tell you the
truth is
you know our our event took off the
registration today blew up closed down
we had to expand and address it on
technology because that uh hater who who
really said it's a statement about him
not anyone else
um is actually PRing the event um more
than we could ever do. So he's the one
spending the money
and we're the one getting the benefit.
You've got some very very important
people that have already registered. I
mean there's a lot of excitement for
this event people want to be there.
There's a A of excitement a lot of
security a lot of excitement. And
listen, it's not worth doing because
we're competitive and we're not going to
back down. We're doing it because we
believe it's good for Israel. You've got
diplomats who will be there. Um the
Latina Coalition for Israel, our partner
for this event, is in the middle of
conversations lobbying the president of
Guatemala, other South American
countries to move their embassy to
Jerusalem. And this very group was very
instrumental in the past
administration's decision to move the
embassy to Jerusalem and the Abraham
Accords. If we care about this we're
keeping our eye on the ball. That's the
bottom line. There's a lot of noise. You
got to shut out the noise. You got to
wear noise canceling headphones as a
leader. You got to shut out the noise.
You remember when we had Ritchie Torres
Congressman Ritchie Torres was going to
be actually guest in our shul as well.
We had him on behind the Bima. Remember
what he said? He was taking a beating
for supporting Israel.
Yeah. I'll never forget what he said. He
said leadership is is about not needing
to be liked. You need to be liked, don't
go into leadership. You got to stand up
for the truth. So, that's a little
behind the Bima of it. You're right,
it'll probably be another clip, but
guess what? That'll just get more people
to come to the event, so feel free. Feel
free to stream it. But we've got a big
guest on tonight. How many songs can you
name of Nissim Black, Rabbi Brody?
That's great.
You know, I happen to be a big fan. He's
got so many songs and I can tell you my
kids are listening to his music.
Everyone's listening to his music. We're
so excited to have him on tonight.
We are very excited. Rabbi Rabbi
Moskowitz, do you connect with his
music?
Uh it's definitely a different genre for
me. You know, it's funny I was playing
No, I'm being serious. You know, I was
playing some of his music today in the
house
and
my kids didn't realize the songs that
were his. In other words, there's a lot
of his music that plays in our loop and
that's constantly in our house that my
kids never attributed to him. So, when
they heard them and I connected the dots
they said, "Holy cow, this is a great
guest." So, it's definitely prevalent in
our house.
And again, it's different than like you
know, we're going to talk about that a
little bit.
Uh, there you got the you got the
Come on. It's different than the Shwekey
concert we were at the other day.
I'm excited for the Motherland Bounce.
Rabbi Brody, the problem is that that's
the clip that he's going to use right
now.
I got to go back and edit that out.
Because if there's anything in my life I
want to never go viral, it's that right
there. That's going to become What do
they call that? That's going to be a
meme.
That's going to be a meme. I got to edit
that out. I I wish this were on delay.
We got to talk to our tech people. We
are live coming to you right now.
Anyway, without any further ado, Nesan
Black, I would give you his bio, I'd
tell you how he grew up in Seattle, his
parents, hip-hop artist, his mother died
of a drug overdose he was 19 years old,
hip-hop star, drug dealer, was shot at,
and turned his life around. He'll walk
us through his journey through Islam,
Christianity, ultimately a Breslover Jew
today, still producing incredible
incredible music. We'll let him tell his
own story without any further ado, what
a pleasure to be able to welcome on our
special guest.
We are joined by music sensation and
superstar, much more important,
superstar sensational human being and
inspiration, the one and only the great
Nesan Black. Nesan, thank you so much
for being with us and allowing us to go
behind the bema with you.
Thank you so much, Rabbi Goldberg.
Appreciate it. Thank you. And also,
Rabbi Moskowitz.
We are We're excited to be together
virtually, but we're even more excited
to be together in person soon. Your
Bright Lights Tour will be making a stop
finally in Florida and in Boca Raton.
We'll be able to draw from that energy
and be lifted by that music. So, we're
excited. Tell us, uh, why'd it take so
long? You're finally coming to Florida.
I don't know what's going on. I don't
know who uh who who booked everything,
but uh it's been taking way too long.
Uh, as I mentioned to you before, I just
the excitement to come to the last
normal place on planet Earth has been
It's been something It's been a long
long long road I've had to to be able to
be in Florida. So, I'm really excited.
We can't wait. We're looking forward to
welcoming you. So, there's so much to
talk about. We're so excited to be
together. And And you've been on lots of
podcasts. You've done lots of
interviews. We've heard a lot about your
life story. And we're going to get to
that. I want to start out where many
people might end because this is I think
a really powerful place to be a message
you can bring. You have a fire in your
connection with Hashem. It comes through
through your music. It comes through
through your personality. You're
sincere. You're genuine. But you live
your Judaism with a fire. If you could
talk to people who grew up as Jews and
grew up with Jewish observance, but
they're ice cold. There isn't that fire.
They're struggling to connect. They're
struggling to be lit up. What advice
would you give them about how to live
close to Hashem? What is your advice
about how to get on fire?
Well, there's a there's a few things.
One thing is a is really a no-brainer,
but nobody ever thinks of it. Can you
ever think of a no-brainer that nobody
ever thinks of?
One of the things is is that I'm
Israel's called the people of the book.
Problem is we don't spend enough time
reading the book. One of the biggest
ways of having connection with Hashem is
to realize and see the relationship that
the former tzadikim and former righteous
people had with the Kodesh Baruch Hu.
And then once you have that type of
connection, then you have an expectation
of what it is that Hashem is also
supposed to put into the relationship.
I'm supposed to see things. I'm supposed
to experience you Hashem in a in a
completely different way than maybe what
I'm able to, you know, get connected
with with my limited understanding of
what that relationship should be like.
So, I think that's a big thing. In fact,
there's a book called Divrei Yaakov.
It's a very serious like serious sefer
on Avodas Hashem written by Yaakov
Addas, one of the tzadikim in
Yerushalayim.
And it was very interesting because I
had this thought, but he wrote it. He
actually wrote it. He says a person when
experiences him like the like the older
you have to reread these stories and see
and and and really realize that, you
know, Eliyahu Hanavi was living with the
Shem. Shmuel Hanavi was living with the
Shem. It says when he was in the temple
and he was there and not even actually
in the temple, he was in the Mishkan.
Says that that he was growing and waxing
day in and day out getting closer and
closer to Shem. He was growing What was
he doing? He was spending a lot of time
with the Shem is what he was doing. So,
that's the other thing is spending time
with the Shem. Many people it's very
easy for us today, especially to
to spend time learning and and and not
really rid ourselves of all the guy even
everything else that can come from being
the top guy in the sheer, being the guy
that everybody calls the time of Hacham,
but when you go to a Shem into feeling
you pour your heart out and you talk to
a Shem about, you know, what it is
that's that's stopping you from
achieving what you want to. It's very
very hard to be, you know,
lifted up and built up to be be
something that you're not. And so,
something that happens is that a person
just, you know, through that loneliness
that he has to come to when he comes to
realization helps him realize the
godliness of a Shem and how big he is
and how and it it, you know, I think
that that's what really kindles the
fire.
That's amazing. So, now let's go back
because what you just answered what you
just told us, which thank you. It's it's
really inspiring and it's beautiful.
Um, that was not an obvious path or
trajectory from you growing up in
Seattle, parents who are hip-hop artists
themselves. You launched your rap
hip-hop career with language you
probably wouldn't want your kids to hear
today. You stole all kinds of things and
you went through a lot including loss.
So, let's take that step back, right?
The journey from there to here
and and and unpredictable. Nobody would
have guessed that you'd be the one
sitting here with the jacket and black
hat quoting the Torah, living in Israel.
Tell us about that journey and how you
got there.
So, as you mentioned, both of my parents
were hip-hop artists. I always say they
were hip-hop artists during the day,
drug dealers by night.
And I say like any good Jewish boy, I
joined the family business very early
on. Um I was running with the wrong
crowd. By the time I was nine, I was
smoking pot. By the time I was 12, and
not only was I in over my head with the
you know, my own drug use, but I was
also selling at the time. And found
myself in a very, very dark place. I was
expelled from my from the Seattle school
district. They didn't allow me into a
school by the time I was 13. And um I
see myself going down a very, very dark
path. Um my first introduction to
religion was Islam. My grandfather was a
Sunni Muslim. So, I prayed with him five
times a day at least from the time I was
eight
until maybe nine or 10, I was praying
with him. And he ended up going back to
prison. And uh after that, you know,
there was no actual structure of
religion or faith in my in in my life.
