The concept of the Elul kumzitz was dreamed up last summer, when Baruch Levine was singing around the camp circuit

A novel concept in keeping albums relevant and up-to-date appeared on the scene last week, when Doni Gross and Baruch Levine came up with the idea of updating their Kumzitz Alive Elul album by adding twenty new songs to the playlist. This “album update” on all streaming platforms includes the new songs, which have been staggered and woven in to the music medleys of last year’s framework, for an easy and seamless listening experience. This is probably the first time in the industry that new material isn’t labeled as “Volume 2,” but an augmented version of the original recording.

The concept of the Elul kumzitz was dreamed up last summer, when Baruch Levine was singing around the camp circuit.

“Of course, Hershy Weinberger’s song ‘Ata Zocher,’ from the Rosh Hashanah davening, was on every set list,” Baruch remembers. “I added some of my own Elul songs and some from other artists, and created a ‘Let’s Not Be Afraid of Elul’ medley, putting together a collection of slow and fast Elul niggunim. Baruch Hashem the chevreh really took to that medley, and I kind of made it my mission to do this medley everywhere, as I remembered how hard it was for me when I was leaving camp to make that sudden shift from a real summer camp break — a time to let loose and refresh — straight into Elul.

“It always felt like too drastic a change, and the Elul mindset could feel daunting,” Baruch continues. “I wanted to shift that perspective. Yes, Elul is certainly about teshuvah, yirah, and kabbalas ol malchus Shamayim, but it’s also so much about ahavah, closeness, connection. If I’d have to use one word I would say, ‘opportunity.’ My hope was that if we can lean into that feeling already after Tishah B’av in the summer, then our entrance to Elul will be so much better anticipated and actualized.”

Right after that summer, Doni Gross suggested that they record a kumzitz-style live Elul album. As timing was tight — Doni had the idea once Elul had already begun — and the song list was short, with only eleven songs. The album was released mid-Elul last year, and as soon as it was out there, people began to ask why their own Elul favorites weren’t covered. This new update delivers more of the Elul vibe, including a wide selection of songs ranging from from “Ki Lashem Hamelucha” and “Adon Olam” to TYH’s “Elul” song, and more powerful songs from Rabbi Shmuel Brazil and Abie Rotenberg. “Machnisei Rachamim” and “Pnei L’elbon,” as well as two well-loved Chabad classics, add a touch of chassidish warmth, and listening to the album is a great way to prepare for the great spiritual opportunities of this time of year.

Whenever Inspiration Strikes

Midnight Message

It was after a Chol Hamoed Succos concert, when YEHUDA GREEN had sung his heart out together with Avraham Fried, and fans were coming over to greet them. A Satmar couple from Williamsburg came over to Yehuda and said, “We came to thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” he responded. “What for?”

They replied that they had a son who had given up Yiddishkeit entirely and wanted nothing to do with Torah or mitzvos. He still lived in his parents’ home in Williamsburg, though, and the parents held themselves back from questioning his comings and goings or probing what he did with his days and his nights.

On Motzaei Shabbos, the week before Rosh Hashanah, their phone rang around 2 a.m. “I just saw your son.”

“Really? Where?”

“He was here davening Selichos with us in Manhattan.”

The parents cried tears of joy. They knew that if their son was interested in attending Yehuda Green’s popular Carlebach-infused Selichos, which draws over a thousand people from shtreimels to ponytails, it was a sign that he had not completely given up on his Yiddishkeit and his relationship with Hashem. And here they came to thank Yehuda for the Selichos service of just a few weeks before, which they hoped had opened their son’s heart and would help him choose to find the way back home.

Mic Drop

Into His Forgiveness

NAFTALI KEMPEH credits his musical talents — and his affinity for the Elul atmosphere — to his father, who leads the Yamim Noraim tefillos in the shul on Moshav Tifrach.

“I remember, as a child, how much we spoke at home about the nusach, the tunes, and the special atmosphere. Elul always meant a lot to me,” Naftali relates.

His Zman Elul album enabled him to share that inspiration with the public, and he has now released an original single, “KEHODATA,” which expresses the momentousness of Hashem’s great revelation to Moshe Rabbeinu of his Thirteen Middos of Rachamim, central words we repeat daily in Selichos — “Kehodata le’anav mikedem…”

“I hope and pray,” he says, “that this music can enter people’s hearts and join with the tefillos in shul, and help us become closer to our Father in Heaven, who is all-forgiving and all-merciful.”

My elul soundtrack

For many of us, Elul is a month filled with anticipation. We look toward Rosh Hashanah, and something inside us stirs. For me, that feeling is always awakened by the classic tune of Avinu Malkeinu. There’s something about that traditional melody that touches my soul in a way words cannot, and it inspires me year after year.

Personally, I’ve found that the month of Elul, and the feelings that come with it, have inspired more of my music than almost any other theme throughout the year. The tefillos and melodies of this season speak to me so deeply that I’ve written and released multiple songs connected to it. Just within L’David Hashem Ori — the tefillah we recite every day during Elul — I’ve recorded five different pieces: “Es Panecha” (The Chevra and then later covered by YBC); “Ki Yitzpeneini” (The Chevra); “Achas” (Dovid Stein), composed together with Yitzy Waldner; “Ki Avi” (Yeshiva Boys Choir), composed together with Yossi Newman; and “Kavei El Hashem” (Menucha). I also composed my own version of Avinu Malkeinu, which was released on the first Menucha album.

Elul is more than a month of preparation — it’s a month of song, prayer, and connection. For me, the melodies of Elul open my heart, and through them I’ve found some of my most meaningful songs.

—Eli Gerstner

(Originally featured in Mishpacha, Issue 1078)