A Niggun for Comfort and Courage

Songs that help Hatzolah volunteers realign to a place of calm in the storm — and give an infusion of courage to keep going

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s the coronavirus pandemic continues to affect every corner of the Jewish world, flooding the lines of Hatzolah dispatchers, these past weeks have shown Hatzolah volunteers’ 24/7 fortitude and devotion in a crisis that has upended our collective sense of security. As these heroes return from those wrenching calls and try to retain a level of balance and stability in their own homes, is there a song or niggun that helps them realign to a place of calm in the storm — and gives an infusion of courage to keep going?

We Need It More Than Ever

This is a pretty loaded question — it depends on what has transpired the last hour on my Hatzolah calls. That said, the song that brings me to tears each time I play it is Baruch Levine’s “AVINU MALKEINU, SHELACH REFUAH SHELEIMAH” from his album Hashkifah. It is just heart-wrenching to see firsthand how many cholim there are, and we need this tefillah more than ever. When I’m not actively taking calls, the niggun that keeps running through my head is “Ani maamin b’emunah sheleimah bevias haMashiach.” That’s the bottom line.

Yitz Rabinowitz, Hatzolah Waterbury

Always Giving Thanks

I’m both a Hatzolah member and a nurse at Maimonides Hospital in Brooklyn, which is on the front line of this pandemic. One song which has been a huge source of chizuk for me during this time is “THANK YOU HASHEM,” by Joey Newcomb.

Yehuda Lachman, Hatzolah New York

Heal My Heart

If I were to go with one standout song it would be Ishay Ribo’s “HALEV SHELI.” I find the chorus in particular — “Verak Ata yachol lahafoch mispedi lemachol… Only You can turn my lament into dancing… Only You know how to reach my heart, to heal my pain…” — to be overflowing with emunah and chizuk.