So, that's when I was getting in more
and more trouble. And then when I was
13, I think which was at a crucial and
very critical point, I had a friend that
invited me to a hip-hop program that was
at a Christian
uh after-school center. And I started
going to this place. It was completely,
you know, like a missionary thing, but I
will honestly say still to this day that
that saved my life. It gave me a place
off the you know, hanging out in the
streets. And it gave me a place to have
some type of stability. And they
obviously invited me to a missionary
camp, and there I became a Christian.
And I would say that it was a it was a
solid. I think, you know, really looking
back, I really went in chronological
order backwards before I came to
Yiddishkeit. I sort of was able to to go
on this journey, and I think
that
that time period in my life was so
crucial because this is my development
years. I'm a teenager coming into an
adult. Um so, it started to help me
realize, and I think even back then was
when I really understood how important
it was to spend time with the sham. I
would spend a whole lot more time than a
lot of my other friends that were in
Bible study youth groups, which led to
me asking deeper questions in the Bible
study groups that I felt like were never
really answered. So, as I continued, I
went on the music started to take off a
little bit more. There was a record
label that was interested in me and we
started having these very very awesome
conversations but which I thought was
going to change my life. And it happened
that uh they really wanted this gangster
persona. Something I wasn't unfamiliar
with but it just wasn't the place I was
in my life at the time. They offered a
lot of money. I went for the bite and I
started
turning in records that were very
contradictory to who I was as a person,
who I was trying to become. At that time
I had also met my huh? Go ahead. Even
then they were contradictory you're
saying.
Not compatible with today who you are
but you're saying even then you felt the
tension. Even even then even then. You
know it's a very interesting thing how
you know the human is you know I
remember years ago
someone one of my very very close
friends he had asked asked our rebbe in
the middle of a sheer we were learning I
think maybe in the city of Shalom or
something. It was a beautiful sheer and
he asked him and about about the about
about the nations that that were
expelled from from Canaan. And he says
why did Hashem allow this to happen cuz
a prophet. They didn't have a who told
them that what they were doing were
wrong and whatever. And one of the
things he he he he gave us as an answer
was that Hashem created us with a
certain yashrus. There's a certain
yashrus that all mankind has. That was
one of his answers and it never left me
because I realized that even myself
before I was long before I was Jewish,
you felt the things that you were doing
was wrong. Even though you really didn't
have a context to really understand that
they were really wrong or in that they
weren't based upon my my
these things seemed to be permissible,
you know?
Um, but you still felt something. You
felt that it was wrong.
And I I think I would say that I always
felt like this sort of very close
relationship with God even at times when
I didn't really, but I always felt like
he was with me for some reason. I felt
like I was being watched and there was a
clock there was a clock that he was
going to snap everything and he was
going to turn it around. So, I ended up
going to this dark hole, making this
music, and I started to realize that I
got very confused myself about who I
was. I wasn't sure who I was anymore.
I'm releasing these records, I have a,
you know, church girl for a girlfriend.
She's very not with this type of
lifestyle. I'm over here and I'm, you
know, trying to figure myself out. Um,
in the midst of all of this I end up
losing my mother of overdose. That was a
very, very hard time for me and it put
me in a very, I would say I was almost
emotionally paralyzed after this. It was
a deep pain that I you know, was so
abrupt and so fast that I you know, was
something I would never wish on my worst
enemy.
And after that, I felt like that was the
first thing that really just crushed me
so much that I was I was honestly
searching, seeking for some type of
healing, something at that time. So,
what later happened?
Listen, I want to interrupt you for one
second because I want to go in deeper
into this. I want to behind the mic if
it's okay. Which is I think many people
go through loss. There's a lot of people
right now struggling. Right.
And that loss drives them further from
God. They wonder where is he and why he
would he let this happen and if that's
what he who he is, I want nothing to do
with him. So, many people might have
lost their mother at that age, you were
19 years old to that overdose and say,
you know what? Forget religion. I'm not
exploring that. I'm going deeper in cuz
life is too short. I want to make as
much money, have as much fun, I'm going
to become as famous as I can and forget
God. You did the opposite. So, what
would your message be to people going
through a hard time that you need more
God not less than ever?
No, absolutely I would say that and I
would say that, you know,
I I I wish I can say
that I knew what it was that made me
feel like that, but it
at the moment that it happened,
it made me feel like God was so big. He
was so like
in control. Not the fact that like, you
know, he did it so it can't be, you
know, obviously I wasn't so happy about
him seeing people 50, 60, 70 with the
mother and the father still around, you
understand? So, obviously there is that
pain of like, why me? Why did that
happen to me? Um, but I think that the
the the the whole reason why these
things happen to us to some degree at
some point is to get us to a place of
where we're we're submissive to
understanding accept God's sovereignty,
even though it's very very hard. But
that usually leads to bigger and better
things, which this actually did for me.
So, continuing with this, you know, this
brokenness of and what I did, I didn't
have a shiver, right? So, what did I do?
I did the exact opposite. I got myself
so busy. I didn't leave the studio. I
was out with frie- I was trying to
consume my life so much with the
activity that I that I just wouldn't
think about it because if I was alone, I
would have broke down. If I was alone, I
would have broke down. So, um the music
continued and I think it was maybe maybe
a year and a half after my mother passed
away um that there was another artist
who uh made a diss song towards me. And
I remember hearing the song. I was in
the studio. I was going to write a song
back and, you know, send another song
out, but that would obviously give him
more promotion. So, my friend said, you
know, if we, you know, go beat him up,
then you know, he won't make any more
songs. So, we went with that option and
that uh turned into a to a brawl outside
of a nightclub, which ended up leading
to a friend of mine going up afterwards
trying to take the other artist's life.
So, since he was a horrible shot and he
shot everything except for the guy, he
ended up in custody, but the other guys
had a big problem. They thought that I
sent them. So, I have now a big problem
that if I don't go and take these guys
out, they're going to come take me out.
And that was number two. That was strike
two.
After that one, I remember walking back
and forth in my living room and I
started breaking down. I just start
crying. I start crying to God begging
that there be some other way. Because
although you can rap about these things
and you can live in that type of
lifestyle and I seen a lot of violence.
I was around it. I I I was shot at. I've
I've seen all these different things. I
didn't really have it inside my heart to
go and take another person's life and I
knew that wasn't who I was. So, I fell
into the second place of like complete
submission. God, only you can help me.
So, he would have it that
How big were you in the rap hip hop
world at that time? At this time it was
right at my right at my edge. What what
hap What what What was happening at this
time, I was already in a lot of
publications, especially, you know, as
far as locally in Seattle was very much
so well known who I was cuz cuz of also
my parents they pioneered hip hop at
that time. And so, it was very very like
everybody was waiting for the next
breakout album for me right there and it
was it was very very like uh on the
bubble. And what would happen would be
was that I ended up
after this saying, you know, I got in we
got in touch the other artist got in
touch with me. We put everything behind
us, thank God, which was a miracle in
itself.
And I changed everything after that. I
changed the I didn't know exactly how I
did I did it slow and I was praying. I
went to go pick up the Bible again. I
started reviewing all of these different
questions and I didn't know what I was
going to do anymore because I was
falling in love with the Shem. I was
falling in love with the Jewish people.
I had new eyes. I'm seeing the book from
a different point All these these
pasukim that I thought was talking about
the church was really talking about the
Jewish people. So, all these things
start to scale up my So, what happens is
that especially as a creative you you
start to process all this new
information and you want to create. You
want to create content. You want to do
things that are that are much more true
to where you are. So, I ended up
recording a record like when I was in
this process phase of really not knowing
where I was and that was that that ended
up being the next breakout record, which
at the time I had said was going to be
my last album. I actually met with my
business partner and I said to him, you
know, I'm going to do this last album.
The only thing is I don't want to
perform on Shabbat, on the Yamim Tovim,
anything like that. He said He said,
"Okay." And the agreement was I didn't
take any money from the album. They
would keep everything cuz I obviously I
couldn't tour the way that I wanted to
before. So, that was my thing. You guys
can have everything. And that that album
blew up and went all all over the
country. It was on MTV, my first single,
major radio stations. I was getting
calls and having publications. I was
headlining major music festivals all
this year and I went on tour and I
didn't have to perform on Shabbat at the
Yamim Tovim. And I and I started working
a job that year, right? So, that year I
had started working a job, my first real
job, and I got four raises that year.
