Chazanim Duet for Magnificent Yom Kippur Melody

Chazanim Aryeh Leib Hurwitz and Moti Boyer have released a magnificent duet of “V’af Hu Haya Miskaven” of the Avoda of the Kohen Godol on Yom Kippur.

The Yomim Noraim are full of beautiful melodies, starting from the first night of Selichos, throughout Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur, which starts off with Kol Nidrei followed by the sweetest of melodies Yaaleh, Ki hinei Kachomer, and so on and on until the very last blow of the shofar after Neilah.

Almost every song is about praising the almighty, asking for forgiveness, asking for our needs to be taken care of and bringing the ultimate redemption.

There are some exceptions however, namely in the Avoda.

The Avoda is about the service and routine of the holiest man, the Kohen Gadol, in the holiest place, the Beis Hamikdash, on the holiest day of Yom Kippur.

Some aspects of the Avoda are spiritual and others technical.

“But that’s the genius of legendary chazzan Yossele Rosenblatt. More than a century later, we’re still singing his compositions such as V’af Hu. Not a prayer, not a tefillah, an Avoda! The steps taken to physically serve hashem in song,” says chazan Aryeh Leib Hurwitz.

The beautiful shul featured in the video filmed is the 100+ year old Sefardische Shul in Boro Park – the very Shul where Yossele Rosenblatt himself was the chazan.

The shul still has the wooden board that Rosenblatt would stand on while davening. “He was a short man and that gave him some extra height,” Hurwitz says.

“It was an honor and a pleasure to film this video in the sanctuary that heard Yossele’s golden voice, performing this very song. Together with my dear friend Chazan Moti Boyer, who in my opinion sounds quite like Rosenblatt himself,” Hurwitz says.

“I hope you enjoy, and appreciate the orchestral and choral accompaniment of this tremendous cantorial masterpiece.”