From: Martin Grossman (tgg@bronze.coil.com) Newsgroups: rec.music.dylan Subject: Dylan and Uri Zohar Date: Wed, 13 Nov 1996 23:30:45 -0500 Reading Heylin's new book, A LIFE IN STOLEN MOMENTS, I was struck by the following sentence which closes the September 3-, 1987 entry: "During his stay in Tel Aviv, he [Dylan] spends one evening with Israeli singer, Uri Zohar." What may escape the notice of the casual reader is that Uri Zohar is not an "Israeli singer." He is perhaps Israel's most famous baal teshuvah (returnee to Judaism -- literally, master of the return). Before his embrace of orthodox Judaism, Zohar was, according to the blurb on the back of his autobiography: "... Israel's most popular public figure. An artist of many faces: the number one theatre and film director, actor, comedian, television host, and a major influence in Israeli politics and culture. WAKING UP JEWISH -- an Israeli runaway best seller -- is Uri's compellingly honest account of the process which led him to walk away from his dazzling career, and become a Torah-observant Jew." It may be of passing interest that the "old" Uri Zohar was sometimes compared to Lenny Bruce. By 1987 Zohar was no longer performing but speaking to crowds of 30,000 and more delivering a message of returning to Judaism and a life dedicated to Torah and Mitzvot (the commandments). It must have been quite an evening.