Four raises that year. I wasn't even
Jewish yet. So, I already got to see
like Hashem's hand very, very early on.
So, um that was the that was the journey
and then from there me and my wife, my
brother-in-law and sister sister-in-law
um all converted together.
It's amazing.
Let's talk about that conversion for a
little bit because while you were going
through it, you you got rid of all
music. You split from the label that you
partially owned. You devoted yourself
entirely to the conversion process and
it would be a little while until you
came back to music. What's that like
when something is so much a part of your
life, it's so much a part of you said of
your creative process, and then to
completely disassociate yourself from
that, go through this life-changing
experience, and then come back to that
same passion that you love, but with a
completely different set of eyes. What
did you learn about music? What did you
learn about yourself specifically by
taking a break from that thing that had
consumed so much of your life up until
that point? So, originally you have to
you have to understand I thought I was
done. I thought I was slaughtering
music, I thought it was over for several
reasons. It was very very hard to
learn as much as I was learning and be
as excited as I was about Torah,
which happens to a lot of people. And
whatever the field the field it is that
it momish consumes you with such a fire
itself that it burns up everything in
its way. Once once a person latches on
to a sham in the it can burn up
everything, you know? And I think at
that time it was very hard for me to
marriage the
the arrogance even of the rap sport, you
know, with the you know, trying to learn
some anivus and learn learn Torah and
and and submission I guess I would say
to some degree to to sham and what his
will may be. It was very hard for me to
make these worlds they seemed like polar
opposites pretty much. So, it was very
hard for me to continue with that and
and at the time I really felt like this
was my way of of doing my uh
my my own my own akeda, you know, and I
I was going to slaughter my Yitzchak,
you know what I mean? This was this was
going to be it. Akedat Yitzchak Yitzchak
Yitzchak. And for me this is what I this
was my one thing that Hashem was testing
me with. This was going to be the final
thing. I'd been through so much already
in my life. I said this is going to be
it and I thought it was over.
And as we know how that story ends
Hashem sends a malach. I didn't really
get to see a malach, but
it was very interesting a few years
later as a lot of Jewish artists, some
more famous than others,
started to actually take a turn from the
faith and and it's sort of like
you know, I guess retrospectively
looking at it now, opened up this space
of like well, Hashem saying, "Who's
going to represent me in this space?"
You know what I mean? It was a It was It
wasn't just one of the big names that we
know. It was other people. They were It
was all around the same exact time,
which scared me even more to ever make
music again.
And at this time, I was getting a lot of
push from family and friends and people
that were around me, rabbis that were in
the community, and saying that, "You
know, Hashem gave you a gift. You should
probably use it. This would be the time
to, you know, use it. You can inspire a
lot of people." And I was saying, "No,
no, no, no, no, no, no."
And uh I remember my son, he ended up
getting sick. He was It was about He was
two He was a four months old. And he was
in the hospital for two weeks with
meningitis. And during this time, I had
got um one of the books Rabbi Shalom
Arush when he was talking about, you
know, if if you're in the need of a big
salvation, you should pray to Hashem
straight for six hours. And I went did
it. And not only did I have the miracle
of my son, but what happened during that
time, I really tested God. Now, you
should never do this, but Baruch Hashem,
I wasn't Jewish yet, and I was
I was on my way to the base 10, but but,
you know, I don't I don't I don't
usually recommend it, but I really asked
Hashem to to give me siman. I needed to
know that this was real. I was getting
way too much push, and and and it was so
scary for me to to go back out there
because I thought that the moment that I
touch music again, I was going to lose
everything. I was going to lose Hashem.
I was going to lose my religion. I was
going to lose everything. So,
um after praying and and getting the
sign that I wanted, which was an old
microphone that was broken. It was
verifiable. You can ask my
brother-in-law, the most honest and real
person. He also makes music with me. And
that microphone started working again. I
went to my rebbeim, and I asked them. I
had a long lecture with my rebbe, Rabbi
Shmuel Brody, who was now in Baltimore.
He was in Seattle at that time. And for
about two hours straight, we we we went
over it. We chazered the whole
everything what what was going on
before. And and Baruch Hashem, he gave
me a bracha. I got a bracha from from
other rabbis and and uh I went back out.
And I still will say that in the
beginning, when I got I was still
tiptoeing. I was tiptoeing. And and that
was up until I was reached out to by
friend uh to do Hashem Melech with Gad
Elbaz. I don't think I think that was
the first time that I really was like,
"Okay, Hashem, I'm doing it, you know."
It's a great song. So, the truth is,
Nissim, that you you become a Jewish
music superstar, obviously famous in the
Jewish world, you know. Maybe you'll
give us a little Motherland Bounce. You
know, in my home, when we get a little
sad, we put on Motherland Bounce and you
can't you can't hear that and sit still.
It's impossible. Right.
You have to move when that beat when
that song comes on. Maybe you'll give us
a little bit of that. But so now that
you're famous Jewishly, so you went from
I'm going to keep the music close, I'm
going to shecht it like the Akedah, to
it came back to life. Hashem wasn't
ready. Sent the malach. How do you stay
humble? How do you stay humble? You walk
around Ramat Bet Shemesh, you walk
around Israel, come on tour in America,
you know, you're easily recognizably
famous. How do you stay humble? How do
you stay real? How do you avoid what you
were worried about with those other
artists who walked away? It got to their
head. That was your fear. How do you
make sure you fight it?
So, that's that's one of the biggest
issues that I have, you know. I I
definitely will say I'm not the most
famous Jewish musician, but definitely
the most noticeable guy. Uh I'm so
noticeable that almost every other black
Yid that I know has been accused of
being me several times and probably
could have done a few selfies that he
didn't really deserve. But um so, it
does put me in a position to where it's
a non-stop, always having to, you know,
uh sort of be on your game, to so to
speak. But I think the biggest thing is
because um I never went away from that,
you know, on my path, obviously, that
that that end up I wouldn't say I chose,
but end up choosing me, was a Breslov
path and the the the maila of of
hisbodedus, of talking to Hashem, is my
I live in that space. I I It's not one
of those things where I talk about it I
read in the safer this this I live and
and I and I and I think for me that's
been the biggest thing to help me to
stay humble to keep my head level
to where
it happens and you don't even you don't
even think about it. I was somewhere I
was at the shabbaton this past this past
shabbos and I just was like so everybody
kept saying so humble. I don't even see
it. I don't even see it. Me I think I'm
a baal ga'avah. You know, I'm working on
myself. You know what I mean? But
everybody else thinks I'm so humble and
it's because I honestly know that Hashem
didn't I didn't work for any of the
things that I have. I seen that Hashem
gave it to me. By the time, you know,
Hashem Elokim came out and it was very
popular
I wasn't putting on the marketing plans.
I wasn't reaching at anybody's door
whatever somebody called me asked me if
I wanted to do the song. At the time the
the video came out I was spending every
day with Hashem 6 hours in the in in the
forest crying to Hashem. I didn't have
money. I didn't know what my next
anything was going to be and that song
itself changed my life. Not even in the
Jewish world. It was number three on the
charts even the were listening to
it. So you realize that the that nothing
when you realize that nothing you have
came from you it's only from Hashem then
what do you have to be so you know, so
arrogant about you know, to so to speak.
So Can you walk through for our listener
our listener who doesn't know what
hisbodedus is? Take us through the
mechanics of that, right? What does it
mean to to be alone talking to God? You
do it every day? How long a day? What do
you think about or talk about? Okay.
Inspire some of our listeners themselves
to when they hang up from this podcast
to go do a few minutes of hisbodedus. So
the biggest thing is hisbodedus is
in the in the most practical term that
that I could give it to you
it's personal prayer spending time with
Hashem. I like to say spending time with
Hashem. It's been translated as personal
prayer to feel us alone time with Hashem
seclusion to to away from the rest of
the world and to really reflect and to
spend time with Hashem, to speak to him,
to get to know him. The biggest thing
right now, I think a or a lot of people
feel this somewhat of this this distance
from Hashem, a lot of it is coming from
the fact of of Hashem saying, "Did you
consider me? Did you think about me when
you when you when you made a decision?
When you do other things?" If we don't
include Hashem, what is chuva? What is
us What is us repenting? What are we
returning to? Returning to the fact that
the Gemara says that a ruach shtus a a a
a a silly spirit enters into a person at
the time he commits a sin or any type of
error, anything that's against Hashem's
will, right? Which is the absence of
Hashem. At this point, he's a chelek,
he's a piece of Hashem. But at that time
that he did something, that Hashem is
gone. He had some some different spirit.
