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For Women Only

Orthodox vocalist Kineret seeks to entertain and enlighten in Oak Park concert.

DON COHEN
Special to the Jewish News

ineret Cohen has a clear mes-
sage for every Jewish woman:
God wants you to bring light
-=./ and be the light — in a world of
darkness. Her message for men is just as
clear: Please don't come to my concerts
or listen to my music.
Kineret, who is Orthodox, plays to
female-only audiences around the world
— energizing, entertaining and inspir-
ing Jewish women and supporting their
important role in Judaism and the
Jewish family. She will perform at a
P'TACH (Parents for Torah for All
Children) Chanukah concert Monday,
Dec. 13, at Congregation Dovid ben
Nuchim in Oak Park.
"It's not my commandment," says
Kineret, explaining that Jewish law does
not forbid her to sing before men. "It's a
negative commandment for men" that
forbids them from hearing women sing.
The authoritative view in much of
Orthodox Judaism is kol b'esha ma: The
voice of the woman provokes men, par-
ticularly their sexual urges, or as Kineret
explains it, "conjures in him that which
we don't want to keep in a man's mind."
Based on the talmudic discussion of
King David's Song of Songs, men are
instructed to prevent those urges by not
listening to a woman sing.
"While it's a man's commandment, a
woman should do whatever she can to
assist him in fulfilling it," says Kineret,
explaining that all of her tapes and CDs
state that this is for women only, on
the front, back and sides."
Though this might not prevent a man
from listening anyway, she says, "For
me, it is enough that I've taken the
proper measures for him not to pur-
chase it."
When she records, her engineer is a
non-Jewish male, and another woman
stays with her.
Kineret says playing only for women
is "very limited and sometimes frustrat-
ing but very rewarding ultimately. The
sacrifices I make in my career are for my
religion and for HaShem (God). It's OK
because there is a greater purpose
involved."
Now living in Brooklyn, N.Y.,
Kineret, 33, was born in Israel to par-
ents who had made aliyah from
Morocco. Her religious beliefs and love

"

and pride in Sephardic culture came
from her family and community.
"I have a strong Sephardic back-
ground in the sense that I'm tied to my
roots," she explains. "I'm proud of
being Moroccan, and I'm a good
[Moroccan] cook. When I perform, I
try to share the energy, stamina and
warmth which the Sephardic culture
brings to the world."

"When I perform, I try to
share the energy, stamina and
warmth which the Sephardic
culture brings to the world"

Kineret Cohen

Women's Obligations

Kineret's performances express the sense
of inspiration and obligation that a
Jewish woman has to her family, to her
faith and to her God.
"The woman is the one who is the
ikar — the founder and the foundation
of the home," explains Kineret. "She is
responsible for the teachings that she
imparts and for seeing that the child
grows up in the path of Judaism.
"The Torah speaks of Torat emechah
— the Torah of your mother. In the
Talmud, the Gemorah, it says, 'It was
because of the merit of righteous
women that our forefathers were
redeemed from Egypt.' That's a lot of
responsibility. I want to provide encour-
agement and support."
While Kineret speaks and sings about
the importance of Jewish women con-
necting and working together, she also
wants each woman know she has a
unique role and is important in her own
right.
The timing of the concert on the sev-
enth night of Chanukah and the Rosh
Chodesh (the new moon when Jewish
women often gather to celebrate and
study together) will not alter the pro-
gram Kineret presents, though she says
she will "make sure the message of
Chanukah is imparted though the
music. I want to share the light of the
Torah, of yachdut (unity) and Judaism.
We'll recognize the miracles of light and

what it has to do with women in gener-
al and how each of us can be special."
Kineret's apartment currently contains
boxes of her just-released CD, English
Songs, her eighth album and her first
totally in English. "It's an album we put
together to spread a message to the
woman of the world," she says. "English
is a universal language and each woman
will understand it on her own level."
The new album will be available at the
concert.
The demand for Kineret's first album,
Come Home — Kum Aheim, released
when she was just 18 years old, prompt-
ed her to return to the studio with the
original recordings to take advantage of
the technological advances of the past
decade to enhance its sound and pro-
duction so it could be re-released last
year.
Its message remains important to her.
"Everything begins in the home," says
Kineret, explaining the tide. "Many of
us [in the Jewish community] have left
our home and are seeking shelter, and
we need to remember the home that we
left. HaShem longs to have [those who
have left] back where He gave birth to
them.
Ultimately, Kineret says she wants to
impart a message of hope. We are liv-
ing in a state of darkness, and the world
today is falling apart," she says, more
with resolve than despair. "The only
way to fill the darkness is the light, and
women have the power to bring light
into the world."

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Danny Raskin • Nov. 5, 2004

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New Year's Eve December 31st
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Kineret performs in concert
Monday, Dec. 13, at
Congregation Dovid Ben
Nuchim,14800 West Lincoln, in
Oak Park. Doors open at 7 p.m.
(ladies only).
Tickets: students (2nd grade
and up), $8 in advance/$10 at
the door; adults (18 and up), $12
in advance/$15 at the door. The
evening will include a Chinese
auction and raffle.
For ticket information or to
make a reservation, please call
Leah Tolwin, (248) 424 1244;
Miriam Buckwold, (248) 967-
4742; or Fern Herschfus, (248)
557-4007.

oodie

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SON1

27909 Orchard Lake
(at 12 Mile)

Rd.

Farmington Hills

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(248) 553-9013

12/10

Open 7 Days A Week

2004

9104.30

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