What is the tikkun haklali?
And how is it connected to Reggae music?
The Tikkun Haklali are comprised of ten specific chapters of Tehillim (psalms) written by King David long ago. Although there are 150 chapters of Tehillim, these ten are especially unique. Rabbi Nachman of Breslov brought down that reading these ten chapters in this specific order have the power to bring a great physical and spiritual healing to an individual and to the world. This is why it is called “Tikkun Haklali” literally translated as “A General Fixing”.
“They have the power to bring a great physical and spiritual healing to an individual and to the world”
It is a custom among many to read these ten chapters daily, and even multiple times a day.
(Read more about the wondrous powers of reading the Tikkun Haklali here)
And that is how this Tikkun haklali Reggae project began.
Let me introduce you to Beslov Chassid Ron Aharon Caras; the talent behind this unique collaboration. Ron is a 37 yr old husband and father of 2 sweet children. He grew up in Be’er Sheva, Israel, and now resides with his family in Binyamina.
Like many Israelis do after the army, Ron went traveling through India, Thailand, and other exotic countries on a journey to find his path in this world. He became deeply connected to the trance and reggae scene, and even spent some time being a DJ there.
We asked Ron to tell us a bit about himself, and how this project came into being:
“ I began playing music when I was very young. at the age of 6 I started playing piano, then played accordion, and eventually guitar.
After the army I began playing the didgeridoo and making electronic music.
I have always had a deep love for music and its capacity to uplift the mood of any situation.
“I have always had a deep love for music and its capacity to uplift the mood of any situation.”
I began coming close to Judaism at the later age of 27.
Soon after I discovered Rebbe Nachman and his deep teachings, and a new love for Judaism, life, and the Rebbe himself, began to take shape in my heart.
I was then introduced to the teaching of Rebbe Nachman, in which he says that each one of us must pave our own unique path within the endless depth and wisdom which is Judaism. We must keep to the halacha and advises passed down from the wisest of our people, which includes the teaching that each one of us is a unique light in this world. No other person no matter how great can bring what we were brought here to do.
“Each one of us must pave our own unique path”
The Tikkun Haklali in reggae is one of the sweetest things I had a chance to do in my life.
I have always loved the deep beats of roots reggae, and now found that I also love the deep words of the ten psalms that Rebbe Nachman says are so important to read. So I looked to find a way to not only make reading these chapters of tehillim more fun, but also more memorable and easy to say!
That was my hope when composing reggae music to go along with the timeless words of the tehillim.”
“I have always loved the deep beats of roots reggae”
How has the response been for this unique project?
“A very warm reception,” Ron smiles warmly. “Beginning with encounters with people humming the tune of ‘Hallelujah’, I also received an ocean of positive responses. I got messages like,
“Great job with the CD!,” and “Brother! What an enlivening and original disk!’ and “Finally! we can dance to the words of Tikkun HaKlali!” Someone wrote a comment saying “I listened to track 13 about 50 times in a row!” and yet another said, “Your disk is amazing. It is fantastic quality, and super holy’.”.
…All and all I am really happy with the response. It gives me the push I need to continue to write new music.”
Tell me, how does this integration take place? Might this be something slightly belittling to the Tehillim (Psalms), setting them to reggae beats?
“Personally, reggae music makes me smile and be happy. But maybe I’m biased,” he smiles. “For me, I understand today that the connection between the Tikkun HaKlali and reggae does not at all belittle the Tikkun HaKlali. On the contrary, it raises sparks of holiness from reggae music. This connection has the power to delight and inspire anyone who is interested in Judaism and who loves this music genre. It opens the door to a whole world of people who are connected to Judaism as well as Tehillim (Psalms), to discover and connect to a wonderful world.
“That is why we have invested so much into the production of the album: to meet the standards of the reggae world, and provide an opportunity for those who love reggae to connect through the music to Tikkun HaKlali, which might not have been possible if they were only reading the words. Many people have also taken on the initiative to buy CDs and distribute them to friends and relatives for whom they think it will do good, and have spread the disc by word of mouth. One of the best initiatives that we saw up until now came from a few couples who got married and bought hundreds of the CDs to distribute at their wedding!”
So what’s the next step?
“We began with ‘Reggae Tikkun HaKlali’. Now, after the album has been made public, we want to make an electronic/world music remix, and also an unplugged version. In addition, there is material for another reggae disk that we hope to release, as well as a few other projects. We hope to achieve the right financing for these projects, and hope for plenty of Divine assistance – we have begun to pray, and we’ll see where God leads us.”
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