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?

Menachem Thav, Lakewood | “Mi K’amcha” (Tomid Besimcha, 1994)

As a kid, I must have heard the MBD tape Tomid Besimcha, hundreds of times. I didn’t understand a word of Yiddish, but I could “sing” most of the Yiddish song “Mi K’amcha” by heart. Fast forward 20 years. I was driving down Forest Avenue in Lakewood, when I heard a nostalgic tune from my youth. By this time, I was able to make out the words, and I was moved to tears by the message. Even in the darkest of times, Hashem loves us, more than we can imagine. But even more so, I couldn’t get over the fact that I had actually heard this message hundreds of times before. I just didn’t have the tools to understand it. This brought to life the following concept: In the Next World, everything will become so clear, and there will be no questions.

Hashem is telling us constantly that He loves us. We may even hear the words, we may even be able to repeat them, but we don’t always have the tools to understand them. One flash of Divine insight, and everything will become clear as day.

MBD'S TAKE

“This song was written by the Ribnitzer Rebbetzin a”h. She always saw the positive side in every situation and in every Yid.”

 (Originally featured in Mishpacha, Issue 738)