Why Are There No Modern Orthodox Painters, Poets, Writers And Composers?

How can an American Modern Orthodoxy that crams the classes of law schools and medical schools barely yield a single poet or painter?

Guest Columnist: US Orthodoxy and fear of the arts
How can a society that crams the classes of law schools and medical schools barely yield a single poet or painter?
By JJ GROSS • Jerusalem Post
 
After making aliya last March, I started taking clarinet lessons at the Academy of Music and Dance, this country’s answer to Juilliard. Unsurprisingly, my instructor, Gadi, is a graduate student at the academy. What might surprise my friends in New York – as it did me – was his kippa.

In New York, one cannot find an Orthodox teacher at a serious conservatory. In fact, the likelihood of finding a classically trained Orthodox clarinetist in the Big Apple hovers at about zero.

As the weeks progressed, I realized that Gadi was hardly an anomaly. At the academy I noticed young kippa-wearing violinists, cellists, pianists and more. And surely there were at least as many Orthodox young women.

In fact, music is not the only art in which Orthodox Israelis are represented. Here one finds Orthodox painters, filmmakers, composers, writers and poets. In America? Forget about it! A celebrated fiction writer who is also a rosh yeshiva? In America, unthinkable. Here there’s Haim Sabato.

What’s more, Israel boasts a boys yeshiva-music high school, an Orthodox girls art high school, an Orthodox film school, and even a haredi classical conservatory for girls – not to mention myriad observant students at major art academies.

The hermetic absence of Orthodox Americans in the arts has long troubled me. There has never been a society without its quota of creative spirits. African tribes, barbarians in medieval Europe, aborigines in New Zealand, Indians in Central America have always had their dancers, musicians, artists and storytellers. Orthodox Jews in America? Nada.

Any normal society needs its quota of creative types. One that is lacking its quota is seriously deficient. Art is not a luxury. It is a necessary vitamin, if not our oxygen.

IN AMERICAN modern Orthodox circles, classical music means going to the opera once a year on an organized fund-raiser for Yeshiva University – hardly an integral part of one’s cultural diet. (If you’re wondering whether one can major in music or art at YU, keep dreaming.) A kippa at the New York Philharmonic is rare; at the Jerusalem Symphony it’s commonplace. Check the radio pre-sets in the Lexus of an Orthodox American, and the likelihood of hitting a classical or jazz station is marginal.

Culturally, modern Orthodoxy claims to be a quantum cut above its frummer brethren. Yet in truth, hassidim are vastly more culturally balanced – having their own fashion, music, dance and art. These may not be to everyone’s taste, yet they are no less valid than the creativity of other insular societies.

Indeed, both the modern Orthodox and the yeshivish borrow their celebratory and liturgical music exclusively from the hassidic world. And one often finds hassidic paintings on modern Orthodox walls. Kitsch? Maybe. But still.

How can a society that crams the classes of law schools and medical schools barely yield a single poet or painter? One explanation must be the prohibitive cost of being religious in America. The price of admission to Orthodox society for a family of four is a combined household income in the top 2%. A couple earning a gross $200,000 barely breaks even after $45,000 in tuitions plus synagogue dues, High Holy Day seats and summer camp – all paid in aftertax dollars. Then there are the added costs of kosher food, Pessah, inflated real estate prices and charity.

Understandably, Orthodox parents steer their children into lucrative professions rather than encouraging them to do what they love (and I include the sciences as well). The word “muse” is not part of their vocabulary. Even the rabbinate and Jewish pedagogy are spurned by the best and brightest, as these do not pay enough to make Jewish life affordable. It shows in the quality of American rabbis and day-school teachers who, with a few noteworthy exceptions, are distressingly average.

THE COST of being Jewish in Israel is significantly lower. Yet, while this might explain a lower incidence of Orthodox artists in the Diaspora, it cannot explain their total absence.

Clearly there is something else that fundamentally differentiates Israelis from Americans, and Americans who make aliya from those who don’t.

Economic excuses for avoiding aliya are an anachronism. This country’s economy is booming while America’s is on the wane. The cost of Orthodox living is significantly lower here. The weather is better, the food fresher and health care is universal. Plus, the cost of university tuition is relatively tiny, and the likelihood of on-campus assimilation is nil.

What then keeps the 95% who do not make aliya stuck in Teaneck and Englewood, Riverdale and the Upper West Side, Flatbush and the Five Towns? They march religiously in the Salute to Israel Parade, send their kids to Bnei Akiva and NCSY, come to Jerusalem for Succot or Pessah, yet insist on staying in a declining America.

