In 2011, Matisyahu shaved his beard, cut his sidelocks, and tweeted the resulting photo with the caption, “No more Chassidic reggae superstar.” Though this was perceived by many fans, especially in the Orthodox world, as a turn away from Judaism toward the secular world, Matisyahu himself didn’t see it that way. Writing several years later about that time in his life, he described how he’d blended different practices to “reclaim” himself and his spirituality:
Read Full Article »I drank vodka for breakfast on Saturdays in shul and talked shit with the cool born-and-raised Crown Heights’ers. I studied philosophy and chassidut with a Russian original creative thinker who knew it from the inside (his parents were anti-Communist mystics). I read psychology books by RD Laing and spent time doing sessions with his protégé in England. I let go of all the dogma and began to do me.
