“Journeys” Performance

Motzei Shabbos I went to a performance by Zichron Shlomo Refuah Fund. I’ve gone for a couple of years to their Chinese auction, and they’ve had small shows each time. This year was the first time that they had the performance part as a whole separate part, on a different day than the auction. I have to say I was truly impressed with the performance, it was excellent, and I can’t wait to buy the DVD when it comes out so that I can watch it again.

The storyline was a touching one with great lessons to be learned from it, and at the same time entertaining and satisfying. There were 15 scenes with 10 dances, all amazing songs. Most of them were by Abie Rotenberg, and some I have never heard before. There were 3 parts that I really liked. I can really give a review on the whole performance, but that would be too much. So I’ll stick to three.

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The Yeshivish Reid
Now this one was excellent. It started off as a tehillim group of a whole bunch of Lakewood woman, and they kept using Yeshivish language. Then one of the woman just moved to Lakewood, so it starts off a song and dance about Yeshivish language. These woman all of a sudden have white shirts, ties and black hates and they start singing:

To originate a language a new way to talk and speak
Is a most imposing challenge, a monumental feat!
It takes a special talent, it’s not for the faint of heart
And most are doomed to failure, before they even start

But in the hallowed halls, of Yeshivos far and wide
Our young men have discovered a new way to verbalize
With Yiddish, English, Hebrew it’s a mixture of all three
And a dash of Aramaic a linguistic potpourri

Chorus:
Yeshivish Reid Yeshiveish Shprach
Take, Eppes Grad’e A Gevaltige Zach
Yeshiveishe Reid Yeshivish Shprach
It’s the talk of the Town Mamesh tog und Nacht

What’s the chidush/your just hocking
Mon afshoch, it’s not to klor
That’s gaonus, what and einfal! I can hear it shtelt zach for
It’s a shayla, what’s’ the raya? The whole sugya is gor shver
The peula may be here but the chalois is over there!

It’s descriptive and precise, poonkt the language to be used
If you want to shteig in learnin or just to chap a shmooze
Adaraba, it’s essenntial it’s chashivus is immense
Why without the Gemora, would lechoira make no sense!

Now listen close yeshiva wives, it’s the shtoty thing to do
Be Marbitz this great language to all our fellow jews
Let me offer you an aitza that will end this serenade
Why not print a dictionary that translates

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The next part I really liked was called “Never take kids to a store”. Where this Yeshivish Lakewood mother was having a hard time with her kids, and she tells over a story of how she took her kids to the store and how they wanted more and more, and she didn’t know what to do, and bought it all for them, then an hour after they came home they said their bored.

The song is really cute, but it would be very long if I type it all up. But the part I was impressed by was that when this mother was talking with her friends about how hard it is raising her kids. The friend suggested she try parenting classes, and they spoke about it, how it can be good, and it doesn’t show your a failure. I was really happy about this, cause it gave over a good message to the audience, maybe now more parents will actually go to parenting classes!

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The last part I really liked was the ending “Wedding Dance”. It was a truly amazing dance, choreographed really well and a great way to end the performance!