I believe the answer is courage. Diaspora Jews are not blessed with a surfeit of courage. They are geniuses at risk aversion. They choose safety in numbers, safety in professions, safety in neighborhoods, safety in the cars they drive. None ride motorcycles.

Israelis and American olim have far greater courage – above all, the courage to enlist in the IDF, not to mention the courage to camp out in the forest or undertake a six-month trek in the jungles of South America. By contrast, even younger Diaspora Jews prefer cruises and luxury hotels with three meals a day and round-the-clock tearooms.

Choosing painting over law, music over medical school, writing over banking takes courage. One chooses an art because it is a passion, not because it comes with a guarantee. The kind of young man who volunteers for Golani or commands a tank is not easily intimidated by the risk of being a poor writer or filmmaker.

American Orthodox teens are fast-tracked into college and narrow-tracked into law school or dental school. Their Israeli counterparts spend three years as soldiers before embarking on a grueling trek through Asia or Latin America. If law school is in their future, it is well in this future. And if their gift is playing oboe or videography, they don’t have frightened parents and gutless pedagogues weaning them into life with a safety net.

It appears to be a combination of expediency and fear that derails American Orthodox youth from pursuing the arts. We can only wonder at the staggering loss of genius that would enrich us as a people, and make this world a better place.

After all, there are enough Jewish lawyers already, no?

The writer an advertising creative director who made aliya in March. His son, who preceded him, is a lieutenant in the IDF.

Comments

[jay]

So it's all about greed, insularity and cowardice. Just the usual anti-semitic slander Israelis posit about American Jews

[BronxJew]

Actually, one can major in music at Y.U.

[ruthie]

hey, there are a lot of people who love israel.
some people just don't like living in israel. it's a bit third world if you compare it to western europe or the united states.

maybe tel aviv. and i don't have the courage to live near some of their neighbors....

so lifestyle and lacking in courage to some extent.
don't judge me for being honest.

and there are lots of great jewish artists...modigliani, robert frank..his photos are selling for half a million....
i gave a very nice educated family a lovely book on art as a gift...they gave it back to me within an hour. art..i guess there were some naked pictures.
i think why some jewish kids are put on the fast track to university is jews are still trying to survive. AND WHAT WOULD THE NEIGHBORS THINK...AN ARTIST!!!

[YbM]

generally speaking, torah vaavoda authorises only trades that can 'build the world' i.e. productive proffession that earn a living in order to procreate and create new generations to study torah. humanities are considered 'no good'.
if u study history, u will end up contradicting rabbinic verbiage.
philosophy? chos ve cholile. you might end up a keuyfer, like rambam. who do u think u are anyway ? rambam?
singer? leads to performance, mixed sexes?
oy oy oy, mixed dancing OMG
musician? performance, again OMX mixed sexes!
painter? u can go, reside in tzfas and paint rabbis with tormented faces on their ascent to heaven. or rabbis in the camps or on their way to camps. you can't paint, never mind hang on the wall pictures of the wives or daughters, lest you be affected with zimma, chos ve cholileh!
you want to be frivolous? u can paint bar mitzve boys. Flowers in vases? may be, but don't rush, as it says in avos if you wonder on the beauty of a tree or a garden, u lose your portion in the world to come. (bitul theuyroh).

[YbM]

So it's all about greed, insularity and cowardice.

you don't have to use those bad words, jay but really, a ben theuyro, modern or not have no room doing these things!

[Yerachmiel Lopin]

The author said MOs go to opera. Kol Isha. I suppose they figure you are not over till the fat lady sings.

[JC]

*How can an American Modern Orthodoxy that crams the classes of law schools and medical schools barely yield a single poet or painter?*

I also noticed that there are no orthodox sanitation workers, lumberjacks, ranchers, window washers, or sewer workers. I guess if one compares what the salaries of doctors are compared to poets or house painters or portrait painters will give a hint.

I also note that the same statement can be made of haredim as well so the addition of the word "modern" unnecessary.

From Poetry.org http://www.poets.org/page.php/prmID/56#7
Can I make a living from poetry?
Very few poets rely entirely on the proceeds from their work. Journal publication is frequently unpaid, compensated only by additional contributor's copies, and poetry book advances are modest sums. Most poets, even the most widely published, hold other jobs, such as teaching and journalism.

http://www.kaycircle.com/Professional-Poet-Salary-2011
Professional Poet Salary 2011
It really takes a lot of effort to establish as a professional poet as poets, in general, prefer writing poems as a part-time job. They often engage in other activities to make way for more income. Poetry is as competitive as any other field such as business or law. They mostly write using `verse’ forms, but also preferring the `prose poetry’ style as and when needed. Importantly, professional poets also work as tutors at Universities and other institutions that promote writing. The annual average income of a professional poet is $45,000.
.

