Stories Under The Mitzvah Tree + Giveaway!

 Music has the unique ability to trigger powerful recollections. A piece of familiar music provides an instant soundtrack for a mental movie that starts playing in our head. It calls back memories of a particular person or certain place and you might all of the sudden see the person's face in your mind's eye. I think about this soundtrack when I chose a cd for my children to listen to while they play. 

The selection of Jewish music and dvds has grown quite considerably since I was a child and there is no shortage of options but perhaps its for that reason I find myself reaching for the music that reminds me of my childhood. The music that brings me back to a time when Bubbeh Sarah was alive and spent her winters in our backyard watching us play in the treehouse attached to the wooden swingset.  To a time when Zeidy Fellig's visit would have us running to the door for a rectangle fruit candy and a warm smile. The memories are fleeting, fading slowly over the years, pushed further and further back in the recesses of my mind by the new ones we are creating in our own home these days. 

What music will bring them back here?

My first real childhood flashback was produced by Shalom, Shalom Aleph, an album I picked off the shelf because it claimed to be "the classic Aleph Bais tape you grew up with". The first notes of the piano turned me into my five year old self again. It's simple; repetitive and monotonous, but it's a peek hole into my past, providing me with not much else than a feeling I can only identify as home. 

Recently another album from my past inspired me to make a long over-due visit to the the woman who wrote them. 

Still vibrant and dynamic, Morah Blanca is a musical pioneer; the first person to write and record Jewish music specifically for children with the record "Stories Under The Mitzvah Tree" released in 1973.  Morah Blanka is a legend in her time and I am proud to have a unique connection to her. To me Morah Blanka is 'Tante Blanka', the only sister of my Zeidy Fellig o'h, and my great aunt. Yesterday she opened her home, heart and photo albums for me. And told me her story.

In 1938, Blanka was all of ten years old when her mother sent her with the Kindertransport, a rescue mission that took place 9 months before the outbreak of the Second World War. Blanka recounted boarding the train happily, completely oblivious to the circumstances. She remembers how her mother smiled and laughed with her, not wanting her only daughter to leave her arms in tears. 

Morah Blanka's mother, my great grandmother Bubby Itty

Blanka was placed in a foster home in England where she was rasied as a gentile, alone and without any contact with her family. In 1946, the chief Rabbi of England arranged a religious woman from Montreal to retrieve her. After 9 years(!!) living with strangers, she was reunited with her two older brothers Yosef and Nussen.

Nussen, Blanka and Yosef reunited in Montreal

My grandfather Yosef (to many known as Joe as my grandmother called him) was married at this time, raising his young children in Montreal. Uncle Nussen arranged that Blanka room and board with a frum family in Williamsburg in hope they would find her a Shidduch. At 20 years old, Blanka again was on her own. She recalls a memory where she sat eating soup in the living room of her new landlords, and as she eats, her soup bowl continues to fill with her tears. So many years later she remembers the loneliness so vividly, it brought her to tears to talk about it. 

She marries a quiet Litvisher boy soon after and moved to Lakewood where she spent the first few years of her marriage. Soon after her husband meets the Skverer Rebbe and they settle in New Square where she and her husband raise 7 children, all Skverer Chasidim, who live there until this day. 

Morah Blanka (right) with Rebbetzin Dr. Gruenfeld who brought her back to Montreal from England. She was  in charge of the Jewish Secondary School in London and the one responsible for all the  jewish children who were evauated to shefford from London during the war. She had a tremendous influence on Morah Blanka and guided her into the life  she leads today.  

Tanteh Blanka describes how excited she was to have a home all of her own. She takes painting lessons so she can paint pictures to decorate her house instead of buying them. Her love of children is manifested when she becomes a preschool teacher, a career she has cultivated and nurtured for over 50 years. (Not a person in Monsey hasn't passed through her classroom!) As a young teacher of Jewish children (Yeshivah of Spring Valley in Monsey) Blanka notices a tremendous need for Jewish children's music. (Can you even imagine a time when there were absolutely no recordings of any Jewish children's music at all?).

Sitting in her parlor, she describes how the words to the songs come down straight from Shamayim, and in frantic inspiration she begins to write the songs for what becomes "The Mitzvah Tree", "I Hear A Mitzvah", "Free To Do Mitzvos" ,"Stories Under The Mitzvah Tree", and "The Mitzvah Tree Triplets Make A Kiddush Hashem". Her cassettes produce the classic songs that hundreds of thousands of Jewish children learn every year, songs like "Hashem Gave Us A Present" and "Latkele, Latkele".

Her stories are narrated and recorded by young children and she remembers each one by name. Many are still in touch with her today.

