Back in 1973, a young man named Mordechai Werdyger slipped on to the Jewish music scene with a little-known album called Original Chassidic Melodies. While that early album never took off, listeners sat up when they heard Mordechai Ben David’s next album, Hineni, the following year. The magic of his new-old musical style and the sheer power of his voice soon won a place right at the heart of the frum soundtrack.

For over four decades, we’ve sung and danced, swayed and prayed, to hundreds of iconic MBD songs, the ones he wrote himself and those collaborations he made famous. And now we’ve asked our readers:

Which one of Mordechai Ben David’s songs has touched your life?

Yosef Eisen, Lakewood | “Hineni” (Hineni, 1974)

Even after repeatedly hearing “Hineni” for 40 years, the last stanza still sends chills down my spine and brings tears to my eyes: Our forefathers smiled as they died in peace / But the cries they began will never cease / The words they cried shook the heavens above / They said Hineni, we are here with love.

When Bilaam blessed the Jewish people, he said, “May my death be that of the righteous and my end like them.” The highest aspiration of a Jew should be to arrive in Heaven and shout out, “I am here with love!”

MBD'S TAKE

“This song was written in 1972 at the request of Rebbetzin Esther Jungreis a”h, as she embarked on her mission to spread the light of Hashem and ignite the spark of light in every Yiddishe neshamah, with the founding of the ‘Hineni’ organization. She traveled the world with the passionate messages she so eloquently delivered, bringing so many lost souls back to their roots.”

 (Originally featured in Mishpacha, Issue 738)