Ariel Burger: Beyond Words

"My best friend was going to art school, and I was very drawn to that path. But I chose not to follow it, because I wanted to find the all-encompassing discipline. I wouldn't have used those words then, but that was really what it was. I wanted to find the thing that would be the source for art, but also the source of being a person, and the source of meaning--and a response to mortality." 

Artist and author Rabbi Ariel Burger crossed paths with Elie Wiesel early on his life, and grew up to serve as a TA in Wiesel's classroom. In this in-depth interview Burger many facets about the place of music and art-making in his life. "You have to find your own path," he says, "You have to perceive your unique form of mystical madness. That's important. But the test of that path is always: Am I becoming kinder? Am I becoming more sensitive to other people? Am I becoming more compassionate? Am I becoming more responsible?"

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