Mood Mix with Motti Feldman

THREE SONGS I PLAY AT EVERY KUMZITZ

“Saba Kadisha” by Lipa, which is a pretty new release, is always being requested (“Ich vell zein ehrlich… b’teshuvah sheleimah lifanecha”). Then I generally sing the beautiful Miami Boys “Ani Maamin” from It’s Min Hashamayim, which has become a classic, and Beri Weber’s “A Heim,” about our yearning to return home to Yerushalayim.

A FRIDAY NIGHT ZEMER I’LL NEVER SKIP

I sing my father’s traditional zemiros, including the Pshevorsker “Menuchah V’simchah,” which is not a typical niggun.

WHEN I BECAME A PROFESSIONAL MUSICIAN

I took guitar lessons as a kid. My mother let me know that if I didn’t practice, the lessons would stop so I did start to practice more seriously. When I went to yeshivah in Eretz Yisrael, I left my guitar at home to focus on my learning. I also learned a couple of years in kollel where I hardly played either. But then, when I had to support my family, I started to play again and found myself getting pretty far in the industry. I’d like bochurim to know that: That you can make the most of your learning time in yeshivah, give the music a break, and still make it in the music industry later. There’s no conflict.

MY GO-TO MELAVEH MALKAH SONGS

I love Amit Listvand’s fast “Keili Chish Goali” from his Shehecheyanu album, which Mona Rosenblum arranged — it happens to be my father’s favorite song so I especially love playing it. And Pinny Ostreicher’s “Eliyahu Hanavi” is Melaveh Malkah favorite.