So, when we make chuva, we're bringing
Hashem back to the place where we
disconnected from him. And so much of
our life, even if we're not even doing
anything wrong, we're just living life,
we're also not even thinking about
Hashem. So, the the whole moment of
hisbodedus, to bring Hashem back into my
life, to bring him there, to consider
him, to think of him. "Tati, do you want
me to do that? Do you want me to do this
business deal? Do you want me to to to
work at this place?" You know, "Give me
eitzos on how to how to raise my
children. Give me eitzos on on on what
to do." So, that is the that is the the
essence of really what hisbodedus is.
Let me just ask a follow-up to that
because I think anyone listening or
watching
gets very clearly the sense that you're
genuine, that you're a seeker, that
you're very thoughtful, and that you're
you're not afraid of change, that
wherever life is going to take you and
whatever learning path you're on, you're
willing to embrace it. Right. I want to
come back a little bit to Rabbi
Goldberg's first question, but dig a
little bit deeper at this point, which
is to say there's so many people that
aren't like that. You spoke about
learning and you spoke about hisbodedus
of connecting with Hashem, and yet
there's so many people in our community
that hear those messages, and they turn
it off with their cynical, uh, "This is
the way I've been. This is the way I'll
always been. This is my Judaism. Why
change? It's been like this since the
1970s. Why do I have to change it now?"
So, what would your message be to that
person? Let's push that person a little
bit more to say that I've always looked
to change in my life. I'm unafraid of
what that's going to bring. You
shouldn't be, either. And so,
take it out from the specific learning
and just an openness to change. How
would you speak to that cynic who's
listening and saying, "Ah, that's not
me. I've been doing this my whole life.
This is the way Orthodoxy was in 1960s.
I'm not looking to change."
I think the biggest thing is that it may
have been that way in the 1960s, 1970s,
but as I mentioned to you before, if you
go back and read the book, that's not
what it was like, you know, the you
know, this this what we're talking
about, spending time with the sham and
talking to him, is more Jewish than
Rashi and Tosfos. And and I think the
the I think the biggest error is is
that, you know,
not really just the the ability to
change, but of of openness that we never
get ourselves to that place to ask
ourself, "What do we really want?" Now,
we think about these things in terms of
career, we think about what we want our
children to be in 5 years and how much
we want them to either do as good as us
or better than us and push them and
we'll push ourselves to achieve things
for for for success and and and you
know, monetarily or whatever else it is.
But, when it comes to the spiritual, we
never really sit and think about it.
Like, what's what's where what what do I
want for myself? And those things are
that if I am if I if I if I do say to
myself that I'm not really so interested
in and changing and all the things is
then I can start asking myself, "Am I
happy? Am I genuinely happy? Am I happy
with who I am? Am I really, really happy
that, you know, one of the biggest
things is like, you know, you have to
sometimes and I've done this before, you
know, thought about my life and, you
know,
I think I was going to write a song
about it, but I didn't do it cuz I
didn't want to make it sound so morbid,
but I thought about that, you know, at
at my at my eulogy, what would I want
people to say about me, you know? What
would I want people to really write that
What would I want them to say about me
when I'm done? So, I think it's deeper
thinking about, you know, myself and and
who I am and and and my importance and
what I'm contributing to to to the world
and what am I contributing to myself
spiritually.
In in Motherland Bounce, you describe
yourself as Hitler's worst nightmare.
Which is
really It's a great description. You are
You look at you, where you came from,
where you are, what you're preaching,
and where we're going, you are the
answer. You are Hitler's worst
nightmare. So, could you talk to us a
little bit about um anti-Semitism? Have
you confronted and faced it? And and
talk to us a little bit about racism
here in America and and I'm sure in
other parts of the world. Obviously, you
know, Black Lives Matter, race race
relations was a big topic, is still a
big topic. Um did you confront a lot of
that before you were Jewish? Do you
confront that still now? And as a Torah
observant black Jew, do you confront
both forms of hate? Are you having to
confront racism and anti-Semitism? So,
talk to us about being Hitler's worst
nightmare.
Uh thank you.
Um so, the truth is yes, and I would say
like this, um
I would definitely say I've experienced
far more anti-Semitism than I ever have
racism before I was Jewish by far. Um
and and it's it's very interesting. A
lot of it even can come comes from the
black community. So, it's a very
interesting thing seeing as how the
world is changing and evolves,
especially over these last 2 years,
everything has gotten crazy. I would
like to state that, you know, I've
stated as many times I'm a very big
non-supporter of Black Lives Matter. I
don't believe in that movement. I
believe they're shooting at the hip at
the wrong
wrong issues in the black community.
Um but, I would definitely say that
that I don't I I do believe that there
is racism. I don't think that that's the
number one problem in America right now
with the African-American community. I
don't think that's the reason why
African-Americans perhaps are not
succeeding. Someone please shut the
door.
Of course.
Everybody knows you're real. Thank you.
Sorry. This is the real life. No,
exactly.
So I don't think that that has anything
to do with the success or lack of lack
there of the black community right now.
Um however, it does still exist. Now
I will say that I will also say that
they where I didn't have the racism in
the in the non-Furm world where I was
at, I have gotten my dose in the Furm
world, you know, that I didn't that I
didn't get before,
um which is very very interesting
because
which is obviously coming from a
different place. Uh then the American
racism comes from a whole bunch of
stereotypes and different things that
have happened over the last 400 years,
deep-rooted in in those different things
that have led to some things
systemically that are wrong and that are
keeping, you know, certain things down
in the in the African-American world and
African-American communities. Um in the
Furm world when you when you experience
those things, you're not necessarily
experiencing with all of those things
with all those blankets on there. It's
just you're different than me, which is
a problem that you didn't have with
other you that are different than them
also. So I think that that's our biggest
issue. I'm live right now. You have to
shut my door, too.
You have to shut my door, please.
Sorry. No worries. So so I've definitely
had to experience it in there and I
think so it was more so even my children
more than I have to do it.
Um Hashem has blessed me to be a
well-known figure, so I don't really get
it that much as my children get it, you
know, from other kids and and and school
systems and different things like that.
So it has been somewhat difficult in
having to address those things head-on.
But you know, I'm such a you know,
brings me back to, you know, what we
were talking about earlier, I'm such a
Hashem guy. And I'm so convinced that
I'm on team Hashem that that's just
really how I I go through everything. I
dabble on things and I go and I in my
practical step is always to to know, you
know,
and just want to bring back I was having
some trouble getting my daughter into
school and they were very open a lot of
the schools were as to the reason, which
was the color of her skin. They, you
know, it I had to take a break from the
curriculum the teacher obviously Israeli
and nobody has time for that right now.
And so this is the the issue that we're
finding ourselves in. Now, during the
time so many people came up to me and
said, you know, don't you feel like just
throwing away everything? How could you
continue whatever? And I kept telling
her I was getting so much hisuk from
David Hamelach, you know, it's reading
Shmuel. He was a thousand percent right.
Shaul Hamelach was wrong.
And he didn't do anything, right?
Doesn't take away the fact that this
person over here, this min a hell, this
min a hell at this way still Hashem's
baby. It's not my not my right. I came
here and I'm so I'm so grateful to be a
part of Am Yisrael. I have no no qualms,
nothing against anybody. If somebody
feels like they're being shomer Yisrael
by not allowing my kid in, power to
them. I'm not I'm not going to allow.
And the only thing that was giving me
strength was I was going out talking to
Hashem so much during that time. Talking
to Hashem it gave me so much strength to
be able to overcome it. And and I knew
that everything was going to work out
and it did. My kids are in beautiful
schools. They're accepted. They're
loved. They're they're very happy where
they are, you know. So, baruch Hashem in
the end everything turns out. In term of
in terms of anti-Semitism, a lot of this
is coming at the at the expense of TV,
television, um a lot of uh
for lack of better term fake news and
different things that are going on to
the world. So it raises head in many
different places. People um some in the
African-American community, "Oh, you're
such a traitor. How could you Now you
think you're white. You think you're
this, you're that." and whatever
whatever whatever else. A lot of it is a
really a lack of education and people
don't really
have an understanding of
of Am Yisrael and understanding of of
Eretz Yisrael and and what it is and the
stories. I was talking to a to a cab
driver who was bringing me back, a
Palestinian cab driver, and he's going
on and on and he's screaming telling me
his stuff, you know? And he and they all
do the same thing. They go, "It's like
you, like the blacks in America." They
all say the same thing to me. It's like
the blacks in America, it's the same
thing. How could you How could you You
don't want to be Jewish, but these guys
are the same people, you know? It's just
It's misinformation. It's
misinformation. As we're going into
right now, 2022 we're in right now. And
look at what's going on since 2020.