Anyway, look at this and the answer will be crystal clear
http://cejka.force.com/PhysicianCompensation

Median income:
Allergy & Immunology $249,674
Anesthesiology $370,500
Cardiac & Thoracic Surgery $533,084
Cardiology $402,000
Colon & Rectal Surgery $394,723
Critical Care Medicine $264,750
Dermatology $375,176
Diagnostic Radiology - Interventional $478,000
Diagnostic Radiology - Non-Interventional $454,205
Emergency Care $267,293
Endocrinology $218,855
Family Medicine $208,861
Family Medicine - with Obstetrics $209,565
Gastroenterology $405,000
General Surgery $357,091
Geriatrics $187,602
Gynecological Oncology $413,500
Gynecology $232,075
Gynecology & Obstetrics $275,152
Hematology & Medical Oncology $320,907
Hospitalist $215,716
Hypertension & Nephrology $259,677
Infectious Disease $227,750
Intensivist $313,152
Internal Medicine $214,307
Neonatology $280,771
Neurological Surgery $592,811
Neurology $236,500
Nuclear Medicine (M.D. only) $331,000
Obstetrics $275,152
Occupational / Environmental Medicine $223,750
Ophthalmology $238,200
Oral Surgery $380,500
Orthopedic Surgery $500,672
Orthopedic Surgery - Hand $476,039
Orthopedic Surgery - Joint Replacement $605,953
Orthopedic Surgery - Pediatrics $425,000
Orthopedic Surgery - Spine $688,503
Orthopedic-Medical $297,348
Otolaryngology $368,777
Pathology (M.D. only) $354,750
Pediatric Allergy $198,458
Pediatric Cardiology $233,958
Pediatric Endocrinology $187,957
Pediatric Gastroenterology $240,895
Pediatric Hematology / Oncology $212,577
Pediatric Infectious Disease $209,680
Pediatric Intensive Care $272,000
Pediatric Nephrology $198,686
Pediatric Neurology $219,561
Pediatric Pulmonary Disease $201,841
Pediatric Surgery $419,783
Pediatrics & Adolescent $209,873
Perinatology $394,121
Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation $237,628
Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery $390,142
Psychiatry $214,740
Psychiatry - Child $216,360
Pulmonary Disease $306,829
Radiation Therapy (M.D. only) $447,250
Reproductive Endocrinology $317,312
Rheumatologic Disease $224,000
Sports Medicine $231,540
Transplant Surgery - Kidney $365,125
Transplant Surgery - Liver $454,287
Trauma Surgery $424,555
Urgent Care $222,920
Urology $413,941
Vascular Surgery $413,629

[Riverdaleapikorus]

This guy used to live in Riverdale and is in his 50's. Same old story of a guy who is in America most of his life, makes Aliya and writes he is better than the rest of us by virtue of his geographical location.
Many of these American Olim feel they have to negate the Diaspora once they arrive in the "holy" land. YAWN!

[ruthie]

no money, no honey huh JC?
i see your point.
it's just that art...photography, painting, sculpting...should be encouraged...it's not.at.all.

one of the greatest artists ever had a ph.d..
education is paramount.
but it seems that art is barely acknowledged. true art IS religion. who's to say it's not?
have you ever seen a frum class at the metropolitan museum..probably not...i mean the children might see a beautiful sculpture of a man with a penis...oh no!!
sad

but i see your point. i hope you see mine too.

[yidandahalf]

Again we single out religious Jews as the standard bearers of any transgression or wrongdoing. In this case, we shine the light on their lack of artistic aims. The fact of the matter, most populations are engaged in a market economy and the arts do not put bread on the table. What else is there to it? Obviously it's a slow day at the newsdesk at FM. Isn't it a fact that when the professions reach any level of prosperity, they patronize the arts in some way or on some level? This makes J J Gross' article entirely redundant and not able to be argued successfully.

[David]

I know a MO artist in Baltimore. She is very talented.

[ruthie]

true my friends who are not religious have a 6 foot chagall hanging in their living room.
they are billionaires. they buy art. their sons are lawyers but work in the family business.
i'm not picking on religious jews. i'm picking on jews.

googe robert frank...he was one of the smart and lucky ones.
to me a jew is a jew except for the evil and dangerous rabbis in monsey. also the ultra orthodox who have money and scam social services because they want every penny of their taxes back. if they pay taxes, that is. the ultra orthodox in monsey are a bunch of brain washed social services cult idiots. the rabbis are nothing less than scary. this is the mafia not a religion. again, i am only speaking about what i know...monsey.

