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Zohar, Uri


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.

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