Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Life

Bruce Springsteen’s One-Man Hora

At a Washington, DC concert this week, Bruce Springsteen gave the question “Why is this night different from all other nights?” a resounding new answer. I was primed for a rollicking performance, but I never expected a moment of Jewish bliss, since I knew The Boss had been ordained as a preacher in the Church of Rock ‘n’ Roll. He brought a revival tent feeling to the arena, with exhortations such as:

“We made a solemn vow…
to ROCK the HOUSE!

But we’re not just gonna ROCK the house,
we’re gonna BUILD a house…

We’re gonna take despair,
and build a house of HOPE!

We’re gonna take sadness,
and build a house of JOY!

We’re gonna take frustration,
and build a house of SEXUAL HEALING!”

That was my first clue that The Boss was ecumenical in his religious fervor. Then he waded into the sea of people at his feet. He saw dozens of signs held aloft by the crowd, collected 10 of his favorites and laid them out on the stage for review. The first one he chose read, “Jonas Brothers, Shmonas Brothers — put these 9-Year Olds OUT ON THE STREET; it was a crowd-pleaser but hardly history-making. But the third sign, it turned out, had the magic touch: It was a huge banner that read, “HAVANAGILA”. I stared in disbelief. I turned to a friend, a veteran of 20 Springsteen concerts, but he’d never experienced a moment like this, either.

As Springsteen stretched his arms wide to show the scroll to the audience, the band got the message and started playing the classic Jewish folk song. The crowd erupted in cheers as Springsteen began a one-man hora, sliding his feet across the stage. Chills washed over me and time stood still. Yes, a miracle happened here as Washington’s Jewish soul melded with the legendary E Street Band for one brief, shining moment … until The Boss tossed that sign on the ground and picked up the next one. But the power of his gesture had its desired effect: I was a changed man — suddenly, I had rhythm!

So the next time you hear The Boss sing the lyric, “A one-way ticket to the Promised Land” in the song “Johnny Bye-Bye,” it might be a sly encouragement to make aliyah, from a preacher who appreciates a banner with chutzpah.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.