Where the Wagon Takes You  

Around five years ago, right around the start of Covid, the Blumstein brothers, Joey Newcomb, and Yakov Josephy, with the help of a cadre of friends including Moshe Storch, Mendy Worch, and Mendy Portnoy, launched this exuberant movement to promote gratitude, positive thinking, spiritual connection and simchah throughout the greater Jewish community.

Maybe that can explain why my four-year-old grandson woke up at 4 a.m. recently, turned on the MP3 player to the highest volume, and said, “Alexa, play ‘Chi Chi Wawa.’” A few seconds later, everyone came downstairs bleary-eyed to see this little fellow bouncing happily in the kitchen. Seeing how happy he was made them want to join in, and soon everyone was dancing.

“Chi Chi Wawa” was composed by Mendy Worch and inspired by the teachings of Rabbi Yussie Zakutinksy, rabbi of K’hal Mevakshei Hashem in Lawrence, New York, and TYH mentor, who explained that the yetzer hara makes a lot of noise, but in actuality, it’s just like a pesky little Chihuahua that barks but doesn’t really bite. You can either confront him as though he were a scary bulldog, or you can shlep him to the beis medrash with you, as the Gemara says (and Mendy sings) — “Im paga bach menuval zeh, moshcheihu l’beis hamedrash” (Kiddushin 30b).

What is it about TYH music that makes every song go viral? I myself couldn’t put my finger on it so I called up my trusted partner Suki. He told me, “I believe it’s because it’s music with a message, but more than that: These songs are simple, happy, upbeat, and positive — feel-good, joyful music, together with a clear and relatable message that resonates with everyone.”