Josh Lauffer
Josh Lauffer is a performing guitarist singer and songwriter. Raised in Ann Arbor Michigan, he came to Israel in 1981 at age 18 as a spiritual seeker seeking Jewish spiritual knowledge and experience. From 1982-86 he studied with and accompanied Reb Shlomo Carlebach, part of the time while living at the Moshav, stronghold of Hasids of R. Shlomo in Israel. For some of this period he also ran a center for prayer, study, music and meditation with the late R. Dovid Hertzberg.
In 1986 he returned to Ann Arbor with his wife and daughters, where he began a career working with children as a Jewish studies teacher, music director and prayer leader in Jewish Hebrew day and high school settings.
Returning to Israel in 1996, he worked for 4 years in the same capacity at the Keshet Elementary and High School, where he was known as a teacher who had a mesmerizing touch in getting kids to connect with their Yiddishkeit through prayer and song.
With the family's move to Pardes Hana, he became a specialist at Tali schools (Jewish education for a pluralistic society) all over the country. As a Tali consultant for the past six years, Josh provides enrichment in Jewish studies through learning, storytelling, music and experience.
Josh is highly sought out to perform guitar-accompanied weddings influenced by Carlebach but with his own twist, for organizing and leading Shabbatot, holidays and sanctification of the moon ceremonies (Kiddush ha-levanah) in nature, and for his unique workshop in which any one - regardless of age or musical background - or any size group (up to 250 so far) composes a new song!!!!!
As a singer/songwriter who is a self-defined "obsessive Torah-study fanatic," Josh composes moving and rhythmic melodies that poetically express the deep layers of meaning contained in midrashic teaching.
