The Holy Hunchback⁣
Performed and Composed by: Aaron Razel⁣
Based on a true story as told by Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach⁣
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Some years ago I was walking down a street in Tel Aviv. I saw an old man, he was sweeping the streets. His eyes were filled with grace, his body was all broken, a special light was shining from his face. I approached him and said: “Shalom Aleichem”. He replied as in the shtet’l: “Aleichem Shulem!” I continued in Yiddish: “Mein zisseh Yid”, sweet brother Jew, “would you tell me where are you from?”⁣
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When he said: “I’m  from Piaseczno”,  it was like a bomb went off inside me: never had I met a survivor from that town.⁣
“As a child, did you ever see Rebbe Klonimus Kalman?” I asked. “Of course”, he said, “one doesn’t forget his childhood Rebbe.⁣
When I was 11 I got to Auschwitz. They thought I was 17 and sent me to the labor camps. Now I’ve got no one. I am alone in this world.” He went on sweeping the streets.⁣
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“Kinderlach, tayereh zisseh kinderlach.⁣
Promise me you will remember this forever:⁣
The greatest thing in the whole wide world is to do someone else a favor.” ⁣
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I told him: “My friend, I heard so much of Rebbe Kalman, can you tell me some Torah wisdom you learned from him?”⁣
He looked at me and said: “Do you really think after Auschwitz, there is something that we still can remember? And how can I ever describe how beautifully we welcomed the Shabbat. We danced and danced all the children around the Rebbe.⁣
Oh yes, there is one thing I do remember he used to tell us again and again.⁣
I will remember this for the rest of my life! He said:”⁣
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“Kinderlach, tayereh zisseh kinderlach. ⁣
Promise me you will remember this forever:⁣
The greatest thing in the whole wide world is to do someone else a favor.”⁣
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“In the camps, when I realized my whole family was gone in flames, it was a dark night, I thought to put my life to an end. ⁣
Then I heard the Rebbe’s voice echoing in my ears: ‘Remember, do a favor for someone else’.⁣
Do you know how many favors you can do at night in Auschwitz? Broken people all around. Then more arrive. I sat all night listening, giving them empathy and love. I guess that’s how I survived.”  ⁣
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“Kinderlach, children oh sweet precious kinderlach.⁣
Promise me you will remember this forever:⁣
The greatest thing in the whole wide world is to do someone else a favor.”⁣
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“Even to this day, sometimes I feel my life has no purpose, I go into the sea, his voice comes in my ears:⁣
“Kinderlach, remember the greatest thing in the world!⁣
You know how much good the world needs today!”⁣
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• • •                     ⁣
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Written and composed by Aaron Razel⁣
Illustrations by Josh Baum⁣
Based on a true story as told by Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach⁣
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Original story by: Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach⁣
Lyrics written & adapted by: Aaron Razel ⁣
Music composed by: Aaron Razel ⁣
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Musical production by: Eyal Mazig⁣
Musical arrangement by: Eyal Mazig & Aaron Razel⁣
String arrangement by: Aaron Razel ⁣
Piano: Aaron Razel ⁣
Bass & computing: Eyal Mazig