I’m not 100% clear on if this means he’s denouncing Hasidic Judaism or not, but this morning orthodox Jew reggae rapper Matisyahu posted a beardless pic of himself to Twitter and released the following announcement on his website.
This morning I posted a photo of myself on Twitter.
No more Chassidic reggae superstar.
Sorry folks, all you get is me…no alias. When I started becoming religious 10 years ago it was a very natural and organic process. It was my choice. My journey to discover my roots and explore Jewish spirituality—not through books but through real life. At a certain point I felt the need to submit to a higher level of religiosity…to move away from my intuition and to accept an ultimate truth. I felt that in order to become a good person I needed rules—lots of them—or else I would somehow fall apart. I am reclaiming myself. Trusting my goodness and my divine mission.
Get ready for an amazing year filled with music of rebirth. And for those concerned with my naked face, don’t worry…you haven’t seen the last of my facial hair.
– Matisyahu
I don’t know about you, but that sure sounds like a “to hell with this nonsense” note to me!
Here’s another pic he posted to Twitter…
Now can someone smarter than me please explain what exactly Matisyahu means when he says that he’s “trusting my goodness and my divine mission.” Has he been hitting the magic stuff a little too hard?
UPDATE: Commenter “Bit Her Sweet” points out that it also looks as though Matisyahu has two black eyes in the pics above. Instagram effect or, as he wondered, did Matisyahu’s rabbi beat his ass?
(HT: Jake Tapper’s Twitter)