Depending on which news station you're
watching, you go with the mask or you
don't go with the mask. You believe in
the in situation situation or you don't
believe. The whole thing is completely
fake news being eradicated and it's and
it's put out there for the world. And
the only way to overcome it is is
serving Hashem. That's it. That's the
only answer that's going to be. I don't
think all this Some people have to
say what they have to say, they have to
fight. My thing is not to I'm not afraid
of fighting, but the the the biggest
thing is that I don't feel like you can
talk with somebody who's irrational and
don't understand the things that they're
saying even when they're saying it. And
you know when some people talk, you let
them talk long enough and they sound
very silly while they're talking. It's
like how can you argue against people
like that? They don't know the history,
they don't know what's going on over
here in this land. And I think you think
about Palestinians, you know? Look at
the you know, unfortunately, the
homosexual community. I'm being honest,
how much they're behind the
Palestinians. If this is a Palestinian
state, you can forget it, they'd have
wiped them. Not to say that we support
it, but I'm just saying this is a
government that we have over here that's
allowing these guys to do whatever they
want, unfortunately fortunately or
unfortunately. But the case is is that
in Palestinian, they definitely don't
support these guys. You see certain
things is like irrational. They don't
even thinking about anything that
they're thinking about. So, I think that
that's uh that's sort of what we're
dealing with right now. That's a lot of
his work for us not to fight. Sometimes
let people speak, they don't know what
they're talking about and they'll
they'll undo themselves. You're coming
to us from Israel, you referenced your
kids at schools in Israel living in
Israel. You could have become a big star
in America or you could have just been a
simple humble Jew and blended in in
America. What brought your family to
Israel?
Uh there's no way to read Tanakh and to
go through Navi and to not want to be in
the place where everything can happen,
you know? It's like one of those things.
It's like to go through it over and over
again. I needed to be there. My my feet
needed to be there. So, um it was never
not a time where I didn't feel like I
wasn't coming here.
Um it just took a little time and a and
a lot of prayers to convince my wife
that it was the right thing to do. But,
in the end we ended up doing it. And uh
my brother and sister-in-law also moved
at the same time. You know, I think they
were a little bit ready before more
ready before my wife. And then after a
while we just we we decided that, you
know, the best place for us to be to be
able to, especially as geirim, to be
able to soak up all of all of all of
Yiddishkeit in its entirety, to get it,
you know, very concentrated, we had to
come to Eretz Yisrael. And I always say,
you know, for people who
you know, want to be in entertainment or
or or the arts or or fashion, they
either move to LA, they drop everything,
they give up their whole lives, they go
move to LA, or they'll move to New York
or Paris to do fashion, and and they put
their whole entire lives on the line.
Eretz Yisrael is a place to move for
Hashem. When you're ready to move and
then you just want to Hashem, you throw
everything away and you move there. So,
uh that's that's why that's why we
moved. I love that.
us through what a day looks like in the
life of Nissim Black. Obviously, we saw
some of your kids coming in. It sounds
like a a busy household behind you.
Right. Right.
is what is your day look like between
learning, between davening, between
family life, between professional
aspirations? Mhm.
Very good. Very good. So, I'm up usually
very early around 4:00 4:00 something or
so or 5:00 I go I go dominate. Usually
I'm in the nates minion fiery nates
minion. We have a beautiful nates minion
here. And after that I learn. So, I
learn for about 4 hours and maybe until
midday or so like that and then I'm in
the studio for a few hours working on
projects. And after that I'm helping
with the children getting the children
back down. In between all of this going
out for for for mincha or maariv. And
then I'm either back in the studio or
I'm having time with my wife or I get to
go out into the forest late at night but
I should have go spend some time with
the Shem and go home and go back to
sleep and get up and do it again. That's
that's when I'm home. When I'm out on
the tour that's unpredictable. It's all
day long there's shows there's speaking
there's conferences so
that's also very very big part of my
life.
Let's talk music a little bit. So, you
said you spend time in the studio. Mhm.
Walk us through what it's like writing
writing a rap. Does it start out as a
poem and then you add the beat? Does it
start out with the beat and the rhythm
and then you add the words?
Are you thinking about it for a long
time before you're actually working on
that and putting it down on paper?
How does the song go from
inside of Nissim's neshama into almost 5
million hits on YouTube?
So, what happens is is usually there's a
um
there is a
a stirring that happens really and I'm
telling you Hashem has his way of doing
things that
especially I would say definitely on the
last four or five songs that were
released is it's been a whole project
beyond that hasn't been released yet but
um
what really happens is like during these
times of of me you know crying and
spending the time with the Shem like
they just formulate into songs in my
head and they're like stored away you
know it's like a file cabinet inside
inside my head inside my heart wherever
it is.
And and usually when I hear music, I
usually has a hear hear a good nice beat
from either my brother-in-law or another
producer or whatever I'm working with.
And then usually those words just start
to pour out from from the music. And and
I would always say that when I write, I
usually am writing to music. So I'm
always starting with music. But I always
go back and reference, you know, what
I'm feeling. One of the biggest thing is
things about being an artist is is that
and and this is a good thing for people
to know even when they, you know, those
who struggle to listen to non-Jewish
music. Generally a person that is
writing music and a composer understands
what they're able to do with a person's
emotions. Understands it very, very
clear where those emotions can take a
person, how they're going to make a
person feel. Um and I really take pride
in being able to to pull out and draw
out certain emotions out of people when
I'm writing. So um whenever I felt
whatever I felt, there's been many
times, you know, when I write, I'm
crying. I'm crying because I'm really,
really bound up with with whatever it is
that I'm feeling. And uh from there I
write, I pace back and forth inside of
my room. I usually write inside of this
room. And uh I have a I have a I have a
cheviti here. I talk to Hashem. I make
his kashrus. And uh and then I start
writing, I start recording. So that's
pretty much how it works. You have a
couple lyrics or something that's not
out there yet you want to try out on us
or share with us? What's come What's
come out of your heart? Give us Give us
two lines. I have uh
I have probably one of my fave One of my
favorite songs that's unreleased. It was
my favorite until the last few days. I
did a few other songs. Now I have a
few more favorites. But um
but I have a song called Lifted that uh
that I'm going to release soon with uh
with the artist who I love named Levi
Robin.
And
uh so I'll do a little piece from that.
Um
goes like this.
The hardest thing to deal with is to
move without feelings. Seeing signs on
all sides, but don't know what your will
is. Don't know what the real is. Feeling
my back's against the wall. Seeing all
of my mistakes and I desire to fix them
all, but without you it's impossible.
And from my insides I will call, but
then it don't even ring.
They all say how much you love me, so
how could it be that you would let me
destroy myself? I need saving from me.
And when they write inside my book, use
my tears as the ink. So they could
testify on me all I did to break free
and to glorify your name cuz I gave back
what you gave to me. I'm falling down,
so can you lift me?
Yeah, so that's it. Beautiful. Wow. It's
fire. Wow. Powerful. Powerful. So what
would you say to somebody who says that
the genre of rap, hip hop it is it is so
institutionalized and intertwined with
degrading women, with curse, with the
culture of rape, of hate, of and and
therefore it lacks holiness. What what
would you say that you're taking
something and we give it the holiness?
That we can
apply the kedusha to anything. What
would you respond to that? Well, you
know, I was told by by big tzadik in
this actually very
it's about the sorry Baba Sali's yard
site is either now underway. I was told
by his grandson himself that all music
has its place in kedusha. He was very
very and he's actually brought me for
three weddings of his his own and he
told me very very in fact when I asked
him this question he told me all music
has a source in kedusha. The issue is is
that clippers grab onto things and this
is sort of what we have to understand
that there's husk and there's and
there's coverings over things. I will
also say is a very beautiful safer in
Breslov like one of those safers is so
Breslover they'll probably never
translate it into English
called Kokhav Yaakov. Inside of there he
tells a story of the he talks about the
air balloon. This is over a hundred
years ago and he says soon you'll see in
the future that each person will be able
to travel wherever they want to travel
to by the air. Each person. It's before
the airplane. By the air you'll see
this. And he says, over there he says,
and just like with any new invention, at
the time that it's created Hashem only
allowed for it to come into existence
for the sake of kedusha. It's the only
reason why Hashem allowed something to
be brought. He says, but the klipah list
is that first the klipahs get it. They
get it first. They get to have it first.
