Category Archives: Mussar

Niggunei Hisorerus Novhardok

3 Replies

The following letter is reprinted here with permission, first appeared in Yated Neeman (USA Yated, issue dated this May 21).

Lost Novhardoker musical heritage brought back to life 
BS”D

Dear editor –

I recently saw signs in local botei medrash about a recording of Novhardoker niggunim recently put together in Eretz Yisroel. I called the number given and acquired it and was very impressed. I suspect that it would be of interest to others as well. I therefore wrote the following review of it, which I would like to share with Yated readers with your permission. Thanks for your assistance and all your good work.

Lizeicher nishmas kedoshei Novhardok, Hy”d.

The Novhardok Yeshiva movement was one of the largest, if not the largest such movement, in Eastern Europe pre-WWII. After the terrible churban, some remnants survived, notably in Eretz Yisroel, France, and the USA. Prominent gedolim of today with Novhardok connections include Rav Yitzchok Dov Koppelman of Lucerne, as well as Rav Yaakov Galinsky, and Rav Chaim Kanievsky shlita. The movement did not regain its pre-war strength and size afterward, however.

Consequently, although many people, especially from the younger doros, have heard of Novhardok, they often lack comprehensive knowledge of the deep Torah and mussar spirituality that Novhardok stood for.

One of the aspects of Novhardok that is little known today, is the niggunei hisorerus of the movement.

Novhardok had special Yiddish niggunim, composed by Novhardoker leaders, such as Rav Nissan Bobruisker and Rav Dov Budnik zt”l, Hy”d, which were sung on various occasions for chizuk in avodas Hashem.

Recently, in Eretz Yisroel, a breakthrough has come about, in which an excellent, high-quality musical release, entitled ‘Niggunei Hisorerus Novhardok’, with thirteen tracks of Novhardoker niggunim, has been put out. The niggunim have been recorded in a modern, up-to-date fashion with modern technology and musical accomplishment, with a talented vocalist. Additionally, accompanying the musical release is a booklet of approximately sixty pages, comprising a foreword and lyrics of the songs in Yiddish, with Hebrew translation alongside, line by line, which can be used to follow the songs and better absorb their deeper meanings. There are also a few historical photographs of Novhardoker Yeshiva talmidim and hanholo on the packaging.

The songs shed light on the times from which they came, with references such as not bowing to the hammer and sickle (communist symbol), redifos hadas (religious persecutions), and crossing the border between Russia and Poland. Some of the songs reflect mussar beliefs and practices, at times specifically Novhardok ones. There is mention in one song, for example, of having a notebook with a pen, part of a mussar practice in which people worked on their middos, while another envisions baalei mussar without a measure when Moshiach comes. One song with fifteen parts, focuses on different middos and themes, among them hatovo, amitzus, histapkus, hashgocho, bitachon, zehirus, zikkui horabim, and teshuvoh. The songs vary, with some being slower and others more ‘lebedig’ (lively). One particularly lebedig song is ‘Lebedig Yankel’, which (in two versions) talks about when Moshiach will come. There is also a short song at the end sung by Rav Yaakov Galinsky shlit”a.

The release gives a feeling of what it was to be a Novhardoker in the old days and helps us understand the spiritual power of Novhardok, which helped it grow to have thousands of talmidim pre WWII.

One needn’t be a Novhardoker talmid, or son, grandson, or great-grandson of one to appreciate and enjoy the recording. Anyone with a curiosity about, and gefil (feeling) for, the pre-WWII European Yeshiva world, should find it of interest. Even if your Yiddish is less than perfect, the line by line Hebrew translation make it possible for you to enjoy it as well.

It is available in both CD and cassette.

In our trying times, the spiritual strength such niggunim can offer is surely a welcome development. As we approach Kabbolas haTorah, niggunei hisorerus can help us and we can bring this forgotten aspect of pre WWII Yeshiva life back to life.


-A Yated Reader


If anyone is interest in contacting information about how to buy either the cassette or CD, please email me and I’ll pass the information on to you. -Neil



As Sunday’s bike ride gets closer, I continue to train

1 Reply



Last night, very late, I went out and biked for half an hour.  It was very quite and I stayed within my neighborhood, but I was able to listen to a shiur from Rav Weinberger titled “Making Ourselves Into A Receptacle To Accept Torah “.  The shiur was great and as I listened I had in mind that it was in the zechus of a Refuah Shelaima for Rabbi Maryles ‘ grandson.


Wednesday night’s eight mile ride was good, but I had to deal with the wind that made Chicago famous.  It was a much harder ride thanks to the wind.  I started listening to a new series of shiurim given by Rabbi Yossi Michalowicz from Thornhill, Ontario, eh.  These shiurim are based on Mussar Vaadim given by Rav Avigdor Miller zt’l that were complied into a two volume set called “Shaarei Orah”.  I have read “Rejoice, O Youth” and “Torah Nation”, but the first two shiurim that I listened while biking were really uplifting.  The first idea that is discussed is that thinking about something is not the same as acting upon it.  For example, I can think about biking, but that is totally not the same as actually going out and biking.  You can think about drinking something if you are thirsty, but that will not quench your thirst.  The series is available for free right here .


Rav Miller’s view is that we need to move past that initial thought and make it something concrete.  In an attempt to accomplish this I will start thinking about how I really do wish people have a “good morning” before I wish them “Good Morning” (starting with those in my family).


