Singer Benzion Lehrer has released a new CD of guitar-based rock music on Jewish themes with songs in English and Hebrew. The debut single, Shanat Shmitta Ba'a, is quite possibly the world's first rock song about the Jewish Sabbatical year. He gave a live performance and interview on Israel National Radio's 'The Beat.' An intense and knowledgeable person, Rabbi Lehrer discusses spirituality at length.
To download the mp3 of the entire interview click here.
As Rosh HaShana draws the Shemitta year to a close, Jewish people in Israel once again can begin making use of the land, included farming, watering plants and consuming produce grown in the Land during that year. Shemitta, which comes once every seven years, is one of the subjects Lehrer has focused on in his studies and teachings. He gave up music for the past ten years to become a rabbi. Lehrer studies and teaches at the Diaspora Yeshiva in the Old City of Jerusalem, where the successful Diaspora Yeshiva Band started performing in the 1970s. 
The goal is to be a bridge between the religious and non religious. 
To view the YouTube video of the performance click here
Lehrer's new CD is entitled "Come Home" and many of the tracks encourage the listener to get in touch with their roots. It is being distributed by Master One Communications, an Israeli company that mostly markets secular pop singers. But when Master One decided to market Israeli singers who perform in English, they accepted Lehrer's music, overly religious or not.
This mix of religious and secular is not new to Lehrer. He has performed his music for crowds in Tel Aviv, on Zion Square in Jerusalem and in the now defunct Assaf's Cave, a music venue on Mount Zion near the Old City.
Rabbi Lehrer comments:
"When Noah blessed his three sons, Shem, Ham and Japheth, he blessed Yafech that he would be big and he will dwell in the tent of Shem. Yefet is the father of the Greek nation. Yefet is beauty, the Greek way: being in shape, eating healthy foods, being physical, loving the beauty in the world. The tzadik (righteous person) is Torah and studying. The verse is interpreted as meaning the combination of the physical and spiritual. Some people are very turned off by the spiritual. Bnei Brak (a very religious city) is turned off by Tel Aviv (a very secular city). But Tel Aviv looks at Bnei Brak and says, "where's the beauty?" The goal is to be a bridge between the religious and non religious.
Come Home by Benzion Lehrer and the Returning Light Band is available by emailing benzion613@yahoo.com or visiting www.thereturninglight.com .
Ben Bresky is a music journalist and recording engineer living in Jerusalem. He hosts The Beat live every Tuesday from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Israel time on Israel National Radio interviewing a wide range of Jewish and Israeli musicians. To view The Beat archive click here.