Hello out there!
Welcome to summertime! Where the days are longer, nights are stronger than moonshine. Time for graduations, BBQs, the beach, camping and Father's Day. Much thanks to Richard Nixon, who signed Father's Day into the law of our proud land, we have an annual opportunity to shower our dads with ties and sweaters. Thankfully the third Sunday in June this year falls the day before my kids leave for camp. What if they had left a week earlier?
Father's Day usually means Glaser family picnics where we celebrate all the aging Glaser dads and pull muscles playing softball. For a change this year I was asked to entertain at the Father of the Year award dinner in Tucson, AZ. I told the sponsor of the show that I couldn't do the gig...there was no way I was going to leave town the weekend before my kids left for a month. He told me he'd get right back to me. Ten minutes later the phone rang; he had arranged for a private jet to take me and my family to a Tucson resort so that I could do the concert AND have quality time with the kids. Guess it never hurts to ask!
Other shows this month are a 120th anniversary concert for Tiferet Israel Dallas on 6/13 and then Anshei Israel Tucson on June 20th. Then it's off to Poland for a multi-city concert tour in the old country. Hope to see ya on the road and please consider adding my brand new, hot off the press Songs We Sing Vol. 2 CD to your collection. New this month is a motivational essay below entitled "Just Do It!" and a some uplifting videos to enjoy. Thanks for taking the time to peruse my newsletter and thanks for staying in touch.
Sincerely,
Sam
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The Songs We Sing Volume Two is Here!
Sam has just completed his 21st CD...the follow up to the ever popular Songs We Sing released in 2000.  Volume Two features twenty-eight lovingly recorded songs by Sam and his full eight-piece band and an array of guest vocalists. This monumental work breathes new life into these classic "common denominator" hit songs that unite the Jewish world. Order it now!
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The CHAI TOUR 2010/2011
Be a part of Sam's 18th year on the road! Get your organization signed up on this special tour while the best dates are still available! Click here for the concert options and click here for the full schedule; dates are added weekly.
Event programmers: Uplifting contemporary Jewish music will bring all ages in your community together like no other activity. As always, we discount significantly for midweek shows and when Sam is already in your area. Sieze the date!
Upcoming stops include:
Dallas, TX
Tucson, AZ
Dubiecko, Poland
Krakow, Poland
Vancouver, Canada
San Diego, CA
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Just Do It!
Sam Glaser
June 2010
When my first child was two years old I cut off our TV. He was more interested in Pokemon than
playing with me. The decision was
rash and spontaneous but I'm confident it was the right move. We never turned
it back on although we do  have a nice projector system for the occasional
family movie night. Whenever I
mention this to anyone they often say, "Wow...I wish we could do that!" And I respond, "Well, you can. You just have to stop paying your cable
bill." They usually respond with
resignation, "Boy, I wish we could do that."
My song Hineni (Here I am) was my first hit in the Jewish
world. I deeply resonate with the
idea that just like our biblical heroes we are waiting to be called upon to
make a difference, either by God, a community leader or a friend in need. I believe that we are hard wired to
say, "YES! I'm ready and willing
to do something meaningful, something great." Rashi, the master commentator states that Hineni implies
z'rizut, or intense readiness to perform the commandments. Hineni is our code word to get off the
couch, to maximize our limited time on this planet.
Nike nailed this concept with their Just Do It campaign. There's no such thing as "maybe next
week" when it comes time for your workout. You can't delegate going to a yoga or  kickboxing class. We either carve out time in our busy
schedule to make it to the gym or it's never going to happen. We may intuit this truth in terms of our
physical fitness but fall short in our spiritual fitness. The problem is that we don't keep our
life goals in our day-to-day consciousness. As Stephen Covey reminds, we have to spend time in the
important/not urgent quadrant. In
other words, if we are always running short on time, living in a state of
panic, we never do get to those crucial items on our Bucket List.
I feel blessed that I had the opportunity to work for my
father in the garment business for five years. We had factories in over a dozen countries making
merchandise for chain stores and department stores across the US; that meant
managing hundreds of purchase orders at any given time. We all had computers on our desks to
oversee the flow of production...all of us except my dad who had everything in
his head! Our company was
compelled to branch out into overseas manufacturing when imports started
flowing into the US during the Reagan years. That was also the time when the business started to unravel. There were too many details to manage,
too many poor quality and late delivery emergencies and our traditional
business model for over thirty years turned into "management by crisis." The problem with this situation is that
one loses the ability to execute plans for the future when mired in present
chaos.
I think I
understood the importance of crisis avoidance as a freshman at the University
of Colorado. I figured out that I
could schedule my classes only on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I was a double major
in business and music so that meant two very intense days each week given my
load of over twenty units each semester. But this binge allowed me to have 4-day weekends over the next three
years of my college career,  essential to maximizing my ski/wilderness
time. My secret was getting ahead
and staying ahead. I would study
in my special spot in the Norlin Library periodicals room where no one could
find me. Anywhere else inevitably
resulted in social hour. Tuesday,
Wednesday and Thursday I was the most boring, focused overachiever you would
ever meet. At the end of my
Thursday night study session, all hell broke loose.
