Sometimes, they say, those whimsical words contain the deepest meanings of all

Jewish music today isn’t always serious business, or is it? According to some of the industry’s funniest people, it’s both, and maybe that’s one reason we keep playing songs that seem pretty silly when we first hear them.

Joey Newcomb, 8th Day (Bentzi and Shmueli Marcus), Country Yossi, and the TYH (Thank You Hashem) Chevra are some of today’s popular composers of the lighter side of Jewish music. But sometimes, they say, those whimsical words contain the deepest meanings of all

WHAT IT’S LIKE TO PUT OUT SONGS THAT HAVE A FUNNY TWIST

JOEY NEWCOMB

Much of life is so serious, so full of intensity. Sometimes you just have to let go, take the load off your back and let the Eibishter hold it, while you lighten up. Because really, you’re not in control of anything. I have a very light-hearted personality — in class I was always the silly guy. On the other hand, I’m always searching for deeper meanings and growth. Even my lighter songs have serious meanings and messages and it’s actually an easier way to get the messages across into people’s hearts.

COUNTRY YOSSI

Yidden have historically turned to humor as a way to cope with the ever-present dangers and pressures of surviving and succeeding in often hostile environments. Growing up in America in the 1960s, ’70s, and ’80s offered a measure of post-Holocaust respite, but it also came with its own challenges. There was intense pressure to make a living and build a successful business while raising a Torah-oriented family.

Sensing a need in our tight-knit — sometimes uptight — community for some much-needed humor to lift our spirits, I began writing funny parodies of current popular hit songs. I rewrote the lyrics to reflect our traditional lifestyle and values, always with a smile, a wink, and a Yiddishe knaitch.

It’s true that a song doesn’t change the world, but it can make the journey through life a little lighter.

If these silly songs managed to lift spirits and lighten burdens, then I consider it a privilege to have shared in the simchah of Am Yisrael.

8TH DAY

I don’t know if I’d call our songs “funny,” but we definitely like to explore the lighter side sometimes. It’s a way to open up the heart and the mind. It’s also about trying to say it in a way that hasn’t been explored before. So it’s fun, or maybe a bit whimsical, but also very thought-provoking and exciting.

TYH CHEVRA

For us, there’s always a message that goes beyond the music. The holy tzaddikim taught that Yiddishkeit should be experienced with joy and vibrancy, constantly deepening our connection to Hashem and to other Yidden. Our goal is to spread Torah in a joyful way and we hope that comes through in what we do.

Joy is not just an addition to avodas Hashem, it’s a prerequisite. Doing a mitzvah with joy elevates the mitzvah infinitely. So it’s not about putting out funny music — it’s about putting out music that inspires growth and closeness with Hashem and with other Yidden.

In this generation, whatever kids want to listen to ends up on their parents’ playlists, in carpool, at home, and eventually at simchahs and bigger stages. Very sophisticated songs often don’t resonate with kids today. Instead, it’s about giving over deep messages using a medium that people want to listen to. And funny songs are one of those methods.

THE FUNNIEST LINE OF ALL

JOEY NEWCOMB

People have told me they really appreciate the lines from the song “To be a Yid”: “You don’t have to be Breslov to be b'simchah, but you have to be b'simchah to be a Yid / You don’t have to be a Litvak to learn Torah, but you have to learn Torah to be a Yid / You don’t have to be a Tzioni to love Eretz Yisrael, but you gotta love Eretz Yisrael to be a Yid…”

Years ago, when I taught in Rabbi Groner’s yeshivah, I was sitting schmoozing with the boys at a kiddush on Shabbos morning, when one kid said, “You’ve got to be Breslov to be b'simchah.”

I said, “No, you don’t.” And right there, I started singing “You don’t have to be Breslov to be b'simchah…” Instead of looking down at other people, let’s appreciate them and take whatever we can from their strong points.

When I perform this song, I often ad-lib for the crowd. I might sing, “You don’t have to live in Lakewood to be yeshivish… You don’t have to live in Passaic to be a baal teshuvah…” People find this entertaining, but is it deep? Of course, it’s very deep.

COUNTRY YOSSI

Obviously, there are too many to list, but one standout is Moishe Shmeel. He told his rebbi he was absent because his goldfish passed away. His rebbi then called him “a shtick fleish mit tzvei fees” — a two-legged chunk of meat! He also hid the baby at his brother’s bris. Inspired by… me, in sixth grade.

TYH CHEVRA

Probably “Chi Chi Wawa.” That was really the first funny song we did, and it introduced something unexpected. The inspiration came from a shiur we heard from Rabbi Yussi Zakutinsky, rav of K’hal Mevakshei Hashem in Lawrence and TYH mentor, about different approaches to dealing with the yetzer hara. One approach is to see the yetzer hara as a big, scary opponent, in which case you run away and avoid situations where you will have to confront it, which is a very high level.

