Rabbi Chaim Gershon Davis

He’s a ninth grade rebbi in Yeshivas Darchei Torah and heads Camp Chazak for mesivta bochurim, so when Rabbi Chaim Gershon Davis wants to test out one of his new compositions, he has an instant, critical audience. Being a beloved and popular menachech hasn’t stopped him from composing some popular niggunim — his songs have been launched by such artists as Baruch Levine, Simcha Leiner, Naftali Kempeh, Joey Newcomb and Shloime Taussig. And with his built-in team of judges, it’s no wonder his songs are so singable.

How I Got Started

Music was always a big deal in my life, although I don’t come from a musical family at all. As a bochur I played the drums a little. Then, during a Pesach bein hazmanim when I was 20 years old, I composed my first song. (It was a fast song called “Ana Avda,” and I’ve never sold it, so you won’t find it.) Two years later, after I married, the world of composing started to open up for me with more niggunim.

How I Compose

When I concentrate on the words of a pasuk and feel its meaning, the niggun just comes. This often happens on Shabbos, when I’m more emotionally open, and I then sing the niggun with my kids for a half hour straight so that we remember it. I’ve never composed a song on an instrument, but if it’s a fast song, I’ll be drumming the beats on the table. “Es Panecha,” sung by Simcha Leiner, came to me when I gave a shmuess on those words. This past Shavuos I composed a niggun for the words “Beshachveinu uvkumeinu nasiach bechukecha,” which we say every night in Maariv, but the words soared to a higher place for me on Shavuos.

A Niggun I’ll Always Sing On Friday Night