Page 27 - HaMizrachi Purim 5783 USA

The Razels – Yonatan, Aaron, Rika, and Yehuda – are a musical family Above all, when I perform, I want to touch people’s hearts,
nearly as famous in Israel as the legendary Banais. Yonatan and Aaron and when I’m not in touch with my own heart, I can’t touch
were born in America. Their parents, Micha and Carol, met during their someone else’s heart. It’s too far away. When you’re in a state
time at a university there, then returned to Israel and settled in Nachlaot, of emotional transmission with the audience, you can’t have an
where the family embarked on a gradual process of returning to Judaism. emotional block. Over the years, I learned that I can’t avoid this
connection with the audience, even if it’s complicated or very
The children received intensive music lessons starting at a young age,
learning to play the piano, recorder, contrabass, violin, and flute, and deep or hard. If I totally repress something that’s bothering me,
also to write music. In the late eighties, they performed together as a I can’t give to others.
particularly talented family band, naturally called the Razel Band. But forget about performances for a minute. I think this is one
of the best pieces of advice for being happy, for living a healthy
Tell us about your family. How did you all become so life. Let’s say someone’s in a tough situation; something is both-
musical? ering him, but now he’s got to be happy. So for example, let’s
say your child comes home from school with a whole story and
Music was a kind of family enterprise, something that we grew really needs your attention. But at the very same time, you’re
up on with a crazy amount of hard work. Aaron was once asked dealing with your own problem; there’s an issue at the bank, or
in an interview how all of us ended up choosing a Charedi or something going on at work. Now your kid needs your attention,
Charedi-Zionist (Chardal) direction. He said that we grew up in and you really can’t let your personal problem get mixed up with
a home that was Charedi – Charedi about music!
him right now. So first of all, you have to be in touch with that.
We didn’t grow up as artists at all. There wasn’t the idea that When I talk with my child, but there’s another child I’m hold-
Yonatan’s writing a song, or that Aaron or Rika or Yehuda is the
artist. The way we grew up, we all played music and created and ing in my other arm and she also needs my attention, I deal
with both of them and I juggle. The same goes for where I am
collaborated. We practiced together. We performed together.
It’s very powerful. If you look at my life and my siblings’ lives, personally. Sometimes, I have to contain and hold the side that
hurts: “I know it hurts, but now we’re on stage. You need to tone
we don’t live our lives as soloists. I chalk up a lot of our success
to that. it down a bit, and we’ll talk afterward.”
When I was younger, I would repress things. It’s like when you
I’m not some kid who discovered at age 16 that he wanted to
write songs. I grew up in a home where everyone played and have a kid who’s crying and you say, “Come on, it’s nothing, get
everyone was an artist and collaborated and performed, and over it”. But these days, I understand that taking that approach
that created an atmosphere that was sometimes really rigid is not only a little bit cruel, but practically, it just doesn’t work.
and hard in terms of the workload, but it also imbued us with These days, the same way I tell a kid who needs me, “I’m with
a love of hard work and industriousness that I like to think we you”, “Come on, let’s dance”, “Let’s make some cookies”, when
received from the education we were given. I’m in a place where it hurts, I do something in between. I try
not to tell myself “Yonatan, be happy” or “don’t pay attention to
I have a good friend who’s an only child. He told me there’s the pain”. Instead, I try to position myself in a kind of commu-
something special about never having needed to share his choc- nication, a sort of dialogue with myself, and this often gives me
olate. But I’ll say the opposite: there’s something special about strength that I bring with me to the performance. I make some
having always studied music and piano together with a brother comment that’s truthful: “Guys, I’m dealing with something
or sister. It’s something that taught me from the beginning tough right now. Let’s find strength together with this next
about working together, and that’s one of the good parts of it. song.” I take it to a place where I can be saved.
Obviously when everyone grows up and has a career, that calls
for extra sensitivity and understanding that everyone has his
own world and his own boundaries and his own territory and Meaning, you keep your pain or sadness present with you
the things he likes to do, but that togetherness is something we at the concert?
imbibed from a really early age. Exactly. Sometimes you have to ignore it and put down some
kind of barrier, but for the most part, particularly since I work
At this stage of your lives, what kind of dynamic do the in the emotional sphere, living with an emotional block doesn’t
differences between you create? work. You can use this power of complexity and difficulty, and
go from there to something really, really authentic and exciting.
Often someone will see me on the street, come over and hug me If I’m at a concert and I don’t feel good about myself, I don’t start
and say, “Look, I was overcome by your song. You changed my off with wildly happy songs. I start with a melody of fervor and
life.” I’ll nod and say thanks, and then he goes on, “and please longing, and I move up from there.
send regards to Yonatan when you see him!” It happens all the
time, and it helps me work on being humble, too.
Where have you had occasion to do this?
I want to talk about how to find joy in life, and what tips Not long ago, I went up to perform in a new hall that was actu-
you can offer as a musician. People often come to a concert ally being dedicated that night. Right before we started playing,
without feeling happy inside, but there’s no choice – they’ve the whole sound and lighting system completely failed – right
got to dance. Based on your experience, how do you stim- when we were at the first song! I was standing there sort of
ulate joy? And how do you hold onto it? bare and helpless in front of five hundred people. So I used this

| 27