The guy plays music on Tisha B'Av and calls himself 'hareidi'? Is there something missing from this story here? He requests that they do not serve food at the pub in which he is playing, so clearly it was still during the fast. I think he's a bit mixed up.

He has to have a total answer in life. From extreme left through seven or eight different religions to haredi--and he's still confused. But I can tell you one thing--his saxophone playing is marvelous. Check it out on YouTube. He's forgiven.

As you may or may not now, work is permitted on Tisha b'Av. And since it is in the summer, the fast ends around 8 or 9 pm. As a musician, he would need to get to the venue in time to set up and prepare---no violation there. It makes perfect sense. I'm sure he only began playing after the fast was over.

thankfully israel is a democracy and one can change ideology and opinion without fear of retribution. sure you'll be praised by some and cursed by others, but what a blessing to have the ability to find one's way as one so chooses. my only fear is that the freedoms we have are eroding and the ability to choose will no longer be the case in the future. the middle east needs a beacon of democracy, not another fascist state. time will tell.

Just switching from one fanatism to another. Next step is Islam.

To play music, albeit saxaphone in its meloncholy and soothing tone, can express sadness, remorse, hurt, confusion and all moods relative to 9 b'Av, but in fact, music is this guys profession, and although HZ"l forbid against joy and music for such reasons of the anguished Jewish spirit, the man must make his living. A-Its not forbidden to work on any fast day except Kippur (mikra-kodesh) B-HZL Decreed-The loss of a significant paycheck, also with one who negotiates with venues through his agent, is too great a loss to miss a booking. C-If in fact his music brings any Yehudi closer to the Torah, the history and language of the Jewish people and The Master of all Worlds, why should this man have any doubt that he is "breaking the law"? Although one sage stated that one who works on this fast is not a wise talmid and wont see a blessing from the money, nevertheless the halaca is on the side of the persons gain and not loss in this case. No need to be mixed up

it isn't a soccer match either. being on one team doesn't automatically mean you hate the other. people need to start seeing that.

I'm gratified to see YNet taking a break out of its busy schedule of haredi-bashing to write something nice about a very talented artist.

In the old-world secular and religious Jewish live thrived and were part of the same large Jewish culture. The staunch separation between Haredi/Orthodoxy and Secular Judaism is an extreme form of what never existed. These artists represent, I hope, a return to a time when the Jewish people were actually a nation among nations, and not groups of religious denominations like Christianity.

IF YOU HAVE HATE IN YOUR HEART AND CANNOT HELP BUT HAVE IT COME UP IN YOUR POSTS, SORRY TO SAY, BUT THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH ME. PLEASE DON'T CONFUSE SUBJECTS. WE WERE DISCUSSING WHETHER OR NOT MUSIC IS PERMITTED ON TISHA B'AV.

Thanks Ynet for the interesting article. Zamir is a great artist in the smooth jazz style - IMO, he's an Israeli "Kenny G." I recently bought his music on iTunes. My favorites are his CD "I Believe" and the song "Shir Sameach" from his CD "Children of Israel."

Maybe you're right about the Tish'a B'av prohibition against music, being non-observant myself I wouldn't know. However, this guy himself admits that his journey to religiosity was a strange one and he sees it as his mission to bridge the religious-secular gap with his music. why can't you cut him a little slack?

the caps thing is my style, it's just the way i address all my posts, but just for you, i will switch to lower case letters. i would cut the guy a little slack if he weren't making a chillul Hashem, making a blatent avera as a public persona. am yisrael has enough trouble getting closer to Hashem. we don't need more confusion and mixed signals. we need clarity.

i doven there occasionally and he dosnt speak yiddis and he isnt charedi he dose dress like one though.. the fact that he played on tish bav or on the night after dosnt suprise me, he is a bal teshuva that prob like the rest of the chabad bt dosnt know much besids what he is treind but he is a nice guy

He was pretty clear that he had to leave his house when it was still Tishah b'Av, but I'm sure the show began later, after the fast was over. And he asked that food not be served because it was treif, not because of the fast. (The menu was pizza and chicken together.)

are forbiden untill the tenth of av in the middle of the day, playting on the night of the tenth even though the fast is over is as bad as playing on the fast