For Parashat Beshalach / Shabbat Shirah, we’re pulling a fan-favorite from the archives: a wide-ranging conversation with Jewish music legend Abie Rotenberg — songwriter of classics like Acheinu, Mama Rochel, and Na’ar Hayiti.
But this episode isn’t only about music.
A.B. shares how building a serious career in business gave him something rare in the music world: freedom. Freedom to write at his own pace, choose what to release, and never treat music like a paycheck.
We also get into:
His path from chinuch to the family import business (and what that transition really felt like)
Why he sees songwriting as a real form of chinuch — and how melodies can open up the words of tefillah and pesukim
The story and intent behind Marvelous Middos Machine, and the very real dilemmas of teaching values through songs
Reflections on Acheinu returning to the world in a painful new way
His Torah writing (sfarim on Eliyahu Hanavi and Rabbi Akiva) — plus a surprising third book: a baseball novel built for kiruv
Baseball, balance, and the line between a healthy outlet and a distraction
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