When he was a kid, Avremel Friedman went public as a child soloist on several albums — but while the light of most child stars dims as their voices change, Avraham Fried’s only became brighter. Ten years later, his 1981 debut album, No Jew Will Be Left Behind, turned into the beginning of a nearly four-decade stretch, as listeners connected to his niggunim of the neshamah. Through hundreds of songs and dozens of albums, we’ve sung and swayed, danced and prayed. And now we’ve asked our readers:
Which one of Avraham Fried’s songs has touched your life?
“Zeh Lazeh” (Kama Tov Shenifgashnu, 2017)
I tend to enjoy the music of my youth, but I recently chanced on a newer Fried song which quickly became a favorite: “Zeh Lazeh,” track seven on his all-Hebrew album Kama Tov Shenifgashnu. It took a few repeats for me to pick up all the lyrics, but when I did, I was completely enraptured. A soul-stirring, symphonic-orchestra style melody with an equally profound set of lyrics — it still takes my breath away each time I hear the song.
The lyrics tell a moving story. In Heaven there’s a palace, and the King sits inside. A big door adorns the front, but entry is elusive. Prayers, tears, and all else have failed to unlock that imposing door. There remains but one way to secure entry: “Im kol Yisrael yoshitu yadayim zeh lazeh — if all Yidden link arms together, yitztarfu hayadayim v’yagi’u ad kisai hakavod — the chain formed by that connection can reach to the Heavenly throne.”
If that hand, at the end of the chain, knocks on the door, the song concludes, that impenetrable door would swing open wide. A contemporary song. But the lesson is timeless.
—Yitzy Stern, Lakewood, NJ
Avremel’s Take
Very interesting choice. I thought this song would catch on real big. It hasn’t yet. It was a holy Yid who said that, “If all Yidden would join hands it would reach Shamayim.” I added the idea, that if with this united chain of hands we would knock on Heaven’s door, it would surely open. Let’s keep knocking.
(Originally featured in Mishpacha, Issue 791)