Apart from, you know, we look at it with
the internet. Apart from, you know, the
fact that Chabad gets very Chabad's very
close after the klipahs, they get it and
they get it also. But, you know, it's
it's very much so that the rule is it
always goes over this. I feel like the
whole reason why Hashem allowed rap to
come into existence was for me to be
able to do what I'm doing with the right
now. So, I think that that's we're just
sort of being momshik, bringing the
kedusha out out from from amidst the
darkness. And it's not something that
we're adding and we're bringing it
there. We're just sort of bringing it
out of something that Hashem allowed to
come into creation in the first place.
And a lot of times people they mix up
with with what's what's kadosh and
what's holy with their own opinions and
their own taste. Sometimes it's a taste
thing and we're not really Since we
don't evaluate ourselves, we don't
realize that it's it's just a matter of
taste. I just don't understand it on
taste. I don't have a taste for certain
type of music also. Um usually heavy
metal. I don't understand the music. I'm
not Can I Can tell somebody now there's
no kedusha and there's no I wouldn't
tell a person that. I just I don't have
a taste for it. So, it's not something I
have a taste for. So.
As a creative artist, do you ever Do you
ever get stuck?
Um yeah, yeah, yeah. There's times
There's times. I'm not having one of
those times right now, so Hashem With
Hashem's help they they won't they won't
it won't it won't come up on me. But, uh
yeah.
you do? What do you do to get unstuck?
Um you know what? I I really just It's
one of those things, you know, it's like
Rebbe Akiva, you know, you got to put
your head down with the waves and just
go with the tides. It's just I really
haven't never found a real solution to
get out of it, you know? I've tried like
going different places or riding in in
the forest and beautiful scenery and
everything. Nothing seems to help. It's
like sort of like you know, one of those
times when when it's uh it's a time to
fill up and and you got to take whatever
it is that you can and so when it's when
it's broken, you know, you're it's not
actually broken when you're in a time
where there's a same open the cot nurse.
You don't have you can't think outside
of what you have to
sort of just sit and let and let it go.
Let the waves go and then eventually
then it'll come back again.
Are there any Jewish music um
people who are an influence on you? Do
you style after? Do they influence your
music? Have they reached out to mentor
you in the Jewish music world as you
transitioned in?
No, not really. I wouldn't say not
really so much as a mentor. Um there's a
lot of people whose music I actually
like. I respect a lot. Um but I don't
know. It seems like
um unfortunately, there isn't so much of
that. I feel like, you know, really in
the Jewish world. Could be. It just
maybe since I'm such a khidish, I would
guess I would say musically that you
know, probably they felt like, you know,
I can't imagine like MBD say, "Man,
listen, man, I'm going to take you under
my roof."
There's a thousand
There's at least a thousand concerts he
does that I'll never be able to do,
right? So, it's like um it's just the
reality of it that I really haven't had
that. Um you know, I did I did myself uh
see as as I was, you know, coming into
music and I start to see somewhat of the
shift in
and I I wouldn't say it was because of
me at all, but I would say that there
was like this openness at the same time.
It was like at the same time, you know,
the rise of, you know, the Zushas and,
you know, um Levi Robin's doing his
thing and other people that are kind of
coming not the same genre as me, but
it's not the traditional, you know,
Jewish mainstream music that really I
think people are taking to. There's a
lot of these kids have been Waterbury
also too that are very very very
amazing. This
I think his name is Jericho. This new
song I I heard recently like this stuff
is like amazing that there's other
opportunities for people to express
kedusha from genres that people would
have never really listened to. Then I'm
I'm very very excited about, but I would
say I probably listen to Zusha. Yishai
Riboh
to me is like wow, one of the greatest
writers that I can possibly say that I
know. So,
so there's a lot of different lot of
different music I like. Almost I don't
listen to almost any music that's
that's like mine or that's up-tempo
upbeat. I always listen to very like the
opposite of what I make I listen to. I
don't know why, but that's one of my
thing. I'll give him a shout out because
he's going to be an up and coming star.
I believe that you've met him, a young
man from our community, Yosef Sandler,
who's trying to channel his talents
and uh
Yeah. looking forward to your work and
your gift. Yeah.
Very very
Great kid. Very big talent. Yes, wow wow
wow. I can't wait till the world gets a
whiff of him. He's very very talented.
Very very talented.
We're excited. Rabbi Moscowitz, we're
going to we're going to wind down, but
take us home.
Take us home. Do you um
Wasn't expecting that. Sorry. Um Oh, my
bad.
What? No, no, I didn't uh All right,
I'll take us home. Nesanel, tell us when
when someone's listening to your music,
what do you want them to be feeling?
When a person gives you feedback on that
music, what's the biggest compliment you
get that I heard your song and
The biggest compliment I get was that
your heart what what you said was
exactly what my heart was saying. Uh
these are these are my exact words that
you're giving me the words that I wanted
to say to Hashem that I that I couldn't
say. The things that I wanted to
express.
Uh these these comments that I get from
people are just like, you know, through
the roof cuz you know, I was there and I
was there and I dove into Hashem that I
would be able to to be used for such a
thing that that I'll be able to use my
gift for such a thing and to see it
happen was like it's like it's like, you
know, it's like Hashem it's like open
miracle like, you know, Hashem is
exactly showing you exactly everything
you've been davening on. You're seeing
it from the people and and and to know
how much people receive a chizuk from
the music and the song like it's for me
that's that's everything I davened for.
I I really literally I said these words
to Hashem this is what I want to do and
I've and I said it over and over and
over again. So,
um to be able to see that is just sort
of like having your tefillos answered.
So, those are those are the biggest
things for me. It's also great to hear
when people say um you know, because of
you I stopped listening to non-Jewish
music and you gave me an avenue that I
honestly wasn't like my goal. I didn't
think of anything about this but it's
like it's a great side thing also to
that look look at that Baruch Hashem a
lot of people able to stop, you know,
listening to certain type of music and
you're providing something for them. So,
that's also good. Well, let me let me
jump in with the last question. Hold on
because I got to redeem myself on that
but um what would you say to someone who
doesn't have a natural affinity for the
type of music that you sing? Someone
who's definitely more drawn or is just
more used to the classic Jewish music,
hears the genre that you're singing and
it's not a natural sound for them as
much and they're not I I'd say like as
naturally drawn for it. What would you
tell them to encourage them to try out
the music, to listen to the words, to
allow themselves to get lost in the
messages that you're teaching?
Well, you know, it's a it's a it's one
of the things like you ever see people
like a lot of times when they want to
taste a brand new dish, right? Um the
way to taste a brand new dish is not
really going like this taking your mouth
to the tip of the spoon and going
you know, something like that. You can't
taste it. You don't know what it tastes
like yet. Until you until you eat
something with confidence like you know
it's good, right? And sometimes you got
to eat it with confidence sometimes and
know it's good to know whether or not
you like it or not. Once you put the
whole, you know, soup in your mouth,
right? You put the whole soup in and
then you can, you know, taste it and
then after that you swallow it, you you
see if there's an aftertaste and then
you go, "Okay, that's either good or
it's not good." A lot of people don't
they hear something they go, "Oh, no,
no, no, no, that's not me. That's not
me. That's me." So, I think the biggest
thing is, you know,
um is to is to really go all in, you
know, to to turn on the music, to listen
to it, to not be around anybody as much
as you can. That's how I used to I I
love listening to music when nobody else
is around. And to really try to get a
grasp and and understand the hochma of
it. That's our That's our job really is
is yidden is to see the hochma of Hashem
in every single thing, let alone in
music and niggun. And and and, you know,
someone who's who's really pouring their
heart into music, I think it's really
really uh um um
uh much so a necessity to try to listen
to it and try to find the hochma in
things that we may not understand so
well.
Nissim, you're absolutely amazing. We
can't thank you enough for joining us
behind us going a little bit behind the
bima. I knew you were a great musician.
I love your music, uh but you're an even
more phenomenal human being and a real
source of inspiration. You said a lot
that touched me very deeply and I know
everyone listening is going to be
rethinking a lot in their life and
following your journey and inspiring
their own. So, thank you for all that
you do. Thank you for being not only a
great musician, but a great a great role
model, a great human being. We're
looking forward to seeing you in Boca on
your uh special tour. Everybody should
check out the Bright Lights Tour.
nissanblack.com learn more, get on. And
uh we're looking forward to having you
back again, together maybe with Yossi
Sidler or others, and to continuing this
conversation. It is so so inspiring.