But there is an even deeper approach, associated with the teachings of the Baal Shem Tov: Instead of seeing the yetzer hara as a big scary dog, you look at it as a small chihuahua gnawing at your pant leg that barks but doesn’t really bite. Instead of being stuck in fear, you double down on your avodah. When faced with temptation, you open a Gemara, do a mitzvah, perform chesed, daven harder. The focus is not on obsessing over the yetzer hara, but on being obsessed with opportunities for mitzvos. That mashal is what inspired the song.

8TH DAY

Hard to say. We get a lot of feedback on our lyrics. The “Milton Kishenor” line in “Money Room” gets a lot of buzz. Personally, I think the “You’re blocking my driveway“ line in the song “Manhattan,” inspired by all the visits we made to Bubby, Zeidy, and the extended family in Brooklyn when growing up, is pretty funny.

A SILLY LINE THAT REALLY HAS LAYERS OF DEEP MEANING

8TH DAY

Maybe our funniest and yet most meaningful lyric is “KuKaRecoo.” It sounds silly and children giggle when they hear it, but it’s based on one of the most beautiful stories of the Baal Shem Tov. A farmer boy who had no religious upbringing was inspired to cry out to Hashem on Yom Kippur, but he didn’t have the language of tefillah — and so he started making farm animal noises. When people in the shul tried to stop him, the Baal Shem Tov explained to them the boy had just opened the gates of Heaven and brought down tremendous blessings for everyone.

JOEY NEWCOMB

Maybe “Der krach fun der pickle?’’ Like many meshugassen, the original trigger has long been forgotten. A meme was going around of a chassid happily crunching a pickle, and then he says “Der krach fun der pickle… yoish.” People loved it and reposted it, but my message was that when you thank Hashem, you should go right down to the smallest detail, thanking Him for the crunch of the pickle and the taste of the apple. Hashem could have just created a mushy pickle, or a tasteless apple, but He gave it those extra little details as a kiss.

TYH CHEVRA

Oh, that’s an easy one. “Fishy swishy yum yum.” Admittedly, at the time, there was no super deep meaning behind it. In retrospect, if we were doing it again, we might try to inject more explicit meaning. The song “Yum Yum” was originally created as a parody by a well-known comedian, Rabbi Greenspan, poking fun at our music. When it came out, we received many messages about it. We thought it was funny, we appreciated it, and we had a good laugh at our own expense.

We chose to take it with humility and turn it into something joyful and positive by actually producing the song with a very entertaining music video.

Many people don’t know this, but the same applies to “Happy Clappy.” The term came from people cynically describing shuls that have long, musical, dancing Kabbalas Shabbos davening. Instead of rejecting the label, we embraced it. We see a great value in giving over the message that any way you serve Hashem, within the parameters of halachah, is something extremely precious and a cause for celebration.

COUNTRY YOSSI

Probably the “one-eyed, one-horned, Flying Lukshin Kugel Eater” — which actually contains many layers of profound, esoteric, kabbalistic secrets, ineffable incantations, and mystical allusions far too powerful to elucidate at this time.

WHAT WE TELL PEOPLE WHO FEEL THAT JEWISH MUSIC SHOULD BE MORE SERIOUS

COUNTRY YOSSI

Hey, lighten up! But really, we’ve created many very serious songs over the years — “Tik Tok,” “Sholom Ber,” “The Wedding’s Over,” and the nightmare-inducing “These I Remember — Eileh Ezkerah,” among others. I call these my mussar songs. So many people have gone to the Next World  in my songs that some listeners have labeled me a serial killer. But when the serious messages are surrounded with silly and funny ones, hopefully, the messages get through.

JOEY NEWCOMB

Well, Jewish music is a very serious avodah. If all Jewish music was becoming silly, I’d hear that complaint. But it’s not. True, there’s a little bit of lighter stuff coming out on the side, but that’s nothing new. Country Yossi was bringing simchah to Yidden with his parodies years ago, and even Suki and Ding put out some really funny spoofs — who can forget “Just One Sheitel”?

Life today has gotten very complicated, and people are going through all types of challenges. Wherever I go, people tell me, “Keep making Yidden besimchah.” So I try to do that. No one ever told me, “Keep spreading seriousness.”

Maybe the people who complain need to smile the most?

8TH DAY

You are also right. Being serious is essential, but being joyous is just as important.

TYH CHEVRA

We absolutely love slow and serious music too. There is nothing more powerful than a song that pulls at your neshamah and gets your serious emotions going. We’ve put out many serious songs, such as “Yidden,” “Rebbe I Wanna Learn,” and “Mi Sheomar,” which was composed after a terrible tragedy in our community. “Never Alone” brings home a strong message of emunah, and “Mamleches Kohanim” has so much heart, reminding us that Hashem desires greatness for each and every one of us — and the list goes on.

We produce music as a vehicle to spread a message, and when you look at what people are listening to the most, it is often the lighter songs. So we lean into the best way possible while providing context, using descriptions, videos, and additional Torah content so the message gets through.