I still apply this method to my life. My wife still questions why I must work
such crazy hours on my CDs, at the peril of my sleep requirements and overall
health. But I set goals with
deadlines that are very real for me, even though to an outsider they seem
imaginary. If I get to Shabbat without
reaching my self-imposed quota, I feel a bit unfulfilled whereas those weeks
when I nail the workload I feel like a rock star. I try to jump into the hardest recording or bookkeeping work
before the fun stuff like checking social emails or Facebook. I make the scariest phone calls first,
those where in all likelihood I'll get NO as the answer. I have a theory in life that if you
don't ask, you don't get. This can
be as simple as asking someone, when the lighting is just right, if they mind
if you take their picture. Or as
challenging as calling that benefactor for a grant for a new music
project. I'm sure I'm not the only
one who perceives that the web can be our greatest ally or waste hours of our
precious time. I guess the key is
retaining surfing, both virtual and oceanic, as the reward to a good session of
focused achievement.
Another obstacle to the Just Do It theory of fulfillment is
"waiting for that big break." Fill
in the blanks: I'll feel good about myself when _________, or I'll take that
great vacation when _________, or I'm saving this outfit for ____________. I'm writing this essay in the High
Sierras, in Mammoth Lakes, CA, one of the most beautiful spots on the
planet. Outside my window I see
snow capped peaks, horses grazing on an endless meadow, the deepest blue skies
punctuated by dirigible-shaped lenticular clouds on the horizon. The only reason I'm here is because I
know that I need these regular wilderness moments in my life to survive and I
therefore schedule them like I would anything in my calendar. I don't have "time" to do this, but I
feel so clearly that THIS is why God gave me the gift of "time" in the first
place. Also, we had an epic winter
that is still actively pressing into June. The third biggest annual snowfall of all-time and
counting! But the skiing won't
last forever. One great way to prioritize
is to make an accounting of which of your needs is the most perishable. Can't afford a vacation? Don't postpone...go camping! Have a favorite suit or dress that you
are saving? An expensive bottle of
wine? Uncork it tonight, put on
that outfit, crank up the stereo and DANCE around the house!
Our sages give us a simple list of those spiritual goals that
are ignored at our peril. According to the prophet Micha, "What does God demand from you? Do justice, love mercy, walk humbly
with your God." I elaborated on acts
of loving  kindness and ego nullification in my Where is God essay, but suffice
it to say that time must taken in our daily rat race to do for someone other
than yourself or your own family, which is really just an extension of
yourself. As I write this I
realize that I am so guilty of this MY-opia. Another essential spiritual pleasure is learning Torah
everyday. We float in a
transcendent conversation with the Almighty by speaking our innermost thoughts
in our prayers. But we hear God
respond to us in our learning. We
are reminded in the siddur that the study of Torah is equal to the performance
of ALL the other 612 commandments. Just opening a Chumash and keeping up with the portion of the week is
step one. Attending a weekly class is step two. Having a learning partner who forces you to show up and
struggle with text is next. Bottom
line is that none of the above will happen without conscious programming into a
busy week.
We don't own our time. We are all here on loan from the Creator of the Universe. I know it's tacky but "The
present is a gift. That's why it's
called the present." Obsessed with
your past? Get over it! What do you need to do in this
life? Just imagine you are leaving
this world tomorrow...what are the immediate regrets in your heart? Another
method is to write your own obituary. Do you focus on the great restaurants you've visited or the people whose
lives you've enhanced? God keeps
us guessing regarding our lifespan. Our sages admonish us to make sure we repent (better translated as "to
come close to God") one day before we die. Since we don't know when that will be, make this the day to
thank God, love God, talk to God. God created the universe for our pleasure. What is your pleasure? Yes, a good movie, New York Super Fudge Chunk ice cream and surfing the
web are all pleasurable. But deep
pleasure, true "nachas" is what we're after. Make that list, prioritize and Just Do It!
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New Videos for June!
New video from the Kol Bamidbar musical: On our way to the Land of Milk and Honey!
Happy Father's Day! A short video for dad's everywhere with my brother Yom Tov singing my song Still My Daddy.
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SPECIAL NEWS BULLETIN:
Sam Does Simchas!
You want your wedding or Bar/Bat Mitzvah to ROCK! Sam specializes in customizing music for your event to ensure that it will be unforgettable! With top musicians, great vocals, pro sound and lights...there are few bands that can deliver the same impact nationwide. The band draws upon the deepest repertoire in the Jewish world combined with  authentic rock, jazz, motown, disco and standards. Many clients opt to supplement their private event with a Sam Glaser concert or Shabbaton for the whole community. Whatever your needs, visit the Sam Glaser Orchestra site to learn more.
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The Latest From CAJE!
CAJE is back! Check out newCAJE.org! The Coaliton for Advancement in Jewish Education is an international group of educators, rabbis, cantors musicians and artists that gather together over 1200 strong each summer. They have invited me to perform annually for the past sixteen years and those concerts and workshops are some of the most fulfilling of my tour. Just to give you an idea of the serious fun and true unity, here are highlights from my 2006 show at Duke University. Sadly, the organization declared bankruptcy last year but there is now a grassroots newCAJE that is picking up where CAJE left off. The inaugural conference has just been announced for this August in Boston...get involved now!
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Thank you!
Thank you for reading, for listening, for your support and friendship.
Glaser MusicWorks
800-972-6694
Outside of the US 310-204-6111
sam@samglaser.com
1941 Livonia Av.
Los Angeles, California 90034
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