Thank you so much for your time with us
and wishing you all of Hashem's
blessings for you, for your family,
continuing doing what you're doing,
continuing bringing a bright bright
light into this world. Amen. Amen.
Baruch Hashem. Thank you so much. you
guys. Thank you. Looking forward. Can't
wait.
The great Nissim Black, one of a kind.
He's unbelievable.
Skyler, why don't you dance? I already
got a minute GIF, what do you call it?
Somebody already did.
Yeah, GIF. It's okay. I had a brain
freeze. So, you danced, I had a brain
freeze. We need Rabbi Brody to do
something embarrassing tonight. You
can't listen to this and not move.
There you go, Rabbi Brody.
Check it out, that mother land.
muted. I didn't realize I was muted.
Wow. I was singing.
You can't
I love that. I love that interview.
What an inspiration.
Wow, he's special. He's special. What's
interesting is when you watch the
videos, he's covered in the fur, the
streimel, this little like gangster
Hasidic a gangster look. And when you
talk to him,
he's just down-to-earth. I'm kidding.
He's earth, he's real. He's humble, he's
deep. As uh
our good friend, one of our as one of
our good friends and avid listeners
said, Daniel Oppenheimer, the tagline
takeaway from the interview is be on
team Hashem. I love
I love it, right? I'm on team Hashem. I
felt When he describes, he goes, I fell
in love with Hashem. Just fell in love
with Hashem. Fell in love with the
Jewish people. It's like, wow.
Wow.
Listen, I loved his description of his
boat it is about that real, raw,
authentic, genuine relationship with
Hashem, spending hours just talking to
Hashem. Obviously, that's something very
refreshing for our generation. And I
also loved how he spoke very honestly
about the ego, his fear coming back to
music, and not wanting to revert back to
the old Nissim pre-conversion, but
really wanted to become that new person,
was afraid what would happen when and
leaned back into music, with the with
the fame, with the lyrics, with all of
that entire genre as you spoke about at
the end. And so, um he was very honest
about some of the challenges along the
way.
When he spoke about we talked about
racism and anti-Semitism and he spoke
about his daughter not getting into
school cuz of the color of her skin,
this is what blew me away.
I began to feel rage on his behalf. I
began to feel anger. But then I was
listening to his words and he was
basically saying, "Look, that's a
problem with them. This is what Hashem
wants. He doesn't want her there. He
wants her in the right place. I can
either get
distracted and consumed with anger at
the person who gets it wrong or I could
realize you do you, you be you even if I
think it's wrong. I'm going to find the
right place." So, his ability to stay
calm, to stay focused, to see Hashem
even in what was a frustrating
situation, it's emunah in practice.
Right, but I love how he also describes
Sorry, yeah.
No, I was just going to say I love how
he how he phrased it as like they don't
have time for avdus Yisrael. You know,
like it's a little bit of a dig, you
know, which is He said the the
curriculum, you know. I'm saying they
don't have time for curriculum avdus
Yisrael. I also thought it was great
when he spoke at the beginning about
people of the book. We call ourselves
the people of the book and yet we don't
actually learn the book. And you can't
expect to be on fire and to fall in love
with something unless you study it,
unless you envelop yourself in it,
unless you dive headfirst. So, I thought
that was a a great interview.
I don't want to allow the Nissan Black
interview to go without thanking first
of all our friend Stewie Wax. We really
appreciate it. Our dear friend Stewie
here in our community. Stewie actually
spent his life and career involved in
music and made the connection for us to
be able to have Nissan on. So, thankful
to Stewie. Um check out Nissan's tour,
the Bright Lights Tour. He's going to be
in Boca. Get your tickets. It's a small
venue. So, Bright Lights Tour here in
Boca, nissanblack.com. You can find it
at nissanblack.com. Another thank you to
our sponsor, Areivut, doing amazing
things, core Jewish values, chesed,
tzedakah, tikkun olam. Go to areivut, a
r e y v u t.org. Find out more about
what they're doing. Find them on social
media and uh big thank you to
the ones who represent me some also who
got us on. So I'm not necessarily
winding down. We could sit the rest of
the night and talk. I just wanted to
make sure to remember to thank all those
people.
Let's talk about music for a second cuz
we know Rabbi Goldberg loves music. We
saw that at the beginning with his
bipping and bopping. That's already a
GIF that'll be viral on the internet.
But Rabbi Brody, you
Have you ever regretted something while
you were in the middle of doing it?
Yeah, it's called the brain freeze I had
at the end there.
I was like, do I do I try to Anyways,
what I mean That's evidence for our for
our listeners and and viewers that we're
coming to you live. We're coming to you
live. We're coming to
that's the story of every day of my
life.
No, but Rabbi Brody, you more than
anyone I know are a music guy. I don't
think I've ever seen you when you're not
tapping, when your foot's not tapping,
your hand's not tapping. The songs are
going through my head right now.
song. So explain to our listeners, what
is music? Cuz I'm not like that. I
happen to not I like music, but not to
the extent that you do. What does music
mean for you? What does it do for you?
Why is it so much a part of your life? I
think it's like what he said. He said
all music has a source of kedusha and
obviously there different levels and
there's different understandings of what
that means, but he did quote uh you
know, I think it was Rabbi
Baba Sali's grandson or someone that was
that's obviously uh knows what he's
talking about. But but there is
there is something very special about
music and in the same way that when I
watch
not necessarily you guys, but there are
people that are very into sports and
they they get excited. My son, right? He
gets looks forward to the next Dolphin
game. He looks forward to the next uh
you know, Heat game.
It's great. And I'm get Again, I'm not
putting Torah out of the picture. You
should get very excited about Torah and
you should be more more learning Torah
than than than than doing things like
that.
But uh you know, for for for a healthy
break to get re-energized
um you know, in the same way that you
can't imagine why someone wouldn't be
excited about a football game,
I can't even fathom why someone wouldn't
want to listen to some really good
music. And obviously there's many
different types of music out there. I'm
endorsing one over the other, but
there's something that just music does
to you. It's it's it it picks you up. It
puts you in a place. Every when when I'm
looking to get focused on something, I
can't do it without music. And if I
can't find the music, like on Shameless,
I'm telling you just push play right
here. It's
it's calling me. I
If I'm alone, I'm There's not a moment
I'm not singing. You don't hear me
singing because it's I'm
cuz I won't do it in front of you, but
I just love it. I I can't help it.
when you're in the car, you could put on
a podcast, radio, or sheer, or but music
you'd rather you could listen to music.
Music I just could because it's not
about the music. It's about what the
music does to you and the place it
brings you to.
I can't explain it. It's just like it's
a place you want to be.
Will you listen to different music
depending on your mood on your mood?
Absolutely. Absolutely.
Your playlists or different artists or
different types of music depending on
your mood?
yeah, but it's funny cuz like I always
wonder and
you know, the music I I play is
obviously the music I grew up with.
Um to me that's that's that's a that's
like that's that that's all the music
and I can't imagine why people wouldn't
like that music. But I wonder if I grew
up in this generation or I grew up, you
know, in the '60s or '50s or if I would
like that music better. I don't know. I
It's music's strange like that. It's
it's you know, even tonight right before
the show I was playing I took out my
guitar and I was playing two songs. And
I just thought it was so interesting.
These two songs I love. I love these two
songs. I'm playing the same It's exactly
the same chords and it's exactly the
same chord progression.
your genre? What's your What's your
go-to genre of of music?
That's so easy to tell. I mean, it's
like 1985 to 1993. Anything rock, pop.
It's right smack in that. Yeah, and
And what do you not get? Like do you not
get rap?
Reggae, rap? Ah, it's so hard. You know,
it's interesting cuz rap music owes a
lot to rock and roll. There's something
called the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I
don't know. It's It's I guess what you
would call the Baseball Hall of Fame in
in Youngstown, Ohio, wherever that is,
you know. Where they put the the rock
and roll
but but but there was a rap artist that
got Isn't the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
in Lawrence, New York, isn't it? I've
seen signs.
Cleveland. Cleveland. Oh, so what's in
what's in Lawrence off of Broadway?
There's a sign to that. Maybe that's a
kosher restaurant.
Maybe that's like the rock paper rock
paper scissor hall of fame.
and roll with the sushi place. Oh,
that's what it is. Okay.
No, but there was something amazing that
happened at a recent rock and roll Hall
of Fame where you had a a a a rapper
that got up and he and he uh
he gave his whole thank you speech, you
know, thank you to God and thank you to
everyone. And at the end of the speech,
he said, "You know what? We rappers
would be nowhere without rock and roll."