Tanteh Blanka impressed so much on me in the few short hours we spent with her. "I love the Eibishter!" she proclaimed more than once. "My goal in life is to get closer to Hashem!". She sang me the songs she is still writing and teaching to her preschool students and showed me a picture of the bulletin board they had put up in school this month. Warm, positive, excited and generous are just some of the words that came to my mind as spoke.

It was powerful.
*****
Congratulations Natalie Turetsky and Very Thankful Mother who won Miriyam Yerushalmi's beautiful book set. Please email me your contact info to chanale@hotmail.com
*****

Today this story comes with a special giveaway that has a direct connection to Morah Blanka and myself. As I mentioned above, Morah Blanka had only two brothers, my grandfather Joe and Uncle Nussen, both infamous for their Gemilus Chasadim and larger than life personalities. Uncle Nussen is the father of another very talented woman, another famous Morah that we all know and love as Morah Music.

From right, my grandparents Joseph and Miriam, Blanka, and Suri's parents Nussen and Shoshana.

Suri Levilev is my father's first cousin and a close friend of mine. Her five Music and Movement albums are incorporated in school curriculums and play on repeat in my house since my little one is a tiny baby. One random commenter on this post will receive the entire Music and Movement set plus Morah Blanka's only album on CD "The Mitzvah Tree's Simchas Yom Tov".

All you gotta do is follow this blog (by clicking Join This Site on the top right) and leave a comment. What do you remember about the music of your childhood?

High School Choir Club!

Just a little announcement before Shabbos comes in:

       

 Teenage girls of Crown Heights, this is for YOU!

I am so excited to announce the debut of an exciting new after-school program custom-designed for the girls of our neighborhood, called the Choir Club.

The Choir Club will be open for all girls of high school and available for grades 7-9 and 10-12. The program will include an annual performance, solo opportunities and recording potential. 

The club will also encourage song-writing, and personal expression in any form of singing, harmony or musical instrumentation. Iy'h by the end of the program you will have gained singing confidence, song-writing skills and an extensive library of traditional and contemporary Jewish music. 

Join the Choir Club and be part of an after-school singing program that will bring out your Inner Song!   

Performance, Songwriting and Recording Opportunities!

Monday and Wednesday

7th, 8th, 9th grade

6:00 pm sharp

10th, 11th, 12th grade

7:00 pm sharp

Call 347 750 7957 to register TODAY. Spaces are limited.

Affordable and Located in Crown Heights

Endorsed by Bais Rivkah and Bnos Menachem 

Cant' wait to get started!

Good Shabbos

Behind The Music-Vatispalel Chana

This post is a "behind the story" special post I will be writing twice a month, recounting the experiences and memories that came into play when writing some of my favorite songs. Many of these stories, you might have heard at concerts but I hope to add a little something extra each time. All my music can be purchased here. 

As a songwriter, I am constantly looking for inspiration for new songs. Sometimes it can be intangible and illusive, random inconclusive ideas floating in my head as I fall asleep, only to be forgotten in the morning. Often they come as an epiphany and seem so obvious; why have I not thought of this before.

Its hard to remember the exact experience I had writing each of the songs on my albums. Some came easy, melody and lyrics written in under and hour while some challenged my skills and forced me to think out of the box, resort to a thesaurus, a Siddur, some exterior inspiration to trigger my creativity. There were the songs I had to completely restructure, even go back and start from the drawing board.  Many uncompleted lyrics sat on the shelf for a while and were later merged into other songs. A few I collaborated on, allowing myself to trust another writer to seek out the imbalance and imperfections in my material. Many were just abandoned, scribbllings in notebook, languishing in a bottom drawer for years to come.

These days, with deadlines looming and the limitations my homemaking provides, the writing process is much more of a logical process. I used to believe I wrote by instinct, without a rhyme or reason, but now I am aware that songwriting is a honed skill like any other and these days I go at it with a plan.

Part of the plan is to write a song that moves people. What is the purpose of a song if not to touch hearts, changes moods, uplift spirits, and create divine inspiration?

When I access my index of songs I've written over the years, it's not hard to identify the songs that truly took on a life of their own. And these are the songs I have received the most feedback whether at concerts or in letters. These are the ones that can still bring me to tears even as I sing them for the hundredth time. Those songs have become much bigger than me; greater than the paper I wrote them on, than the keyboard I played them on, than the voice I sang them with. I believe Hashem has occupied them and they are holy. Chasidus teaches that any physical matter a Jewish person manipulates with good, can be raised to incredible spiritual heights.

In the words of Yossi Green,

"What does it mean to be a singer? What does it mean to be a singer of Jewish music? What do we accomplish when we sing? What does it mean? My opinion always was...you know the world says that people sing with a voice  and my opinion is that people don't sing with a voice. A person sings with their heart. The question is, how much does he let his voice get in the way?"


