One of the things that we love about “oldies” is that they remind us that we still have an indelible connection to the soul and sound of the past. For example, we still long for the same things that our predecessors longed for, pray for the same things they prayed for, and toil in the same words of Torah that our ancestors studied. In a similar vein, we still sing the same songs our fathers sang, which, in many cases, were the same songs that were sung by their fathers before them. The common denominator here is that we possess the most powerful entity in the world; a strength like no other, a gift that is passed from generation to generation with pride since the beginning of time. We have, in a word: Tradition. It is through our sacred tradition that the Jewish People have survived, and continue to thrive while dispersed among the multitudes throughout our storied history.
Never was this more on display than in the parshiyos that we find ourselves in right now. While in Mitzrayim, we were without any rights to practice our unique heritage – without a single freedom to call our own. We were quite literally on the brink of extinction. But there was something that kept us afloat. Something that remained unsullied by the impure influences that enveloped us, and kept us from becoming indistinguishable from our Egyptian neighbors. That something was our tradition. The Midrash tells us that we merited redemption by not changing our names, our language, or our clothing while living in Mitzrayim. It was our tradition that gave us the ability to avoid assimilation and stand apart from the surrounding society. Reb Pinchas of Koretz writes that it was because of these customs that we had the power to stay out of the 50th gate of impurity, a level that would have spelled the end of Klal Yisroel as we know it.
Do you want to know what else we had? We had Shabbos. We had the holy day of rest that had been passed down from father to son in a chain of tradition that traced all the way back to Adam HaRishon in Gan Eden. A day to breathe. A day to spend with family. A day used to delve into the scrolls of our forefathers which foretold the impending redemption. Shabbos was a time of revival and renewal, and it is for this reason that the role of Shabbos as a zeicher l’yetzias Mitzrayim cannot be understated.
The Ohr Hachaim HaKadosh points out (in Parshas Balak) that Yetzias Mitzrayim is an ongoing process, one that recurs in different gradations each day (tefillin, Krias Shema), each week with the arrival of Shabbos, and each year with the arrival of Pesach. In this way, the concept of galus is not limited to the geographic sense, even with regard to the “original” galus Mitztrayim itself. The geulah, then, is not just about the release from physical bondage and a departure from that land, but also about a transformation from the depths of defilement to the heights of spirituality. And it is in this way that Yetzias Mitzrayim is manifest every Shabbos; the day provides us with a real geulah, enabling us to leave behind the galus in which we had been immersed during the week, propelling us now to the highest of heights.
When it comes to tradition, one of the first names that come to mind, especially as it pertains to the world of Jewish music, is that of Pirchei Agudath Israel of America. At the time when the powerful winds of secularism were making deep inroads into the traditional Jewish way of life, the Gedolei HaDor found it necessary to create Agudath Yisrael. Pirchei was created to provide meaningful programming for Jewish children through events, programs, learning opportunities and the like. One of the most celebrated Pirchei directors was legendary Camp Munk head counselor, Rabbi Josh Silbermintz, z’l. At the time, Pirchei’s funding was nearly non-existent, so together with Rabbi Eli Teitelbaum, z’l (future head of Camp Sdei Chemed and creator of Dial-A-Daf), Silbermintz got to work on the first Pirchei record to try to generate some much needed cash. For the sake of brevity, we will go into further details about the success of Pirchei on a future post. For now, let’s introduce today’s song.
One of the most recognizable names in Jewish music is a man by the name of Ali Scharf. Over the last 50 years, Ali has been associated with some of the most classic albums produced, including: Kol Salonika, Neginah, JEP, D’veykus, Pirchei, Uncle Moishy, Torah Island, pretty much everything Suki & Ding that followed, and of course the great Schwebel, Scharf & Levine. JMN has previously featured his gorgeous “Va’ani Sefilasi” (his first composition), his inspiring “Yonah,” and his famous “Ish Chosid.” Today’s song, Bo Eshbos, is from Pirchei’s 5th and final album, Ma Gadlu and is yet another one of his Shabbos hits.
On a summer’s day in 1976 at Camp Munk, Rabbi Silbermintz, a stickler for tradition, called him over and said, “Ali, I see that you’re beginning to compose music. Please keep it Jewish. Don’t get influenced by the secular music around you.” R’ Silbermintz asked him to compose a song for the upcoming Pirchei record, and our 20 year old seasoned composer was up for the task. With tradition at the front of his mind, he looked to the end of Ribon Kol HaOlamim, a tefillah that his father would sing in his signature Bobover nusach each Friday night. It was there that he found the words for his next composition. The song was subsequently chosen from several dozen submissions and has withstood the test of time to become one of the classic tunes of our time.
Wishing all of you a redemptive Shabbos!
Lyrics:
בּוֹ אֶשְׁבּוֹת כַּאֲשֶׁר צִוִּיתַנִי לְשָׁרְתֶךָ, וְכֵן אַגִּיד גְּדֻלָּתְךָ בְּרִנָּה
וְשִׁוִּיתִי ה’ לִקְרָאתִי, שֶׁתְּרַחֲמֵנִי עוֹד בְּגָלוּתִי
לְגָאֲלֵנִי וּלְעוֹרֵר לִבִּי לְאַהֲבָתֶךָ
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