[Intellectually Dishonest]

It's all about the money. I went to YU and wanted to go into Music, I planned on going to Julliard together with YU, yet there is no way to make ends meet as a Modern Orthodox Jew without making over $200,000, and that is living simply. So I chose the path of the least resistance and went into investment banking with the hope of retiring when I am 50 and pursuing a music career then.

Unfortunately, as much as we may try, it is impossible to create a Modern Orthodox culture (both secular and religious) in America. Secular, as I stated is about he money and religiously we are so sheepish and constantly worried about what the right wing and charedim think about us that we simple have and give our children nothing. No hashkafah, no hadracha and as a result the only way for them to gain yiras shamayim is to become charedi. Look no further at the lack of Modern Orthodox leadership? Where are the great intellectual thinkers, where are the great rabbonim? They are few and far between and they too are chasing after the money and prestigious pulpits. Our little project has been tried and has failed, let’s admit it and move on.

[ruthie]

intellectually dishonest,

could you give it all up and move somewhere where it costs less to live and live a life of music...teaching, learning, business....

i ask myself that question every day.
i enjoyed reading your comment. thank you. i wish you a prosperous day...no pun intended!

[David Stern]

agree with your assessment, I immigrated from Germany to NYC in 1994 and am a member of the UWS community. Culture/Art is not a big part of the Modern Orthodox Community, mostly because of the educational system, which doesn't leave any room for studies 'which don't pay'. It's a shame and leaves the kids deprived of the ability to connect the dots in an increasingly complicated world.

[ruthie]

it was a prominent member of the UWS community, an attorney and his wife, who returned my art books....they thought they were "bad"
the name of one of the books was "the history of beauty" by umberto ecco.
that book which is crucial for any curator, lover of arts, etc. was banned from their home...they have children.
just sayin...
a book!
art!
i'm confused...i feel like such an outsider.

[Fed Up]

Because you can't send three kids to Jewish day schools on a panter's-poet's-writer's-composer's salary. Any more questions?

[Menachem Mendel lll]

To the Modern Orthodox elements the golden age of Jewish enlightenment (Haskalah) is dead, buried and long forgotten.

They are beyond such trivial & irrelevant matters and will concern themselves with money, the Catskills, Florida, sub zeros, mieles, fressing and L'Chaiming until it hurts.

Moschiach....what Moshiach?

[Pierre]

I don't think this is quite fair. Depending on the arts affects whether a given enthusiast for certain arts is going to be aware of others. There are MANY such groups and people, but they're most all grass-roots rank and file - few are institutionally-viable! I knew a shul briming with such people in Baltimore, and they had many friends and their extended circle is quite large on FB. I don't know that the criticism applies that much differently (but definitely by percentage) from the arts in public schools is what it used to be; EVERY educational institution wants to say it is a 'career-minded' setting (and the arts cost $ for institutions) - all the way down to the playgroup in some spheres; it depends what they see as profession, and no one sees the "creative class" as viable unless it's engineering, tech, etc.

I posted about this in the past on my blog several times over with links to such groups in Israel and the U.S. - and those aren't the only Jewish communities.

[Pierre]

And it can definitely be argued that there are more unconscious humanitarians doing what for humanity as sanitation workers than as self-promoting doctors - if the motivation REALLY is "helping people". Who do you REALLY want to go on strike - the ENTIRE spectrum of union sanitation workers or MDs? Nurses doing more for saving more lives than doctors; who?..sanitation workers or MDs?

[C-G]

This is an interesting question. I personally know of few MO artists, and they're all women; some have husbands who are doctors of some sort- whoever heard of a starving Jewish artist? ;-) Most day schools have anemic arts programs- if they have any at all- so kids aren't really exposed to any structured instruction in fine arts or music.

Music is also a difficult pursuit for MO performers since a mainstream musical group would have mandatory rehearsals and performances on Shabbat and holidays.

[Maverick]

This article doesn't cite statistics and therefore its unreliable. There can be an equal rate of Orthodox Jewish profession in the arts in the Diaspora and Israel, but the lower concentration of Orthodox Jews in the Diaspora will cause a perception of a lower rate. This does not mean the article is wrong, but the fact that it doesn't use data to back up its claims makes the claims, and by extension, the conclusions unreliable.