One of the most unique songwriting experiences I had was writing the song "Vatispalel Chana"  Everything about that song is holy. I wrote is shortly after I got married, in Eretz Yisroel, on a train ride from Chaifa, where we visited the cave of Eliyahu Hanavi on Har Hakarmel. The lyrics are practically verbatim from the Navi and the tune I came up with on Friday night. While I cut up the salad, I sang it to an empty apartment without a pencil and guitar. Until today, that song moves me like it is not my own. And it's not. It is Chana's. I just try not to let my voice get in the way.

It's always remains a challenge for me to come up with the cd artwork as the visual aspect of art remains my achilles heel. With Vatispalel Chana, I wanted to tie Chana Hanaviya, my namesake, into the original artwork we were creating. The graphic artist hand drew the mountain baron Chana walked on, and included Kever Shmuel Hanavi, where her son remains buried to this day. You can see it better in the pencils. 

I insisted in vibrant colors and the floral theme, all representing fertility, growth and femininity. 

The rays of the sun brought Hashem's blessing for Chana into the picture and my guitar, an extension of myself basks in His light.

After some work on the logo, this is the final cover. 

You can listen here, you can buy here.

Why I Don't Have A CL

At a Shabbos meal this week, a friend of mine asked about my Cleaning Lady situation. I actually found myself feeling somewhat embarrassed that I do not have a CL at all.

 99% of the time, I am the CL, the exception being when I return from an out-of-town trip to my parents, or when I come back from an out-of-town concert trip.

Now let me preface all this by saying that I was (partially) raised by the loving hands of a woman named Frida that worked for my parents for over 20 years. She is like a family member and all of us living out of town still call her regularly. She taught me so much about housekeeping;

Srub pots with ajax to keep them shiny,

Leave ironing till the end (cuz once you start you can't stop),

Line the bottom of the garbage can with paper towel to absorb leaks,

Leave extra plastic bags in the bathroom garbage cans so you can easily switch to a new one...

the list goes on and on (I am trying to remember much much more but I am love HER, not the actual CLEANING.)

She cared about us like we were her own children and flew in for a week for my brother's wedding this summer. I was more nervous about hosting her than my mother. I ironed the sheets, polished the silver and dusted the light fixtures in her honor. I also left a towel and chocolates on her (freshly pressed) duvet clover. Needless to say it was an honor to have her stay by me and I love her dearly. (She brought me a gorgeous crystal pitcher as a present. Toiveled. Need I say more??)

So clearly I had a very positive experience with housekeepers. But still I personally do not want one and here is why:

(This list refers to my personal experiences with CLs. Please don't feel this is a dig on the special woman in your life-I understand your relationship and I am not trying to challenge it.)

I am a SAHM. I am blessed to have more than enough time for housekeeping. (I use the term blessed loosely here.)

I clean better and faster. It takes the CL almost an hour to scrub down a bathroom and I find myself wondering "what is she DOING in there?")  I can do it more thoroughly in 15 minutes (thanks to the Magic Eraser).

I am too nice. It makes me uncomfortable to have another person doing my dirty-work and I overcompensate by offering the CL food and Starbucks runs every hour.

The mistakes. A cousin of mine had her silver candelabra de-shined with a vigorous scrub down with steel wool. Of course, I could keep an eye out but I don't want to babysit the CL.

The inconsistency. I had one woman for a few weeks after I broke my hand a couple winters ago, and just when I started to fall truly, madly, deeply in love with her, she told me she was pregnant and was going back to Peru to have her baby.  I have scheduled CLs for some big Shabbosim and spent the entire morning wondering if I used the wrong Spanish word for Saturday.

I am paranoid. Whenever something goes missing for even a minute, I worry maybe the CL 'borrowed' it. And I don't like feeling like that at all.

I would rather spend the money on something else. There is just so much extra stuff I desire, that I am motivated to get the work done myself so that I can feel guilt-free ordering yet another photo book. (One morning of cleaning or a gorgeous photo book that I will have forever? Easy choice there!)

I don't want it for my children. It's easy to fall into a habit of running out for a minute (and then 5 and then an hour), while the CL 'watches' the children. I believe in the good in people but the stories go on and on and on. Plus I want to teach them that Mommy works hard(ish) to keep the house clean and they should appreciate it by washing the floors themselves once in a while.

I have leverage. Seriously, if I had a CL what would I complain to my husband about?

Did I miss anything?

 I am not too proud to admit I make this house shine, both spiritually AND physically. And it doesn't have to be perfect either.

"It's no big deal if I can't find the keys to my car
Leaving dishes over night 'aint a crime.
If you think you'd do better
Well you got big shoes to fill
I'm a woman and I'm perfect by design."

Get it here.

Now if you'll excuse me. I have a Cholent pot to scour.

