Famed composer and singer, Reb Ben Zion Shenker obm, has passed away.
He was 92.
Reb Ben Zion was Niftar suddenly as he didn’t wake up on Sunday morning.
Reb Ben Zion composed more than a thousand songs, many of them which are sung by Yidden every Shabbos – such as Eishes Chayil (1953) and Mizmor Lidovid (1946). His “Yasis Alayich” (1965), is sung by every Jewish wedding in the world.
He released his last album just a few months ago.
Reb Ben Zion was born in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, in 1925 to his parents who were immigrants from a small town near Lublin.
Reb Ben Zion preserved the Modzitzer musical tradition for more than half a century. He Started in 1941 as the Imrei Shaul’s musical transciber/secretary. He served as the leading Baal Tefila in the Modzitzer Shteeble of New York for decades.
He knew well over 1,000 Modzitzer niggunim ny heart – some take more than a half hour to sing (“Ezkara”).
His connection to Modzitz began when he was a teenager. The Modzitzer Rebbe moved to Brooklyn as the Holocaust consumed much of Chasidic Jewry in Eastern Europe. On a Shabbos afternoon in 1941, the Rebbe noticed R’ Shenker humming Chasidic melodies written out in a book.
“The rebbe turned around and asked me, ‘You know how to read notes?’ To which he responded ‘A little.’ After that, he became his musical secretary. Anything he composed, Reb Ben Zion used to notate.
R’ Shenker had not only studied music theory; he also sang in a boys’ choir and performed on his own radio show on a Yiddish station. A 13-year-old Shenker even made a record in 1938.
Reb Ben Zion Shenker grew up to get Semicha, and made his living in the garment and jewelry industries while composing Modzitzer nigunim.
The Levaya will be held on Sunday at 1:00PM at Shomrei HaDas Chapels on 39th Street and 14th Avenue in Boro Park.
He lived on Crown St (between troy & Schenectady,I think it was 661 – upstairs), I remember, as a child being at his home for shalosh seudos and later moitse shabbos when he would sit by his stand up air orgen and sing and compose songs, just me, him and his rebetzinv a very fond memory, Crown heights was a real melting pot full of achdus. a real varm’e yid.
BD”E
it was between yud alef nissan 5734 and yud alef nissan 5735,
most likely it was spring or summer of 5734,
when klal yisroel was saying every day “the rebbe’s kapital” of tehilim chapter 73,
when reb bentzion shenker z”l came to a shabbos’diker farbrengen of the rebbe and was honored to sing a nigun in the rebbe’s hailiker presence,witch he composed in honor of the rebbe.the nigun was on the words “vaani kirvas eloikim li toiv”etc. (the 28th posuk of the above mentioned kapital).
yehi zichroi boruch
we listened to records (!) of Modzitzer nigunim.
BD’E!
He was truely amazing. I just viewed the video which was filmed about 4 years I believe. He was really very special.
Yes he used to live in CH. Back in the 60s when CH wasn’t just Lubavitch.
Boruch dayan emes. Such a gifted compose, with yiras Shomoyim and humility. The Tanya on Shabbos, the last day of his life, began with אשת חיל עטרת בעלה .
The Jewish world has lost a precious soul, but his legacy lives on through the countless niggunim that so many Yidden sing on a regular basis.
(Just by the way, Yasis Alayich is not sung BY every Jewish wedding, it is sung AT every Jewish wedding.)
He made the tune but he didn’t write the song.
Shloimeh hamelech wrote it.
I heard he used to live in Crown Heights? Anyone know more about him?
I had the oppurtunity to meet and greet him and he is really inspirational. Just for the record, for those who did’nt catch that… he wrote the song eishes chayal which the entire jewish world including Chabad sings every shabbos friday night.. eishet chayal me yimza…
BDE
Shocked and saddened.