"If you can fit in a 'mitzvah gig,' with no one knowing, that’s a real chance for 'lishmah'"
There have been dozens of stories over the years, but I think the early ones made the biggest impression on me. Years ago, on my very first album [Oh! Ohad: Ve’aristich Li], we had a beautiful song by Yossi Green called “Mi Yiten Menuchasi.” I was singing at a concert in Queens College, and after the concert, a young lady came over to thank us. She had been injured in a major car accident six months earlier, and spent four months in the hospital. She told us how that particular song had been her accompaniment, giving her strength through the operations and the recovery process of learning to walk again. She said, “I bought this ticket just to thank you in person.” That taught me, very early on, that when you sing with your heart, you never know where and to whom the song will reach.
—Singer OHAD MOSKOWITZ
We live in a very public world today, with people’s every move posted all over — and that sometimes includes hospital visits or chizuk encounters. But if you can fit in a “mitzvah gig,” with no one knowing, that’s a real chance for “lishmah” — for doing something for its own sake. Your success out there really may well be because of what you’re doing privately behind the scenes. In a certain sense, the small stage is really the big stage.
I remember meeting Avraham Fried at a small event right in the middle of the first lockdown after Pesach in 2020. At that time, singers and other public personalities were being asked to send much-needed chizuk videos, especially to bar mitzvah bochurim celebrating alone. With a sigh of exhaustion, I said, “Nu, Reb Avremel, how many videos did you send out today?” to which he replied, “Not enough, Baruch, not enough.” It was another good reminder of where the big stage really is.
— Singer/composer BARUCH LEVINE
Of all my songs, I would say that “Yesh Tikvah” has probably spent the most time in the hospital corridors. I often hear regards from those who found it encouraging while they were patients. One lady in Israel told me that she had “Yesh Tikvah” playing on repeat whenever she had to go in for treatment. And a father told me the song had given his family so much strength before, during, and after his son’s head surgery.
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