In this spoken narrative, Gedilah, a folk‑rock rabbi, recounts his first visit to Rikers Island, a New York City jail complex that houses roughly 7,600 inmates. He describes arriving at a gymnasium where about 100 prisoners of diverse faiths and backgrounds were gathered, the logistical challenges of setting up equipment in a hot, humid room, and the moment he opened the performance with his self‑written "Superman" song, which broke the ice and earned enthusiastic applause. Mid‑set an inmate asked why he performed in prison rather than pursuing a conventional music career. Gedilah answered by critiquing mainstream music that often inflames ego and anger, and he articulated his belief that music is a divine tool meant to elevate, inspire, and promote good. He noted the profound silence and nodding that followed his remarks, interpreting it as recognition of a deeper truth about music’s purpose. The talk also touches on lighter, humorous moments during the event and concludes with a preview of an upcoming trip to Haynesville, Virginia, inviting listeners to stay tuned for future episodes.
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Okay, it's Gedalya, and today I'd like to talk about a recent visit I had to Rikers Island. My first time in Rikers Island. 7,600 inmates. I did not perform for all of them. And actually, that's really half of what they usually have. They say there's usually around 15,000, but they closed some of the facilities there. So I got to Rikers Island, and it took a while for me to get to the the room we were doing the event in was in the gymnasium there. And we had about 100, I guess 100 people in there. And there was all, again, all different faiths, Jewish prisoners, Muslims, Christians, all different types of faiths, all different colors, all walks of life, everything you could think of. And the, you know, it's always interesting when I first get to every event, you know, I'm not wearing my my black hat and my, I don't wear my Folk Rock Rabbi outfit that you see in my promo picture. You know, it's wearing more of my, it's called A New Song USA is the organization. So I have a shirt that has a logo of A New Song and a hat with A New Song, a baseball hat. And so it was a little bit more, you know, I'm connecting already a little bit more with them as opposed to being a complete outsider. And so we got to Rikers Island and I was setting up in the room. They came in a little bit during while I was setting up because it was taking a little bit of time. It took time to get into the room. And I have a new mixer actually that I was having a little bit of a problem with and started to really sweat. I'll tell you, it was so hot in the room there. That I was dripping sweat. I mean, I couldn't see through my glasses at one point while I was trying to set up all the equipment. But I got it all set up and we started the event. And I start with my Superman song, which kind of breaks the ice right away. You know, I wrote that song probably when I was in my— not probably, but when I was in my 20s. And is, uh, kind of like the song that everyone can relate to. Like, everyone just wanted to be a superhero at some point in their life and felt like they had the potential to do great things, and they wanted to save the world, you know. And unfortunately, things happen, things change, and, uh, we also grow up and mature, and we, uh, realize maybe we're not gonna fly. But I started with Superman, and it went very well. Thank God it was a lot of applause and they were asked, they started to like scream out things and ask questions. And that's really what I wanted to focus on today, on one of the questions that was asked. And it was after one of the songs. So one of the inmates in the back, he raised his hand and I called on him and he said, he asked me, "Why am I doing this?" And first I didn't understand what he really was, you know, the real focus of the question. And he explains, he says, "Why are you coming to prisons? And you know, you're obviously, you play piano and guitar and sing, you could be out there in the music world, you know, making some money. Here you don't even get paid for coming to prisons." And first I told him, I said, "I just like to be different than everyone." But, which is true, and the answer I gave also, and when I expounded on that, it was, you know, I feel like God just put the words in my mouth to really, you know, say something that really made a big impact on them. So first I said, well, you know, it's a good question, and I mean, think about music. Let's talk about music first, you know. You listen to a lot of the music out there and unfortunately with the, aside from the bad words, you know, a lot of music out there is really aimed at just exciting a person and getting them just riled up and getting them feeling like they're just sometimes even just angry and just wanting to like, you know, prove something, you know, and it boosts their ego. It has an effect on people that is not so positive many times. And I asked them, you know, is that really what music is supposed to be used for? You know, the way I see music is that it's an incredible tool that was given to us, you know, by the Creator of the world. He gave us this tool of music in addition to all the other things He gives us. And I think that the way to use music properly in my own opinion, is that it should be used to elevate people, inspire people, to bring people closer to doing good things. And coming here is what I feel is a very good use of music. So you're asking me why, you know, why I'm doing this, but the truth of the matter is, is the question really to me? Or is the question really to everyone that's using it the wrong way or using it in a way that's not really beneficial? And I don't know who, you know, how you're taking this right now if you're listening to this podcast, but I'll tell you, in that room in Rikers Island, you could hear a pin drop in that room. There was such silence and everyone was like nodding yes. Everyone was just recognizing that, wow, It's so true. And, you know, it's one of those things that you can't deny. When you hear something that's true, you can't deny it. Maybe you're not able to change your life to accommodate that truth, and that's a different thing because obviously we're all in our own worlds. You know, what I see as being something true and real and worth doing and that I'm ready to drop everything and commit myself to it is very different than another person. But you can't deny the fact that there is a truth in what was said. And when you feel it in that place inside that recognizes the truth, you can't deny that. Music is a tool that's meant to be used for good things, like everything else out there. And that was really the highlight of that, uh, of the performance in Rikers Island for me. I mean, there was also a lot of moments of, you know, other questions, and also a lot of, uh, there was also some humor. We always have some funny things that come up, you know, and that was the highlight for me. Anyway, that was my trip to Rikers Island, and, uh Coming up, I have a trip to Virginia, to Haynesville, Virginia, and hopefully in the next podcast, um, we'll be able to talk about that a little bit. For now, I'm wishing you all only good things. Thanks for tuning in.