WHAT WE’D DO IF THE ROSH YESHIVAH WALKED IN WHILE WE WERE SINGING THE “FUN STUFF”

8TH DAY

We’d keep it going! It would be great to get his feedback!

TYH CHEVRA

We would never put out a song unless we believed the tzaddikim who inspire us would be proud of it. That said, every song has its time and place. There are moments where a song like “Yum Yum” would not be appropriate. But the tzaddikim also teach about the value of mili dishtusa, doing silly things, that can inspire growth and open the heart.

COUNTRY YOSSI

My rosh yeshivah was Rav Shlomo Freifeld ztz”l, of Shor Yoshuv. He loved my songs and would often ask me to sing them on Purim. Of course, I was very selective in my choice of material.

JOEY NEWCOMB

So there’s camp, and then there’s life outside camp. Outside camp, when the Rosh Yeshivah or any rebbe walks in, it’s a given that around a hundred guys come running over to be the one to tell the band that the Rosh Yeshivah’s here, and we quickly switch to “Yamim al Yemei Melech” or “Tzaddik Katamar Yifrach.” If my own rebbe, Reb Itche Meir Morgenstern, walked in and I was playing something silly, of course I would change up the vibe to something serious. There’s a pachad of tzaddikim.

Camp, though, is a different environment. I’ve had roshei yeshivah and major talmidei chachamim sitting through an entire concert and even enjoying it and hearing the serious messages behind the fun songs.

A SONG THAT’S JUST FUN, WITHOUT A HEAVY UNDERLYING THEME

JOEY NEWCOMB

There is one song I wrote, “Shakshuka in Morocco for breakfast every day.” Don’t look for any deep meanings here. We were riding camels in Morocco, one of my favorite places, and I got into a silly mood and started singing about shakshuka for breakfast. We incorporated it into a medley with meaningful songs about Shabbos in Marrakesh and the tzaddik Rav Amram ben Diwan, but between you and me, that song happens to be complete silliness.

8TH DAY

I would say that all our music is fun. Because fun that also has meaning to it brings to a place of true simchah. So even singing a slow, emotional, serious song, where you’re expressing your neshamah in a real way, brings you to a level of true simchah even though you’re not laughing or being silly. Tamid besimchah means always feeling confident and assured in your connection to Hashem, not second guessing or feeling down, chas veshalom. I would hope that all our music is fun in that way.

A SONG THAT ISN'T FOR EVERYONE

TYH CHEVRA

TYH has a very diverse audience. Our listeners range from people within the chassidishe communities all the way to unaffiliated Jews on college campuses. Different songs speak to different audiences. We know that not every song is for every person. In Bnei Brak, we would play something very different than what we would play in a high school in the middle of America.

COUNTRY YOSSI

Today, I don’t think I would write songs like “A Boy Named Zlateh,” “Then He Potched Me,” or “The Cholent Song.” Times have changed.

WHAT I WOULD CHANGE IF I COULD

JOEY NEWCOMB

When I’m alone, I’m usually listening to Carlebach or to chassidish music. The heavy electronic DJ vibe and meaningless songs that some people are busy with are not for me. But I don’t go around trying to be mechanech the generation.

COUNTRY YOSSI

I would get rid of the line telling Tuki that kissing his bubby was nice, but not a mitzvah like kissing his mezuzah. I got a lot of flak about that one, especially from irate grandmothers. Even Rabbi Eli Stefansky took me to task during his Daf Yomi shiur.

TYH CHEVRA

In the song “I Wanna Be Like Zusha,” the TYH Boys are imagining themselves as popular singers, a dream that might be in the head of any kid, but then they realize that in order to be great, you just have to be yourself. Although the “Zusha” is referring to the chassidic folk band, we also wanted to connect it to the famous story about Reb Zusha, who said that in Shamayim he would not be asked why he was not Moshe Rabbeinu, but why he was not Zusha. But based on feedback, we realized the link to Reb Zusha didn’t land clearly enough for everyone. If we were doing it again, we would add a bridge that explicitly ties the song back to the story. We don’t want confusion. We want our message to be clear.

THE BEST FEEDBACK

COUNTRY YOSSI

When I once met Sholom Mordechai Rubashkin at an event and introduced myself, he looked at me, smiled, and said, “You helped lighten my load.”

JOEY NEWCOMB

I once walked into a camp, and the bochurim told me they’d just had an entire shiur on one of my songs. I asked the rebbi what he’d said, and he told me he based his shiur on the line “You don’t have to be Breslov to be besimchah.” That was wild.

TYH CHEVRA

When “Every Yid’s a Big Tzaddik” came out, there was discussion and debate about its meaning. But by now, many shiurim have been given on that topic! And one particularly meaningful insight was that maybe the song is not about viewing yourself as the biggest tzaddik, but about how you look at others. Every Yid you encounter should be seen as a big tzaddik. We love to be a part of spreading a message that unites Yidden and brings us closer to Mashiach.

(Originally featured in Mishpacha, Issue 1101)