Watch: What is the Power of a Niggun?

What is the power of a niggun? What is the power of a song?
Sometimes… it’s the key to a soul’s redemption.
⁠
In Rishikesh, India, Rabbi Zohar got a call just before Shabbat:
“Rabbi, please come save us.”
A young woman was trapped in an abusive ashram deep in the jungle. She dropped a pin. He and his team didn’t know what they’d face or how to even communicate.
⁠
So they sang.
All the way there, they sang.
When they knocked, the girls opened the door with packed bags, heard the niggun and ran.
They made it to the Chabad house and stayed for Shabbos.
⁠
That night, she cried.
She told the Rabbi:
“My father became a baal teshuva.
Every Friday night, I’d sit through Shalom Aleichem and Kiddush, hating every moment while my friends waited outside to go party.
I hated the niggun.
But now… it’s my song of redemption.”
⁠
Never underestimate the power of a melody to unlock healing, memory, and the deepest truths of the soul.

The Three Weeks, a time of reflection, growth, and connection.
As we remember the destruction of the Beis HaMikdash, we’re also reminded of how to bring it back: through kindness, tzedakah, and unity.
Chazal teach us that the Beis HaMikdash was destroyed because of baseless hatred. That means the way we rebuild it is through baseless love — going out of our way to be extra nice, even when it’s not easy.
And don’t forget — it’s brought down that the future Geulah will come through tzedakah (Yeshayahu 1:27). Every coin, every kind act, every moment of compassion brings us one step closer.
Take a few minutes to learn about the Beis HaMikdash — its beauty, its holiness, its central place in our lives.
Let’s turn this time of mourning into a time of building.

“Where words end, a niggun begins…”
We bumped into the Green brothers on the streets of Crown Heights and asked them: “What does a niggun mean to you?”
Without missing a beat, they said:
“It’s the key to the soul.”
“Music is just expressing things words can’t.”
“You can use a niggun to bring your soul up.”
In a world so full of noise, a niggun quiets the mind and lifts the heart.
It’s not just a melody, it’s a journey inward.

Meet Shalev a soul from the Shuk in Israel, now sharing his light on the streets of Crown Heights. With a violin in hand and a heart full of mesorah, he doesn’t just play music… he brings generations to life.
What’s the power of a niggun?
It’s more than melody it’s memory.
Shalev makes kiddush with the same niggun his grandfather used.
A thread of holiness that weaves past into present.
Notes that carry stories. Soul that carries legacy.
Every tune is a journey. Every street corner, a sanctuary.

What is the power of a niggun?
Rebbeim would say you don’t put words to a niggun. You let your heart speak.
Because a niggun isn’t just music… it’s a cry of the soul, a bridge between you and something higher.
Some niggunim lift you up. Others pull you deep inside.
The somber tone of this one? It carries the deep yearning for Moshiach a longing that words could never hold.
There’s an avodah even in sadness. In the darkness, there’s strength.
Sometimes, the power gained from walking out of the shadows is greater than the joy itself.
Let your soul sing. Let it cry. Let it reach beyond.
That’s the power of a niggun.

What is the Power of a Niggun?
Here in the heart of Crown Heights, we’re asking a timeless question…
What is the power of a niggun?
A niggun is more than just a melody.
It’s the pen of the soul, the pencil of the heart
Drawing out feelings too deep for words.
When we sing a niggun,
We aren’t just making music
We are revealing the inner light of our neshama.
It’s not just a tune.
It’s a whisper from the soul,
A bridge between Heaven and Earth.
A call from within.
Sing it. Feel it. Let your soul speak.

Here in the heart of Crown Heights… we’re asking:
What is the niggun the world needs to hear?
For Chaim, it’s always “L’chatchila Ariber”
A melody from the Rebbe Maharash, the 4th Chabad Rebbe.
The world says:
“Try to go under. If you can’t, go over.”
But he taught us something radical:
“L’chatchila Ariber” From the outset, go above.
Don’t wait until things block your path.
Don’t shrink, don’t bend.
Rise. From the start.
The niggun carries this message not just in words,
but in the soaring tune that lifts us beyond.
This is more than a melody. It’s a mindset.
Face life from above. Always.