ARTS&LIFE
ON THE COVER

40 | MARCH 7 • 2024 
J
N

“It’s basically a dream I had in 
my early 30s. I was praying in an 
ancient Middle Eastern synagogue, 
and playing with a baby tiger, then 
the mom was shooting fire out 
of her eyes, and I was covered in 
flames. I realized that my arm was 
not on fire — I looked down and it 
was made out of water.
“When I woke up, I immedi-
ately thought of the story of the 
burning bush and Moshe Rabeinu 
— Moshe means ‘drawn from the 
water.’ Humility is the thing often 
brought up about him — he didn’t 
want to be a leader, but God spoke 
to him through a fire that doesn’t 
consume itself. I thought of that as 
a metaphor for an artist, a fire that 
goes out, and it became a theme 
for me going forward — the bal-
ance of fire and water and the idea 
of holding the fire, speaking to 
God through the fire.”
Infused with reggae and hip-hop 
funkiness, boldly inventive groove-
able pop and Matisyahu’s lean, res-
onant vocals, the album manifests 
a message of hope and encourage-
ment — personal when he wrote 
it, but it has since taken on new 
meaning, especially in the song 
“Lifeline.” He sings of “me and my 
tribe, positive vibes, hold the fire, 
I just want to catch a fire, I just 
want to see you shine,” with a nod 
to Bob Marley and Rastafarianism, 
which he believes is rooted in the 
Old Testament. 

VISIT TO ISRAEL 
The album and its message 
could not be more prescient 
today. During a recent trip to 
Israel, Matisyahu performed 
a benefit show in Tel Aviv for 
BringThemHomeNow, the organi-
zation advocating for the hostages 
held in Gaza. 
“It was a really powerful expe-
rience,” he says. “I really wanted 

continued from page 39

“I won’t be silenced. We will 
play shows, we will have 
our fans out there and keep 
spreading our message of 
hope.” – Matisyahu

