This Is Your Song Too

Phish and Contemporary Jewish Identity

Edited by Oren Kroll-Zeldin and Ariella Werden-Greenfield

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$37.95 | Hardcover Edition
ISBN: 978-0-271-09566-0

Available as an e-book

280 pages
7" × 10"
19 color/15 b&w illustrations
2023

Dimyonot: Jews and the Cultural Imagination

This Is Your Song Too

Name: This Is Your Song Too: Phish and Contemporary Jewish Identity
Price: 37.95 USD
Availability: InStock
Author: Edited by Oren Kroll-Zeldin and Ariella Werden-Greenfield
ISBN: 9780271095660

Phish and Contemporary Jewish Identity

Edited by Oren Kroll-Zeldin and Ariella Werden-Greenfield

“Readers of This Is Your Song Too will gain a more nuanced, appreciative understanding of both Jewish and Phish communities, with their deep histories, their varied constituencies, and their rich implications for identity formation—whether readers are insiders to these communities or outsiders looking in with interest.”—Dr. Jnan A. Blau, Associate Professor of Communication Studies, California Polytechnic State University

Phish has a diehard fan base and a dedicated community of enthusiasts—called Phishheads—who follow the band around the country, some fans attending every show. What may be surprising is that a significant percentage of Phishheads are Jewish.

Two members of the band—bassist Mike Gordon and drummer Jonathan Fishman—were raised in Jewish households, and Phish has been known to play Hebrew songs in concert. At live shows, many attendees, some wearing T-shirts emblazoned with “Phish” written in Hebrew letters, express feeling something special—even distinctly Jewish—during their performances. As this book shows, Phish is one avenue through which many Jews find cultural and spiritual fulfillment outside the confines of traditional and institutional Jewish life. In effect, Phish fandom and the live Phish experience act as a microcosm through which we see American Jewish religious and cultural life manifest in unique and unexpected spaces.

Featuring an interview with Mike Gordon and a collection of fascinating photographs, This Is Your Song Too is an in-depth look at Jewishness in the Phish universe that also provides a deeper understanding of how spirituality, ritual, and identity function in the world of rock and roll.

In addition to the editors, the contributors include Evan S. Benn, Dean Budnick, Jacob A. Cohen, Benjamin David, Jessy Dressin, Josh Fleet, Mike Greenhaus, Joshua S. Ladon, Noah Munro Lehrman, Caroline Rothstein, and Isaac Kandall Slone.

“Readers of This Is Your Song Too will gain a more nuanced, appreciative understanding of both Jewish and Phish communities, with their deep histories, their varied constituencies, and their rich implications for identity formation—whether readers are insiders to these communities or outsiders looking in with interest.”—Dr. Jnan A. Blau, Associate Professor of Communication Studies, California Polytechnic State University

Oren Kroll-Zeldin is Assistant Director of the Swig Program in Jewish Studies and Social Justice and Assistant Professor in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at the University of San Francisco.

Ariella Werden-Greenfield is Associate Director of the Feinstein Center for American Jewish History and Special Advisor on Antisemitism at Temple University.

List of Illustrations

Acknowledgments

INTRODUCTION

The People of the Helping Friendly Book Oren Kroll-Zeldin and Ariella Werden-Greenfield

SET 1 “SHARING IN THE GROOVE”: PHISH AND JEWISH CULTURE

1. From Summer Camp to Summer Tour: Phish and the Cultivation of Jewish Cultural Identity Oren Kroll-Zeldin

2. Performing Jewish Identity and Community Through Phish’s “Avenu Malkenu” Jacob A. Cohen

3. “Finest in the Nation”: The Food of Phish and the Jewish Experience Evan S. Benn

4. Exploring Jewishness and Queerness on Phish’s Dance Floor Isaac Kandall Slone

5. I’ve Been Wading in the Whitest Sea: Reflections on Race, Judaism, and Phish Caroline Rothstein

6. “Feeling Weightless in the Sea”: Phish and Overcoming Cancer Benjamin David

SET 2 GOD ON TOUR: JUDAISM AND THE LIVE PHISH EXPERIENCE

7. Beyond “Avenu Malkenu”: Fan Responses to Sacred Music in Phish’s Musical Canon Ariella Werden-Greenfield

8. “All Times and Seasons Are the Reasons”: How Phish Brought America to Shul Mike Greenhaus

9. “Where the People Come to Pray”: Sacred Pilgrimage and Communal Rejoicing from the Ancient Temple in Jerusalem to YEMSG Jessy Dressin

10. “Pull This Timber ‘fore the Sun Go Down”: The Joys and Questions of Shabbat Observance at Phish Josh Fleet

11. Phish Jews: Improvisation as Religious Orientation Joshua S. Ladon

12. Tour and Torah: Jews and Crews from the Sages of the Gemara to the Ragers on the Rail Noah Munro Lehrman

ENCORE “ALL THINGS RECONSIDERED”: REFLECTIONS ON PHISH AND JEWISHNESS

13. “Yerushalayim Shel Zahav” Comes to Phish: An Interview with Shirley Halperin

14. Bringing Phish to the Holy Land: An Interview with Rachel Loonin Steinerman

15. Blessed by Bass: An Interview with Marc Brownstein

16. Becoming the General of Jam: An Interview with Jonathan Schwartz

17. Mike’s Corner Reprise: An Interview with Mike Gordon

Afterword Dean Budnick

List of Contributors

Index

Download a PDF sample chapter here: Introduction

Jewish Studies

Music

Religious Studies & Religion

General Interest

Religion and Music

Also of Interest

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