Have a great Sunday.

Album Review And Giveaway!

So "Taking Over My Heart" is out and unless you have been living under a rock somewhere you must've heard about it, somewhere, somehow. If you haven't, check out my previous post (and the one before that, and the one before that... )

The feedback has been great. One of my music colleagues sent me her thoughts on the songs.

Her Home: 

This song is so stunning and every Jewish woman can relate.

You really got into their heads....pretty ah harmonies! The chorus is so powerful and catchy. Love the "that's the way”s. Nice line pockets from above. One of my faves.

Going to Israel: 

Hmmm, Are you in my diary? lol jk I want to go back to Israel! In the beginning "place to call mine" love how you sang mine. Really fun how song starts off slow and speeds up. Great chorus. I can feel myself getting on a plane when I listen to it. 

Little Pitchers: 

Check out that country sound! Totally fun and different. This song will definitely expand everyones music ear! Your voice sounds so lovely....Your great at that country style. Fabulous ukelele or banjo whatever instrument was used after chorus. Nice electric guitars too. 

Jewish Girls Are Beautiful: 

OMG I don't have words to express how much I love this song! First of all your and Esther's voices flow so gorgeously wow. Chorus is so moving and powerful. Every single jewish girl will feel more beautiful and see how much Hashem loves them by hearing this song. Melodies are great and so relatable. Every girl needs to hear this song. Girls focus way to much on their weight, looks etc so this song touches upon everything they need to hear. 

That fancy World: 

Pretty intro, the guitar and all. Where is she going btw? Great guitars in chorus as well and post chorus. Like the effects on one of the last choruses. Nice star theme throughout. 

May You Be Blessed: 

I definitely relate to the first verse a lot! And the chorus is out of this world, soooo moving, gives me chills, in a good way . Beautiful instrumentation. Nice hebrew addition too. Sweet ending. 

A Mother's Hope: 

Great guitar intro. Ah I bet every mom is going nuts over these stunning songs. You are in their heads! I dont have kids but this song still touches me and has such a nice message. I must say that this is my fave album right now! Second verse is sure to be a tearjerker to all the moms :) wedding part. I am so impressed with the music, vocals, melodies. It's really such a pro and quality sound. 

Look At Me Now: 

Liking that piano and beat. Are you playing the piano? Sweet drumroll before chorus and loove how you sing "good life" ! Gee I didnt know kids were so enjoyable. I guess I have what to look forward to. "Now I know it" at the end is also soo pretty.

**************************************************************************************

 My calendar is filling up with concert bookings including the Ten Yad auction, Wizo's annual tea, and concerts in Boston, Florida, New Jersey, and Minneapolis to name a few. (Then there are the Bas Mitzvah parties! I love performing at all kinds of venues, but Bas Mitzvah parties are really my cup of tea.) So


Also, A GIVEAWAY!
This is how it goes:

Either:

Email me a picture you have taken with me at a concert.

Send me an email saying that you have shared my video "Taking Over My Heart" on your facebook page (with your facebook name of course)

Email me a picture holding any of my albums, with the words "I love Chanale's Music", written on the booklet (or cd).

3 winners will get an entire set of albums. 5 CDS.

My email is chanale@hotmail.com

The winner will be picked November 1st.

YAY!

Taking Over My Heart, Available EVERYWHERE

Get it NOW! Click on the cd.

So did you love it??

The album is out. There's only so much I can give you for free but please enjoy the music video, and the song "Jewish Girls Are Beautiful" featuring the amazing Esther Freeman. Download the cd, crank up your speakers and listen all day as you cook for Yom Tov. I guarantee you will LOVE IT.

 Now that's a music video a baby can get into....

http://www.jewishjukebox.com/products/jewish_soloists/2358.asp

Williamsburg Knows How to Have A Good Time

Last night I was back in Williamsburg and it wasn't for some Thursday night Cholent (that's my husband anyways)...I sang for a big group of women who participated in the Mitzvah of Hachnasas Kallah and were treated to a fun night out of ice cream, popcorn and a little bit of Chanale. Personally, I was under the weather, congested and weary but every ounce of fatigue disappeared when I stood up and saw the women's gleaming faces. Such an eager, excited crowd, they absolutely wouldn't let me leave until they (barely) had their fill. I left rejuvenated, with a few new friends to boot. Hope to see you girls again soon, Chaya, Toby, Feigy, Tzurty, and all my new gal pals, it was good to see you again! Here are some pics


In other music news, my new album is titled

"Taking Over My Heart"

It's amazing. And it will be EPIC (Thanks Tzurty;-))

Next month I am in Montreal, Brooklyn and Staten Island. I'll post again soon with more pics , details and possibly some new songs!

Over and Out

Shnuki Shapiro