While his music is a blend of many different styles, it’s all infused with a longing to become close to Hashem

He’s a singer, songwriter, and guitarist whose musical pursuits took a bit of a detour when he started medical school in 2002, but YITZY KAPLOWITZ then returned to the music scene with renewed verve, having released several singles and music videos, including collaborations with Ari Goldwag, even as he maintains his busy schedule as a professor of anesthesiology. Yitzy, who sings and plays guitar at events throughout the greater Baltimore area, says that while his music is a blend of many different styles, it’s all infused with a longing to become close to Hashem

A JEWISH MUSIC ARTIST I CONNECT TO

As a singer-songwriter, I find that I connect to Aryeh Kunstler. I really appreciate his style of music, and how he uses English to bring out many different Torahdig themes. And on the hartzig-kumzitz side, I connect strongly to Eitan Katz.

A SONG THAT GIVES ME CHIZUK

“V’afilu B’hastarah.” Especially now that we find ourselves in an eis tzarah, the song has taken on a new level of meaning. We can’t forget that the Ribbono Shel Olam is standing right beside us even if He’s concealed.

A SONG THAT HAS AMAZING, ORIGINAL VOCAL ARRANGEMENTS

Zanvil Weinberger’s version of “Aderaba.” He does a multi-octave run on the word Aderaba, ending in a whistle that’s simply incredible. His vocal command is astounding.

THE SONG I CAN’T STOP SINGING THESE DAYS 

“Tamid Ohev Oti” by Yair Elaytzur. The message of the song is simple yet powerful.  HaKadosh Baruch Hu loves us and everything He does for us is always good.  The story behind the song with Rabbi Shalom Arush is also amazing — imagine your rebbe doing a cover of the song he asked you to write!

MY FAVORITE YIDDISH SONG

Dovy Meisels’s “Kretchma.”

A SONG I NEVER GET TIRED OF

The Karlin “Kah Echsof.” My family shtams from Lechovitz-Koidenov chassidim, so every time I hear and sing this song, I feel that I’m connecting to my elter zeides.

AN INSTRUMENT I’D LOVE TO PLAY

My primary instrument is guitar, and I also play drums. I’d really like to become a better pianist.

MY MOST MEMORABLE PERFORMANCE 

When I was a bochur learning in Eretz Yisrael, I walked into the Karliner beis medrash for the Simchas Beis Hashoeivah with my guitar. One of the gabbaim saw me and asked if I could read music. When I said I could, he brought me onstage and had me play for the rest of the night. At the end of the night, they asked me to come back the next night, which I did. There I was, a young American bochur playing for thousands of Yerushalmi chassidim.

TWO LINES OF LYRICS THAT I CONNECT WITH

Abie Rotenberg has written so many great lyrics for Journeys, but one that stands out is the chorus of “Man from Vilna”: “We danced round and round in circles as if the world had done no wrong, from evening until morning, filling up the shul with song / Though we had no sifrei Torah to clutch close to our hearts, in their place we held the future of a past so torn apart.” It represents Klal Yisrael’s journey in galus. Despite all the challenges, we step forward, embrace Torah, and continue to dance.

MY MUSICAL MENTORS

My first mentor was the late Carmine D’Amico, my guitar teacher when I was younger. In addition to teaching me strong fundamental guitar skills, he also brought me to concerts and to the studio for recording sessions. I learned a lot from these opportunities and got to interact with top musicians and singers in Jewish music. More recently my mentors have been the producers who have helped me release my music.

AN OLD SONG I WISH I COULD BRING BACK

My father-in-law, Dr. Steve Schuss, was a member of Ruach, a very popular group in the 70s and 80s. It would be fun to remake some of their classic songs. The first I’d work on is “V’alu,” which my shver composed. I would also like to bring back some of the Diaspora Yeshiva Band classics, especially “Tzaddik Katamar Yifrach.”

A MEMORABLE COLLABORATION

I grew up together with Ari Goldwag, and it was great to reconnect with him. The first song we did together, “Ma Rabu,” was a big step for me as a songwriter. The second was “Ana Hashem Anenu.” I had originally composed the song at a very difficult time in my life, right before my father’s untimely petirah. I was listening to Sruly Bornstein’s live shiur for Succah Daf 45, and when Reb Sruly said over an incredible vort on Hoshana Rabbah, the song came to me. Ari and I had been working on the song for a few months but I just wasn’t happy with my vocals so we never finished it, but on Isru Chag Succos last year, Ari called me and said we were releasing the song ASAP, and changing the lyrics to include parts of Hakafos to reflect the horrible massacre that had occurred. I went to the studio that night, even though I was having vocal cord issues then, and sang with as much hartz as I could muster, and with tremendous siyata d’Shmaya I was able to successfully record my parts. I’ve been singing it at every kumzitz since.

A SONG THAT GETS ME INTO SHABBOS MODE

The Belzer “Shomrei Mitzvosecha,” Shloime Gertner’s “Shabbos Hayom,” and Dovy Meisels/TYH/ Nikolsburger Rebbe’s “Shabbos is Coming.”

A SONG THAT TAKES ME TO A DIFFERENT TIME AND PLACE

The new album Shirasa, with songs of Reb Bentzion Shenker a”h, is a special album with Mona’s arrangements and some of the top voices in Jewish music. When I heard Reb Benzion’s voice on “Shehashalom Shelo,” it took me back to davening with Reb Benzion on the first night of Selichos in the Modzhitz shtibel in Flatbush. I was a young bochur when my father Yaakov Meir (Jay) Kaplowitz a”h drove us from Long Island to Flatbush to daven with Reb Benzion, and I had never heard a davening like his since.

AN ALBUM I’D TAKE ON A LONG ROAD TRIP

A few months ago, I’d have answered one of my favorite compilation albums, either Shwekey’s Elevate, Baruch Levine’s Off the Record series, or Yosef Moshe Kahane’s Torah album. But Alex Clare/TYH recently released Rebuild Again, which I’m really enjoying, and I can definitely listen to it on repeat. Mendy Portnoy did an amazing job with producing this album and Alex Clare has such a unique and powerful voice.

WHAT I WOULD TELL PEOPLE WHO WANT TO SHARE THEIR MUSIC

There are many opportunities for you to share your talents with Klal Yisrael. The most important thing is to be your authentic self, create goals, and make time to work on them. When I started releasing music, I relied too much on inspiration and was hesitant to change a song from how I originally composed it. But sometimes the difference between a good song and a great song is the effort that you put into perfecting it. If you put in the effort, your music will shine.

(Originally featured in Mishpacha, Issue 1045)