Do you have that one Niggun, that one tune that has the power to jerk you back to another time and place?

Rav Yeshayahu Hadari ZT’L

A niggun that the moment you hear it, you start re-experiencing something from a different point in your life? For many people, Elul and the Yamim Nora’im are times when Niggunim take front and center.

Rosh Hashana just isn’t the same without ‘your’ HaYom Haras Olam or Avinu Malkeinu, Yom Kippur loses a bit of its strength if Unesaneh Tokef isn’t the same melody that you’ve grown up with your whole life. In fact, Rav Yeshayahu Hadari zt’l, late Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivat HaKotel, used to say that different times of the Jewish year are associated with their Niggunim, to the extent that singing tunes of the Yamim Nora’im outside of the Yemei HaDin causes Hashem to bring Din into the world!

A Special Song

Along with all of the classic Elul and Tishrei Niggunim, there’s a unique one that sticks out from a story that happened a few years ago. To the best of my knowledge, the only people who know this tune are Yagilu people! We were on the first-ever Yagilu 3 bushwhack – a 3-day trek aiming for 4 peaks with no trails to guide us. All we had were our maps, compasses, and our experienced guide, Chayim. It was day 3, we were powering along the trail, and a string of amazing events (a longer story for another time) led to us still hiking along later in the day. Later, as in twelve o’ clock at night! We took a break on the bank of the Neversink River to share some snacks, catch our breaths a bit, and check our course on the map. As you can imagine, people were tired and worn out, so spirits were a bit lower than they usually are on these hikes. During the break, R’ Tani, somehow still full of energy, exclaimed that this was a perfect time to teach us an incredible new Niggun for Elul. We learned the words-

“Lecha Amar Libi, Bakshu Panay – Es Panecha, Hashem, Avakesh!”

The quick, happy pace of the tune got everyone moving and spirits up as we moved on from the break. We kept singing and walking, our headlamps bouncing in time with the tune. It was slow going, as we didn’t have a reliable trail to follow (it was a bushwhack, remember?) so progress was slow, but the singing was fast and fun. Somehow, the singing only stopped two hours later, when we finally reached our trail and decided to sleep the rest of the night. We’d finish the last mile or two much quicker in the light than if we’d have to struggle to pick out the trail markers in the pitch black of a forest night. Aside from the incredible stories of that first bushwhack, we all walked away with an amazing new Niggun to enjoy.

The Takeaway

Every year, reciting L’Dovid Hashem Ori from Rosh Chodesh Elul to Simchas Torah, I come across these words. They remind me how this line, this Niggun kept us going even in the toughest of times. We’re all on our own bushwhack, aren’t we? ‘Hiking’ through life without a trail to follow, doing our best to follow our ‘compasses and maps,’ both when things are easy and when times are tough. The story surrounding this Niggun reminds me that when your goal is clearly set out in front of you, whether it’s the end of a long hike or a rendezvous with the King of Kings (Es Panecha Hashem Avakesh!), you WILL achieve it-eventually.