The Rebbe’s Request From Avraham Fried Finally Understood

By COLlive reporter

Before Avraham Fried released his very first album, sparking a decades-long career as the reigning star of Jewish music, he notified the Rebbe about it.

Fried said he received an “immediate message” back from the Rebbe through the secretary Rabbi Binyomin Klein, of blessed memory.

The Rebbe requested that the line “Don’t play on Shabbos and holidays” be written not only on the album cover, but also on the audio cassette (“tape”) as well.

Fried did that, but notes: “It turns out that this request on the cover was printed in a size that was too small according to the Rebbe, so I learned that I need to better highlight it.”

He said that the Rebbe even suggested placing stickers with that message, instead of printing it on the tape itself (when the ink can easily be erased). “Obviously, I did that on future albums,” he notes.

Fried wrote in the Neshama magazine in Israel, “If you are wondering why did I receive such an instruction from the Rebbe when the vast majority of my listeners don’t play music on Shabbos, a story that happened in recent years provides an answer.”

A young man who identified himself as a fan emailed Fried directly and wrote that he isn’t religious and noticed the request on Fried’s albums not to play his music on Shabbos and holidays.

“He noted how difficult this was for him but that he is respecting my request and is careful not to hear my songs played on Shabbos,” Fried said.

“I told the young man that the Rebbe asked me to write it on the albums, and I added that who knows, perhaps the Rebbe with his prophetic vision thought of him when he asked this, and that is what gave him the strength not to play them on Shabbos.”

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