Gad Elbaz

Gad Elbaz (Born 1982) is a famous Israeli singer. He is best known by his #1 hit, "Halayla Zeh Hazman" (Tonight is the Time) and for being the son of Mizrahi singer Benny Elbaz.

Early life

Gad Elbaz started his singing career at the age of 4. His first duet with his father they sang "Abba Otcha Ani Ohev" (Dad, I Love You) He sang along his father, Benny Elbaz, who himself was a renown Mizrahi singer. At the age of 7, Gad's family became observant. The first and most famous song written by his father and sung by the two of them after they became observant, "Lo Kashe Lachzor B'Tshuva" (It Isn't Hard To Become Observant) was an instant hit, and touched the lives of thousands of non-observant Israeli families.

At the age of 20, he met his wife Moran, who happened to be a fan of his, and married. They have two children together.

Professional career

As a child, he made 4 records with his father, and later 3 more on his own. He was 16 when he put out his first solo effort, which wasn't of any meaningful success, called "Light at the end of the Tunnel"Finally in 2005, he released Meanings, which sold close to 100,000 copies in Israel alone. His songs feature catchy Oriental tunes, luring both the observant crowd as well as the non-observant one. In 2006 he released another, toned down album named Kimat Shaket כמעת שקט "Almost Quiet." A new disc called Ben Hatipot (Between the drops) was released in 2008. One song already put on Israeli radio called "Olam Shel Yeladim"( world of children) is already making hits in Israel. His CD Ben Hatipot is now a HUGE hit in Israel.

In August 26,2008, Gad had a huge concert in Caesaria, Israel in the amphitheatre. This amphitheatre is a stage used by many( and only) big singers in Israel. Gad reached this in a very short amount of time, and also was the FIRST religious singer to perform there. He sang sngs with Harel Moyal(Sa'eni), Shlomi Shabat,Alon De Loco, Benny Elbaz( "Kol ha'chayalim chozirm ha'bayta"- "All of the soldiers are coming home")and many more. It was a very successful show, and a DVD of the show is going to be released sometime in September or October. He will also have a new website up around the same time of his dvd release.

Gad's Objectives

Gad Elbaz has made it clear that although his songs' lyrics can be misinterpreted (he often sings about God and love for the Torah), his intentions are pure. In an interview with the Jewish Music Insider, he says that his goal is to keep people's faiths alive through his music, which includes catchy tunes with religious connotation. In an effort to appeal to the non-observant crowd as well, he sings alongside non-observant famous Israeli stars like Lidor Yosefi and Shlomi Shabat. His goal is also to help even non-religious to believe that G-D is there and that G-D exists.

Controversy

In addition to being a successful singer, Elbaz is adored by female fans everywhere due to his natural good looks and charm. This has sparked major controversy among the Haredi crowd. Many believe that he is "confusing" young girls and pushing them away from their faith. The controversy reached a peak when Rabbi Yehuda Deri (brother of Aryeh Deri) issued a statement saying that one of Elbaz's concerts should be banned, with the reason being that Elbaz's concerts were "not in the Spirit of Torah." The statement was published in the press, which lead to the postponement of the concert until approval by the Rabbis. Elbaz says he understands the concerns of the community, but wants to use the "power that God gave him" to bring people closer to the faith- people who would have otherwise completely dropped their beliefs.

Community Work

Has done concerts in Samuel Scheck Hillel Community Day School, an orthodox school in Miami, Floridaand in Forest Hills High School in Queens, New York.

References and Suggested Readings

* [http://www.desiretoshare.com/music The Music of Gad Elbaz and others]
* [http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/objects/pages/PrintArticleEn.jhtml?itemNo=625436 Gad Elbaz in a nutshell]
* [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1049471453927972955&q=gad+elbaz&hl=en Interview with Gad Elbaz]