ELITE

tray Judaism in the best possible
sense, the way it is."'
He tried to draw his young students
out, "to depict to them exactly the situ-
ation that I'm singing and speaking
about." He encouraged them to inter-
act, to sing and dance together and
—make up their own skits.
•
His students would return home and
sing what they learned from Rebbe
Alter for their parents. But they might
forget part of a song, or it might be a
song the parents wanted to learn bet-
ter. Parents began sending back
notes requesting tapes of his music;
>, he would tell them to send a blank
cassette to class. After school hours,
Rebbe Alter often surrounded himself
with four or five tape recorders in the
empty classroom and sat down with
his guitar to prepare cassettes.
Finally, he decided to make a mas-
ter tape with the children in class. He
• rook .t TO Gal Paz distributors :7.
Jerusalem and asked to have 10 or
15 copies made, which he could
send home with the students. Gal Paz
owner Chaim Zilber suggested that
he cut a tape with a choir and a
band, and Rebbe Alter's professional
music career was launched.
•
For most of the songs on his tapes,
Rebbe Alter uses Rebbe Aqc.41' Sings
RING A
both Traditional
and contempo-
rary nigunim
(melodies). On
his most recent
tape,
"Chanukah with
• Rebbe Alter," the
rousing melody for "Maoz Tzur" is the
nigun sung 30 years ago in Hevron
Yeshiva in Jerusalem. In many cases,
he puts his own words To the songs to
"get the message across, and that
message is Jewish education, chinuch,
enjoy.
Always, he tries to highlight the
essential aspect of each tape's sub-
ject. In "Ring Around the Year," which
contains a mixture of dialogue and
song, he focuses on the Jewish year,
month by month. Original lyrics that

explain the major holiday or focus of
each month are set to traditional
melodies.
"Pesach With Rebbe Alter," on the
other hand, which features a tradition-
al seder, contains little dialogue.
Some of the songs are instantly recog-
nizable; the melodies of others, such
as "Ma Nishtana," are less well
known; still others, such as the
"Afikomen Song, contain original
lyrics. The tape culminates in the
counting of the omer.
Students from his school usually per-
form on the cassettes, and his own
sons are part of the choir at times.
Several of the cassettes were directed
and arranged by Suki Berry of Suki
and Ding fame, who have produced
a variety of different children's tapes
with a Jewish orientation.
After teaching for several years at
Hamesorah, Rebbe Alter transferred to
a school just outside of Jerusalem. Five
years ago, he returned to Hamesorah
in an unusual teaching role. No
longer a kindergarten rebbe, he goes
from classroom to classroom to teach
children of all ages songs about the
holidays and Torah readings, to play
games with them relating to Jewish
education and to "make the kids
happy."
Afternoons and
evenings, when
possible, Rebbe
Alter makes
appearances at
other religious
schools, ranging
from Zionist to
haredi, right-wing Orthodox. He has
performed throughout Israel, from Beer
Sheva to Haifa, and makes occasion-
al tours of the United States.
He says he finds singing a "tremen-
dous educational tool" because it is
easier for children to memorize to a
melody, and they will be able to
recall at least most of a song they
learned six months before. "When
you put it to song: osmosis," he says.
"It just goes right in and you really
retain it. A song stays with you." ❑

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4/17
1998

67