Amir Benayoun: "A Musician Who Studies Torah Can Achieve Great Things"

Singer Amir Benayoun discusses the intersection of art and Torah, arguing that artists don't need to devote all their time to art to succeed. "It's nonsense, vanity, falsehood, and idolatry," he says in an interview with 'Channel 7,' quickly clarifying: "When someone engages with art all the time as if they're studying Torah, they are wasting their time and efforts."

"Being an artist is a matter of inspiration; it comes to you. There's nothing to study in art. If someone isn't an artist, there's nothing to develop—even if they study art their whole life."

However, for Benayoun, an artist who combines Torah study with their art is a completely different matter. "Torah study adds depth to art. After a Chassidic lesson or a Gemara study, the way you approach your instrument or anything else is different. Practically speaking, one can wake up, pray, study Torah as much as they want, and then play, record, and perform later in the day."

Benayoun explains that if he had come from 'there,' meaning the world of Torah study, "I would be able to achieve things in music that have never been done. Although there is nothing new under the sun, a musician who invests in Torah can achieve amazing things. You go to the synagogue, you hear the Torah reading, the tropes—this is music. They always went together, and there is no contradiction. 'Write this song for yourselves.' But over the years of exile, musical creativity was pushed out of the Beit Midrash, so every artist had to take a few 'oy-oy-oy,' add a verse from Psalms, and there you have it—a song."

"But that's not art; it doesn't pass the test. Bring from yourself what you have learned. Each person has their ability to bring the spirit that Hashem gave them in every situation, without needing anyone else's approval. The approach that sees art, creativity, and music as tools to kick against conventions and break boundaries is nothing but the destruction of the creator's life. Virtuoso creators who have invested 8-9 hours a day in playing are not truly artists but rather more like operators maintaining the machine so it can play well. This is an investment in the externality of art."