And it's interesting if you think about
the name, right? The name is the rock
and roll Hall of Fame. It's not the rap
Hall of Fame. There's no rap Hall of
Fame.
But yet there's a hakaras hatov because
everything that they were taking has
been built on the shoulders of the
giants that came before them. So it's
there's like this this evolution that's
been built
you feel when we talk about sports?
Yes, I get so excited.
No, you you relate to this about music.
I know I
do. Not to the extent not to the extent
I've never
the carbonas had to be offered with with
music, you know, the gemara had
Music was everywhere and we shut it out.
No, of course I love music. I love
singing.
Put me in a good shul shuldis. I love
that. Um I just I don't even
I don't speak the language though the
same way Rabbi Brody speaks language and
you and I both know that. We'll be
giving a drasha
and all of a sudden you'll you'll what's
that tapping noise? And you'll look
behind you at the middle of the drasha
and Rabbi Brody is either sitting there
with his finger he's tapping or with his
foot he's tapping. You know, I know
Brody for many years. There's a song
going in his head.
Brody will tell you. I I know him for
many years. We'll find ourselves
somewhere where like also that's when
he's checked out of a meeting or
something. Is that the fingers the
tapping? I just turn to my guy. I go I
go what song?
And he'll tell me.
And also we play name that tune. Where
I've never seen anything like this.
We I don't think we got more than two
chords into a song, and you were able to
name any song. Any song. With one note.
of a certain genre. But the point is,
we've all had that experience that music
transcends
music, yeah.
You could be in the middle of like a
store and a song comes on and you're
back in seventh grade on your Washington
trip, or you're back on the bus at camp,
or you're back on your Israel program,
or you're with your family in the back
of the station wagon looking backwards.
You know, how it was. But the music
transcends time, space. It transports
you and and in the positive sense true
too, you know. You hear a Jewish song
and you're like, I remember that simcha,
I remember that dance, I remember that
simchas Torah, I remember that that
zemmer, I remember that shalom shalom
like you were saying at tish. It's very
powerful. It can transport you in ways
that other things can't. That's why when
he was just doing that rap, when he just
did those two lines or three lines from
the song he's about to release,
there's something so poetic about the
words. I can't
It might not be your type of music, but
you just got to look
It's not just he's reading. He's not
just reading words a couple sentences
and and then putting them together.
There is there is emotion, there is the
rhyme, there is the feeling and it if
you didn't see it, then you weren't
listening. It's an interesting genre
though, the whole rap, because I I was
listening to him and I'm thinking like
he's basically saying a poem. It's just
a poem with a little beat to it, like a
little
a poem with a little rhyme, which is not
a criticism. No, no, no, I'm saying it
is more than that, but it was that
that's in fact to me sometimes more
beautiful than other music, because the
rap essentially since it really
foundationally I think is a poem, it's
direct from his heart. You know, the the
like you said, the words and what he
said at the end, that it's the most
meaningful for him when someone says,
"You gave me the vocabulary. My soul's
been trying to say that, but it didn't
have the words. And now you gave the
words. You gave the words."
Well, you say that at every funeral. You
know, why do you start with the hillum?
Why do you start with David Hamelach?
It's because like you can't you struggle
to find the words and David Hamelach he
gave them to you. The first rapper.
Right? I'm saying he gave you the word.
That's going to be
That's going to be quoted later, yeah.
Yeah.
I'll have to mention that in my class
tomorrow.
That would have been a mouth. Yeah,
music is powerful. Not everybody gets
it. Not everybody gets it. We We used to
have a member of our staff who since
moved who didn't get music at all.
He might have run a certain minyan for a
certain age group in the community, and
there was no singing, there was no song,
there was no music. So, I once said to
him, "What do you mean, carbonus?
I Levi'im shir, we say it every day.
Shir shel Levi'im
Bais Hamikdash." All right.
And he said to me, he goes, "What was
that again?" "Hashir shel Levi'im hayu
omrim B'veit Hamikdash." It was the song
they would say, not sing. So, some
people music just does nothing. They're
They're tone deaf. They don't hear the
music. And you all you hear is music.
Right.
And then there are musical people. I
mean, you got this impression from
Nissan, too. He's like, when he walks
outside and the birds are chirping and
the wind, the leaves are rustling, he's
at the ocean, the wind the the waves are
splashing, that's music. That's God's
playlist. There's music, like the whole
nature of the world, it's just it's
music, it's harmony, it's all
integrated. What's interesting is that
you describe that, you know, as a rabbi,
when you walk out into the world, you
see drashas all around, and you see
posts and what can be an article. So, I
would imagine that a singer or an artist
like Nissan Black walks out and sees
poetry, he sees songs, he sees beats, he
sees opportunities to engage all of
those senses the same way you and I do
it. We just channel it towards drashas,
he's channeling it towards either poetry
or putting it to music. What's
interesting is that when you talk about
his favorite artist or who influences
him, he loved Ishay Ribo cuz Ishay Ribo
Ishay Ribo was also a poet. He's He's a
modern-day paytan. It's not being
delivered through rap, but it's also he
he's a poet. It's okay, his child came
in during the episode.
I'm trying to get AJ. We're live. Sorry.
Not a problem.
Do you want to
a problem.
Yeah.
All right, closing thoughts, gentlemen,
before you wrap it up.
Inspired. Totally inspired.
Yeah, it's a good
Team Hashem. We are on team Hashem. We
got to do a better job of talking to
him. Can Can I Can I say I guess the one
thing that I was just think thinking
about the whole interview is that, you
know, we all of us have so many unique
talents. And
you know, sometimes you wonder like
how could I use this to benefit the
Jewish community or the Jewish world?
And you just see something so so extreme
that you would say this is never This
guy's never going to break in in in in
any meaningful way. But it just shows
you you can. God gave you something
special. Make it happen. True. I also
want to acknowledge and thank our new
friend Eli Goldsmith who helped organize
tonight of Unity Inspires Project. Uh
grateful to him and his booking agency
Unity Booking. So, thank you for that as
well. Again, to our sponsor Ari Vou
check it out. Support them. Help them
make the difference that they're making.
Even the way he just talked about his
life was poetry. It didn't have the
rhythm of a rap, but but that imagery of
He said, "Now Avram at the slaughter
Yitzchak, I thought I'd to slaughter my
knees in his career. That was my akedah
moment." But just like the malach
stopped Avram, he stopped me. And I was
meant to still play music. Just What
What a way to look at life.
Yeah. What a way to look at life. You're
not going to look at life that way if
you're always busy hisbodedus. I'm sure
he had that thought on a walk through
the forest. Right. So, I would love to
talk about maybe in a future episode. I
I had a Zoom meeting last week with our
friend our former colleague here in
Boca, by Adam Englard. And I hope it's
okay I'm I'm calling him out, but he's
gotten into hisbodedus and he wanted to
talk about how we can get hisbodedus
part of a conversation and a curriculum
in Jewish education in shuls. And um I
What's fascinating is that there's a
whole world who are cynical, they'll
never do hisbodedus, which is what Nisim
was talking about, personal prayer,
being alone, disconnecting to talk to
Hashem. He's right in front of you, your
best friend, casually, comfortably.
Um There's a whole world who will never
buy into it, they're cynical. And
there's a world who buy into it and are
doing it. Nisim Black and so on. There's
a whole world in the middle like us who
study a little bit about it, we've even
spoken about it, taught about it,
believe in it, claim we want to do it
every day, and something holding us
back. What's holding us back from
putting the phone on airplane mode and
sitting for 3 4 5 minutes a day? We're
not going to talk about an hour, 2 3
hours a day. We're talking about 3
minutes a day.
Right. There's no one on planet Earth
who can claim they don't have 3 minutes
a day, and yet there's some there's some
obstacle. There's some there's something
clogging us there's something holding us
back. Why aren't we doing it? He is
doing it. You heard the way he talked
about it. And and it's clear that his
view vision I think some of the clarity
of the way he looks at and views his
life is a result of that is part of
this. So maybe next time or in the
future time we'll talk a little bit
about what's holding us back, but
friends, thank you so much again. Until
next time, stay happy, stay healthy,
stay holy. We're going to have Nissan
take us out tonight.
Come on Rabbi Moscowitz. Anyone wants
the GIF, just email me and I'm happy to
send it.
show us those balls. Go Rabbi Moscowitz.
Why did you guys ask the last question?
All right everyone, stay happy, stay
healthy, stay holy.