Veteran composer Rav Hillel Paley delivered a sharp and emotional critique of contemporary wedding music in a rare radio interview, warning that celebrations in the frum community have veered far from their spiritual roots and, in many cases, have become deeply inappropriate.
Speaking with Reb Menachem Stein on the Sichat HaYom program on Israel’s Kol Chai Radio, Rav Paley said that weddings today often resemble “a disco of chaos,” arguing that much of the current music has lost any connection to Yiddishkeit or kedusha. “A wedding has become a nightmare,” he said. “People are just waiting for the music to stop so they can escape and go home.”
Rav Paley sharply criticized what he described as shallow hit songs that take pesukim from sacred texts and turn them into mockery. He said he is disturbed by scenes in which yeshiva bochurim remove their jackets and yarmulkas and engage in frenzied dancing that runs completely counter to the values they are supposed to represent. “This music is a desecration,” he said. “It would be better to sing about oranges than to turn holy pesukim into a joke.” He added that even in the broader public, many people prefer authentic Jewish melodies over what he called cheap imitations.
During the broadcast, Rabbi Stein cited guidance from Rav Moshe Hillel Hirsch, who advised bochurim to study mussar works for a few minutes before attending a wedding in order to remember their purpose and responsibility. Addressing drunkenness and unruly behavior on the dance floor, Rav Hirsch was quoted as saying, “A ben Torah must remember who he is and not behave like a wild, uncivilized person at a wedding celebration.”
Rabbi Stein reinforced Rav Paley’s message, noting that some roshei yeshiva refuse to enter wedding halls until what he termed “the wild singer” is removed from the stage. Together, they decried a situation in which parents spend enormous sums of money only to see their children’s weddings turned into what they called a circus. “Parents are paying a fortune so that someone can ruin the wedding and middlemen can take over the event,” they said, urging families to take responsibility and demand music that is appropriate, dignified, and worthy of the occasion.
In closing, Rav Paley issued a direct appeal to yeshiva students, calling on them to recognize their own value and stop chasing cheap trends that embarrass the Torah world. “When we truly understand our worth and the holiness of marriage,” he said, “this kind of music will naturally lose its appeal, and souls will once again know how to rejoice in a genuine way.”
{Matzav.com}