What would King Herod the Great think if he could see the Judeans of 2024 pouring into the Roman amphitheater he built, in the city he named after Caesar? Herod ruled over Judea for the Romans from 37–4 BCE. He was one of the last Jewish kings before the Romans sent the Jewish people into 2000 years of exile. Herod earned the title “the Great” by building fortresses, aqueducts, many public buildings, and most importantly – the Second Jewish Temple, the beating heart of Jerusalem.
Caesar and the Roman Empire are long gone. Herod’s amphitheater in ancient Caesarea remains.
Here, Romans slaughtered Jews who resisted their occupation and desecration of Jewish holy sites. Here, modern Judeans have taken what was once a tribute to Roman greatness and made it a part of our legacy. Restored, the amphitheater is a place to celebrate our culture – not theirs.
The amphitheater, built in a semicircle, includes about 4,000 seats. Brilliantly constructed, it offers a perfect view of the stage with incredible acoustics, no matter how far away you sit.
I came to see Subliminal & The Shadow, the hip-hop duo that brought the genre to Israel and made it a vehicle to transmit Zionism and pride to the younger generation.
It’s been 20 years since they first burst into Israeli consciousness. They were phenomenally successful, but as often happens, egos led to a breakup, sending each to separate careers. Reunited, their original audience (myself included) is embracing them wholeheartedly as if they never left. Moreover, their original fans are coming to the new concerts with their children.
Since October 7th (and every day since, which has also been October 7th), the people of Israel have been gasping for air between wave after wave of pain and heartache. Overwhelming is an understatement for the horror of being attacked on all our borders and from within, facing enormous international diplomatic pressure as well as pressure and negativity from internal voices echoing the talking points of Israel’s enemies.
This show was two hours of fresh, invigorating, pure, clean air. It wasn’t an escape; it was a celebration of everything that gives us the strength to withstand the storm hellbent on breaking us – unabashedly Zionist, unwaveringly traditional, proud, and determined to attain victory.
Subliminal & The Shadow began their performance in the audience, a gesture indicating that the superstars are not separate from or above the audience. Friends who came together to uplift and have a good time.
Did they know that their opening song, their version of a classic Hannukah song, is the same song used by the Israeli demonstrators against our government? “We came to chase away the darkness” – the demonstrators use this song to imply they are the light, and every Israeli who doesn’t agree with them is “the darkness.” Here, the audience was very clear about who is the light and who is the dark. The enemy is the monsters who massacred our families, not our brothers and sisters who disagree with us. The message here was: “Together we stand, divided we fall.” Literally. It’s in the lyrics.
The concert blended songs of celebration and frivolity with songs of tribute and recognition of pain. It was bloodcurdling to listen to the words of their songs written 20 years ago about the horror of the Intifada, vivid images that describe exactly what we are experiencing today – blood in the streets, Gaza, burying too many soldiers, and confused people who, believing they are doing right, rip us from each other.
Israel is divided between Jewish progressives who want to belong to the “family of nations” and Jews who understand that we are a nation apart – the Ivri, the ones who stand on the other side. Israel’s progressives sometimes divide the population into “Israel” and “Judea.” The Judeans make them feel uncomfortable. They don’t know what to do with Judean pride in nation, religion, tradition, and family. None of these things are fashionable among the nations of the world.
It took my breath away to see how natural it was for Subliminal to pause to drink some water, say the Hebrew blessing before drinking, and hear the crowd shout back: “Amen!”. It wasn’t a religious exchange. It was about tradition and respect for adhering to tradition.
It was equally natural to pause the show and speak to family members of Shlomi Ziv a hostage held in Gaza. The father is a fan who particularly loved one song, so they, of course, sang it in his honor – but not before saying a prayer for his safe return, as well as that of all the hostages, and promising the mother and daughter front-row seats when he is released.
*** After the show I saw his family in the parking lot and gave them a hug saying: “See, we all prayed for him. Seeing him back with you will be a miracle for all of us, not just for you.”
Tha show took place on May 27th. On June 8th that miracle happened!!! The IDF rescued Shlomi Ziv, along with Noa Argamani and Almog Meir Jan and Andrey Kozlov. ***
Subliminal & The Shadow’s new song about the war following October 7th is called “It’s on us.” How many pop-culture superstars send their audience the message that “We are responsible for fixing the very severe problems we are facing”? That we CAN fix them, we must, and we will do it through strength and unity.
The pause between these very serious ideas was another serious idea – that family is wonderful and should be celebrated. Subliminal sang a song to his wife and children who were in the audience, prefacing it by thanking her for being the inspiration for the song that expressed his happiness. She was his muse, giving him a song other men could use to express to their wives how much they love them and their children.
How often do you hear hard-core hip-hop stars sing that their wives make them better people and that their source of joy is their children?
And perhaps therein lies the difference between this audience and other audiences. I’ve rarely seen so many pregnant women in the same place, and certainly not at a hip-hop concert, late at night. Happy women, dancing to their favorite songs with bulging bellies. A few had babies in their arms. Even the backup singer, a woman with a powerhouse voice strutting the stage like a queen, was pregnant too. Subliminal & The Shadow joked, saying she has to have such a huge voice because she’s singing for two.
The nations of the West (and even the progressives of Israel) pressure Judeans to set aside the values and traditions that make us “those who stand on the other side.” They sneer at traditionalism, reject tribalism, and vehemently object to everything the Eternal Nation does to protect our unique identity. Yet, it is their nations that are sinking, due to negative birth rates, as if deep down, they know there is no reason for a nation that has set aside values and purpose to perpetuate itself.
The Roman Empire is long gone. Now, new people are trying to wipe Judeans off the map. It’s on us to appropriately address them. In the meantime, the Judeans of 2024 still know how to celebrate and have babies.
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Inspiration from Zion: This is a Love Story 