[L I L]

Maverick: "There are lies, damn lies, and there are statistics."
-Benjamen Disraeli

[tobias d. robison]

I am an Orthodox Jew who is a writer. I have also composed a few classcial modern piano pieces, a very listenable 12-tone kaddish, and a clarinet sonata. You can check out my first novel at Amazon or Smashwords:
http://www.amazon.com/Ravens-Gift-Tobias-D-Robison/dp/1448647126/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1274969432&sr=1-1

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/14917

- tobias d. robison

[Hanna Moishezon]

Who would want to read a book by someone with the modern Orthodox worldview even if such existed

[JC]

*it's just that art...photography, painting, sculpting...should be encouraged...it's not.at.all.*

Why would I encourage my child to enter a field whos average salary is $45,000 as opposed to a field who makes on average as much as a minyan full of poets?

[esther]

there are modern orthodox artists around, but they're not good enough to grab media attention.

in israel, anyone can sing and be praised, here in north america, if anyone wants to be a good artist, he has to be the BEST in his field to get noticed. the competition here is much, much, much harder than in israel.
come on... these israeli singers... what is the kind of quality music they offer? there, when something is barely good we say "amazing! kol hakavod!"... it works there, but not here.

to live from art in north america is not easy at all.

i paint, draw and sew very well, but who wants to buy my paintings and drawings? so i must look for a living in other areas and leave my "art" to the weekends.

[esther]

note: maybe we, the orthodox artists should get together ;)

[harvey]

Amerian jews have no room for self expression and realization of identity in their quest to be overly religious and fanatical

[Yochanan Lavie]

Peter Himmelman is an Orthodox Jewish musician who plays secular music.

[ruthie]

esther,
stop it...orthodox artists don't NEED to get together. they need to work on their art and
1. get to know the museums
2. collectors
3. galleries
4. artists
5. read
6. create
7. art fairs
8. auction houses
preview the auctions...
know when the gems go on sale.
9. people
you want to get together with ARTISTS AND THE ART WORLD but you never get out of the "let's all be frum and talk about g-d shit" and i like g-d..
pardon. just getting so tired of it. so boring. g-d is with me all the time...i don't have to talk about him all the time. create some art esther...
you seem like a nice lady. another thing...did you see how many negative things you wrote about yourself being an artist....i THINK I CAN DO IT...NO ESTHER YOU HAVE TO KNOW YOU CAN.

[unProfessor]

Absolute bunk. There are many orthodox artists.

Perhaps since the tri-state area is flooded with artists, the orthodox ones are barely discernible, but I personally know of many orthodox artists, some of whom are on-par with top non-orthodox and non-Jewish artists.

Just a cursory search on Facebook would reveal many orthodox artists.

[Gefilte Fish]

As a dual-citizen, I am in the unique position to tell this guy that he is full of crap. There are loads of American Modern Orthodox who are in the arts, but since they constitute a tiny minority, they are not noticeable. In Israel, the MO are more noticeable.

In addition, this guy makes no sense---he claims both that the Israeli way of life is superior, yet he also says that it is harder. Which is it, habibi?

So, this guy comes to Israel after retiring---the Israelis, particularly the young ones, don't want him, and the government only wants his money.

A long time ago, I heard the sardonic saying that the best way to make a small fortune in Israel is to make aliyah with a large fortune. The Israeli government, as well as the yeshivas, always have their hands out. Perhaps it's time to stop donating so much to ungrateful individuals like JJ Gross; after all, according to him, Israelis are doing very well, thank you.

[x]

we know where the money is

[Gevezener Chusid]

JC's list of doctors' incomes is the answer as to why the costs of medical care in the US are so impossibly high.

[Robert Feder]

Dudu Fisher is a well known Broadway performer who is Orthodox. He has in his contracts that he will not perform on Friday Night and Saturday.

I know a young Orthodox man who is currently studying for his MFA and has been exhibited in Galleries etc, another two who played in a well known Rock Band, etc.

[Sarah]

What is needed to be an artist is to feel the pleasure of living and the realness of physical immediacy.

Orthodox Jews believe that pleasure for its own sake, if not outright evil, is at the very least suspect.

Would a parent create the most breathtakingly beautiful house for their child, of unimaginable colour and detail, of infinite delicacy of structure and fragrance, only to test the child's skill at looking in the opposite direction?

What are the chances that after 120 years upon arrival in Aden, God will say thank you to the person who spent a lifetime depriving their own five senses of aesthetic and aural delight?

An Orthodox Jew looking down on an artist is akin to a barren woman looking across at a mother with a newborn and lamenting the birth as a fallacy.