JERUSALEM — (VINnews) – Renowned composer Rabbi Hillel Paley delivered a sharp rebuke of contemporary wedding music in the religious sector, warning that many celebrations have drifted far from their spiritual foundations and turned into what he described as a chaotic spectacle.

Listen below to the full interview in Hebrew:
https://vinnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/פלאי-שטיין.mp3

In a rare and pointed interview with Rabbi Menachem Stein on Kol Chai radio’s Torah-focused program, Paley said weddings have become a “disco of wildness,” with modern music severed from Judaism and holiness. He said the atmosphere at many events has become so overwhelming that guests simply wait for the music to stop so they can leave. “A wedding turns into a nightmare,” Paley said. “People are just waiting for the music to end so they can run home.”

Paley spoke out against what he called shallow hit songs that lift verses from the Torah and turn them into mockery. He said he was shocked by music that fuels frenzied dancing, leading yeshiva students to remove their jackets and kippot in ways he said contradict the spirit of the yeshiva world.

“This music is a desecration of holiness,” Paley said. “Better they should sing about oranges than turn sacred verses into a joke.” He added that even among the general public, there is a preference for authentic traditional Jewish melodies over what he described as cheap modern imitations.

The broadcast also featured strong remarks from the head of the Slabodka Yeshiva, Rabbi Moshe Hillel Hirsch, who has advised students to spend five minutes studying Mesillat Yesharim before attending a wedding, as a reminder of purpose and proper conduct. Addressing drunkenness and unruly behavior on dance floors, Hirsch was quoted as saying that a ben Torah must remember his stature and not behave wildly at a wedding celebration.

Rabbi Stein reinforced those criticisms, noting that some roshei yeshiva refuse to enter a wedding hall until an overly exuberant performer leaves the stage. He and Paley criticized what they described as a system in which parents pay large sums only to see weddings transformed into what they called a circus, taken over by “machers” rather than guided by meaning and dignity.

The two called on parents to take responsibility by demanding music from bands and singers that is appropriate, balanced and consistent with religious values, arguing that families deserve a celebration that reflects the sanctity of marriage.

In closing, Paley urged yeshiva students to recognize their true worth and resist fleeting trends that, he said, embarrass the Torah world. When the holiness of marriage and personal value are fully appreciated, he said, such music will naturally lose its appeal. “Then,” Paley said, “souls will return to truly rejoicing.”