As I listened to these shiurim base on Rav Miller’s Vaadim I had in mind that my friend’s wife was in need of a Refuah and that I was also listening in memory of both grandfathers a”h of two friends, the father a”h of a close friend, a mother-in-law a”h of a friend, and in memory of my in-laws a'”h.


With only four days left there’s still time to help out Chai Lifeline by sponsoring me.  Just click here and find my name in the pull-down menu.  No amount is too small (or too big).  Thanks for taking time to read this.

A defining moment

1 Reply

Recently, in what started out as a casual (not that I really believe in these things) conversation with the head of local adult education program, I was asked what I’m my interests are in regard to learning.  I mentioned that I  ‘enjoy’ mussar and had for many years.  I was then asked how I got “into Mussar”?  I smiled and responded that it was more like mussar got into me.


This conversation brought me back to what I might loosely call a “defining moment” in my Yiddishkeit, while learning in Israel in 1990.  I had spent my freshman year at YU and now I had an opportunity to actually learn Torah “all day” for the upcoming year.  It was the end of my first day in a yeshiva in Israel, and our Rabbeim had left for evening, thus leaving about 40 fresh off the plane guys in the beis medresh with several of our madrichim and a few kollel-types.  On the schedule was something called “Night Seder”.


I’ll be honest, I had no clue what this was.  A nice amount of guys left our yeshiva (which back then was in Gilo) and took a bus into town.  The dozen or so left sort of just hung out.  I looked around and saw that a few people were learning b’chavrusah and some were just “reading”.   I decided to start checking out the books in the yeshiva’s small library.  I happened upon a small book called “The Path of the Just” .  I had never heard of it (not that I really had heard of much aside from Rashi, Rav Hirsch, and R Aryeh Kaplan) and decide to pick it up.



As most people, the first sentence hit me with its’ humility and deep insight into how to open up to someone:

“I have written this work not to teach men what they do not know, but to remind them of what they already know and is very evident to them, for you will find in most of my words only things which most people know, and concerning which they entertain no doubts.”


Wow.  I kept reading and reading and reading.  I quickly realized that I wasn’t one of those people who didn’t really know all the things the RAMCHAL expected me to know.  That was fine with me, I was willing to learn.


I had always been interested in psychology and why we do what we do.  That aspect of insight in the life of a Torah Jew was, as a 19 year old, something that I hadn’t formally come accross during my development in Torah observance.  The whole idea of becoming a better person was an area of Judaism that I had thought about but never really read anything about, until now.  I felt my world sort of opening up and I quickly began to see the “bigger picture” of a whole different aspect of Avodah.  It was a classic Peak Experience,  as Abraham Maslow would have put it.


Eventually when I reach the end of this sefer I was again, amazed.  It ends with this pasuk from Tehillim:

“Let Israel be happy in its Maker, the sons of Zion rejoice in their King” (Psalms 149:2)


The end result of growth should be that we have a relationship of simcha with Hashem.  Simple, yet deep.  That evening and the subsequent ones spent reading and learning Mesillas Yesharim with several different people helped give me an anchor and a direction that I hadn’t thought possible. As I look back, it may have been a defining moment for me.

Sunday’s Spark of Mussar

Leave a reply

Rav Yosef Yozel Hurwitz, the Alter of Novhardok


In wartime, the generals pore over maps to scrutinize tiny dots, each of which represents a river, a hill, or a valley.  In this way they decide where to advance and where to retreat, where to dig in and which places to avoid.  On the basis of the study of this map a battle is waged.  But an ignorant person who came into the map room would be amazed to see the chiefs of staff studying tiny dots and would think them foolish for doing so.


The map of life is the Torah.  Some ignorant people think the Torah contains insignificant points; they don’t understand that each point is critical.  Spiritual gains and conquests are impossible with deep study of every letter, tag, and hint in the Torah.


From Sparks of Mussar by R Chaim Ephraim Zaitchik

Sunday’s Spark of Mussar

Leave a reply

Rav Yisrael Lipkin of Salant


At twilight one evening he was seen gazing at the sky in order to determine the exact moment of nightfall.  It turned out that his doctors had ordered him to rest for three days without learning, and R’ Yisrael carried out the instructions to the letter.  At the end of the third day, he set out to determine the exact moment of nightfall, for “Just as it is forbidden to delay the study of Torah of even one moment, so is it forbidden to begin one moment too early, because of the obligation of guarding one’s health.”


From Sparks of Mussar by R Chaim Ephraim Zaitchik

Sunday’s Spark of Mussar

Leave a reply

Rav Yitzchok Blazer


Sometimes our sages use the expression “goes down to Gehinom”; other times they say “falls into Gehinom.”  R’ Itzele explained that the difference reflects the different kinds of sins.  Sometimes the descent into Gehinom is a gradual decay process.  But there are some sins that catapult a person into Gehinom in a flash.


From Sparks of Mussar by R Chaim Ephraim Zaitchik

Sunday’s Spark of Mussar

Leave a reply

Rav Nosson Zvi Finkel, the Alter of Slabodka


Entering R’ Nosson Zvi’s house, a tamid removed his hat, and placed it, brim down, on the table.  R’ Nosson Zvi scolded him, saying, “The brim of the hat is wet from perspiration.  How can you soil the tablecloth with it?  This is considered doing damage.”


From Sparks of Mussar by R Chaim Ephraim Zaitchik