New York – Ad For Shemita Fundraiser Album Raises Eyebrows

New York – An all new album being released Sunday to raise money for Keren Hashviis is raising a few eyebrows as advertisements in this week’s newspapers tell those who copy the album illegally that they are permitted to play it on Shabbos and Yom Tov.

The album, titled “Shir” features 18 original compositions by California businessman, philanthropist and well known composer Shlomo Yehuda Rechnitz and the talents of some of the biggest names in the Jewish music business.

Advertisements placed in several newspapers this weekend caution those who might want to copy the album instead of buying it themselves that the halachic ramifications are serious.

“The contents of this CD are copyrighted and cannot be reproduced without the written permission of the producers. However, should you decide to copy it illegally, you are permitted to play it on Shabbos and Yom Tov.”

According to Yossi Rubin, who produced the album together with David Fadida, that statement was not meant to be an actual p’sak halacha and under no circumstances should the album be played on Shabbos or Yom Tov.

“When you buy a CD in a store, profit from that album goes to the artist,” Rubin told VIN News. “In this case, profits from this album are going to Keren Hashviis . By copying the album, instead of buying it, you are taking money from Keren Hashviis which is being moel b’hekdesh, which in halacha is the same like chilul Shabbos. You aren’t stealing from Rechnitz, you are stealing from hekdesh.”

Equating proceeds of the album with hekdesh is not accurate, according to Rabbi Yair Hoffman, a noted contemporary halachic authority and a frequent contributor to VIN News.

“The laws of ‘me’eila’ are quite complicated and technically this may not necessarily fit into the category of ‘me’eila’, although it is very wrong to copy CDs,” said Rabbi Hoffman. “The idea of this being permitted on Shabbos and yom tov, is clearly facetious and is certainly a violation of several rabbinic laws and possibly biblical laws as well.”

For Rechnitz, who owns half of a farm in Israel, shemita is a topic that is near to his heart and doing a fundraiser for Keren Hashviis was a vehicle that allowed him to combine his love of music with the opportunity to do a mitzvah that only occurs every seven years.

“I have been asked for years why I don’t put my compositions on an album,” said Rechnitz. “When David Fadida approached me and asked me to do an album I decided to do it for tzedaka. Keren Hashviis is non-political, everyone holds of it and the opportunity to do something like this doesn’t come around every day of the week. It is amazing that these farmers fulfill the mitzvah of sheviis. It is like telling someone who owns a business to take a year-long sabbatical. These farmers can’t afford to do this for a year, and it isn’t an easy mitzvah, but surprisingly you see a lot of farmers who do and they need our help.”

Originally, Shir was supposed to have only ten songs but as word got out within the Jewish music business about the scope of the project grew.

“More singers asked to be included and to take part in the mitzvah and they asked me for another song. And then another. And another,” said Rechnitz.

Shir which retails for $16.99, will be released on Sunday by Aderet Music, just weeks before the beginning of the next shemita cycle. Among the artists who are featured on the album are Mordechai Ben David, Avraham Fried, Benny Friedman, Lipa, Ohad, Itzik Dadiya, Shloime Daskal, Uzia Tzadok, Shira Choir, Kinderlach, Levi Falkowitz, Motty Steinmetz and Moishe Mendlowitz, all of whom donated their time and their skills.

“Everyone did it l’shma,” said Rubin.

Including the statement in question with the album advertising was a decision made exclusively by Rubin and Fadida, not Rechnitz, and was a direct result of the difficulties faced today by Jewish music insiders, most of whom have been very hard hit by illegal reproduction of their work.

“Copying makes it very hard for anyone in the business,” said Rubin. “Producers and singers can’t make a living and most of the singers I speak to walk away when I talk to them about making another album because the illegal copying is killing the business. It isn’t our loss as much as the loss of listeners, because no one is willing to invest the money into making a nice album anymore because of this problem.”

According to Rubin, Shir is just the first of many musical projects to be undertaken by Rechnitz.

“Shlomo Yehuda is an amazing person with a heart much bigger than himself and a gaon in chesed,” said Mordechai Ben David. “People who have the means can and should learn from him how to do chesed. He is an inspiration to us all.”