16-Year-Old’s Personal Take on ‘Tzamah Lecha Nafshi’

Often teenagers are searching to fill voids and find more meaning, and sixteen-year-old Duvy Burston of Orange County, NY, has a response through music.

“Our soul naturally wants to be closer to G-d and enriched with spirituality,” says Burston, “but often as teens we can feel like we are in an endless desert, lost on our journey. This new song, ‘Searching for You,’ based on Psalm 63, is about our own personal journey as we find our soul connection.” He adds that “in physical pursuits, feelings of fulfillment are limited, but when we build faith in G-d and add good deeds to the world, we quench our thirst in a richer way.”

The piece is a unique take on the Chabad melody to the words of the Psalmist, “Tzamah Lecha Nafshi” (“My soul thirsts for You”) which illustrates man’s ultimate search for G-d. The original song was taught by one of the most prominent Jewish leaders of our time, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson – The Lubavitcher Rebbe. The Chasidic melody in its classic form begins with a verse, followed by a wordless melody and then a second verse. In “Searching for You,” the Hebrew sections of the song are sung in keeping with the original style, but the wordless melody is presented in a more contemporary style.

“I added original English sections which express the feelings that the melody evokes in me, personally,” says Burston. “My hope for this song is that it serves as an inspiration to the world at large, adding much light and positivity to defeat the darkness as we each conduct our own search for fulfillment.” Last year, Burston released his first single “Ki Atah Imadi” in response to the Tree of Life Synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh, where he was a yeshiva student at the time. Burston plans to continue composing and sharing positive messages through music.

Duvy Burston is the son of Rabbi Pesach and Chana Burston of Monroe, directors of Chabad of Orange County, based in Chester.

The song can be streamed on all platforms: https://song.link/s/6Bg6xvSlr0b9B3DHgflMXN

LYRIC VIDEO:

Arrangements, vocals, lyrics, guitar, piano: Duvy Burston

Production, drums, mixing: Jake Hanner

Electric guitar: Rabbi Yosef Silverman

Bass guitar: Jason Rafalak

Cello: Luciani Christophe