There are other ways the music helps us relate to these three concepts, and some people have their own stories of connection

AS we stand in shul during the Yamim Noraim, taking out our tissues during Unesaneh Tokef, we think about those three words of reprieve — Teshuvah, Tefillah, and Tzedakah — that give us the hope and assurance that Hashem will forgive our sins and erase all evil decrees. Sometimes you can even hear the background music for this holy avodah — it’s the playlists that have accompanied us throughout the years, bringing us to this point.

Suki and I have our favorites, some of them we produced, others that we’ve appreciated as they’ve become classics — songs like Chaim Banet’s “Machnisei Rachamim;” Eitan Katz’s “L’maancha,” which he wrote while learning in the beis medrash in Silver Spring one night during Chodesh Elul; “Vehaviosim,”composed by Shlomo Zolty and first released on the 1974 Toronto Pirchei Choir album, and a decade later on MBD and Friends; “Hayom Haras Olam,” which legendary mechanech Rabbi Manis Mandel a”h put to the tune of the classic Avinu Malkeinu; Rabbi Akiva Homnick’s “Chamol,” and “Ve’haya Bayom Hahu,” a song that’s been around forever and which became popular on the very first Pirchei Sings album in 1965, sung by (then) child soloist Yussi Sonnenblick.

There are other ways the music helps us relate to these three concepts, and some people have their own stories of connection.

Teshuvah

Here’s a message from Lakewood’s Rabbi Binyomin Weinrib (son of artist and composer Rabbi Yonah Weinrib). He quotes Rav Tzadok HaKohein, who says that before we can start our teshuvah process, we need to tune into the simchah and joy of knowing that Hashem will forgive us. Perhaps that’s the reason Klal Yisrael always begins “Ashamnu” on Yom Kippur with the niggun that’s actually a pretty happy tune (in a major scale), which Jews have been using since the 1100s.

Tefillah

Rabbi Elisha Klausner of Chicago relates the following story that occurred around 40 years ago, when Reb Elisha and his friend Reb Leib were living in Yerushalayim. Reb Leib, who was newly married and in need of money, was excited to get a job davening in a Tel Aviv shul for the Yamim Noraim. He happily studied the nusach and the songs in order to be prepared, but a few days before Rosh Hashanah, his wife went into early labor and they wound up spending Yom Tov at Hadassah Ein Kerem hospital. He had to cancel the job in Tel Aviv, but when the first night of Rosh Hashanah came, he made his way down to the shul in the hospital. There were about 25 men already there, but he soon discovered that there was nobody to daven for the amud. And so for the next two days, Reb Leib davened all the tefillos, leined, and blew the shofar as well.

When Rosh Hashanah was over, an American man whose wife was in the hospital approached him, telling him that in his entire life, he never enjoyed the davening as much as he did that year. They exchanged numbers, and as they were saying their goodbyes, the man handed Reb Leib a small envelope and said, “Just a small thank-you for making Rosh Hashanah so special.” When Reb Leib went back to his wife’s room, he recounted the incident and took out the envelope — and was shocked to find ten times more money than his job in Tel Aviv would have paid him! The story doesn’t end there, though. Around Chanukah time, he received a call from the man who had loved his davening. The man hired him to daven for the next 20 years in his shul in Baltimore.

Tzedakah

Rabbi Moshe Hellman is a well-known askan and baal chesed who has been with Ohel for about 50 years and served as its president for 26 of them. Reb Moshe is known to have a beautiful voice and has been davening for Yamim Noraim from the time he was married. Many years ago, he was hired to sing at the Great Synagogue in Yerushalayim. After Yom Tov, a fellow by the name of Howard Milendorf approached him, telling him what an amazing job he did and asking if he’d be available for hire for his shul, the Riverdale Jewish Center. Reb Moshe replied, “Yes, but I have one condition. I don’t take money for my davening. However, I ask that the shul make an appeal for Ohel before Yizkor.” Reb Moshe would have been happy had they raised $15,000 for Ohel, but when the appeal took place that first year, it garnered $50,000, and in subsequent years, as much as $150,000. Over the years, his tefillos raised over two million dollars for Ohel. Talk about tefillah and tzedakah!

May we all merit to have our tefillos answered, our sins forgiven and all harsh decrees nullified. A gut gebentsht yahr.

(Originally featured in Mishpacha, Issue 1079)