The "new" Matisyahu (from Matisyahu's twitter)
The music/Jewish/gossip world is buzzing today after a photo of a beardless Matisyahu was posted on his Twitter together with the message “At the break of day I look for you at sunrise When the tide comes in I lose my disguise.”
Only a few hours after, the (ex?) Chasidic singer added on his official website:
This morning I posted a photo of myself on Twitter.
No more Chassidic reggae superstar.
Sorry folks, all you get is me…no alias.
When I started becoming religious 10 years ago it was a very natural and organic process. It was my choice. My journey to discover my roots and explore Jewish spirituality—not through books but through real life. At a certain point I felt the need to submit to a higher level of religiosity…to move away from my intuition and to accept an ultimate truth. I felt that in order to become a good person I needed rules—lots of them—or else I would somehow fall apart. I am reclaiming myself. Trusting my goodness and my divine mission.
Get ready for an amazing year filled with music of rebirth. And for those concerned with my naked face, don’t worry…you haven’t seen the last of my facial hair.
– Matisyahu
Matisyahu’s message leaves a lot of room for interpretation. Is he still Chasidic? Or even religious? How is it going to affect his music, which was so highly dependent on his Jewish beliefs and roots?
It will be interesting to see the reaction of the Jewish community to this bold move. 6nobacon will be there to update.
Matisyahu with facial hair
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
