To preface what I’m going to write, this is to be clear – this issue doesn’t warrant an asifa, but it’s an issue nonetheless.

We all grew up with composers and singers in our lives. They weren’t singing to be role models, rather singing as a parnassah. Even today, I believe most of them are still like that.

This letter isn’t about protesting them.

We also grew up with children singing in different contexts – shuls, choirs, and small groups. In the earlier days, it was the London Boys Choir, Pirchei etc. For the last 40-plus years, it was the Miami Boys Choir. There were some others recently, like Yeshiva Boys Choir, Shalsheles Jr, Sheves Chaveirim, and so on. These choirs and groups were led by people of stellar character e.g. Yerachmiel Begun, Eli Gerstner, Ari Goldwag, etc, who composed and produced beautiful songs with messaging properly given.

Recently, however, a new group began taking over the scene. This group has been very successful at getting themselves out there, and have proven to be far more influential than any other choirs or youth groups in recent memory.

This wouldn’t be an issue at all, if the songs and messaging contained within them were proper and good for chinuch. However, due to this groups messaging, combined with their meteoric rise, we must speak up.

Childrens’ brains are not fully developed, and thereby are very impressionable, being influenced by what they hear and see. This is true when the influence comes from adults, and fifty times truer when coming from other children, due to them being much more relatable. Again, this is great when the messaging is proper.

But the songs coming out of this group are just atrocious for chinuch. Songs aspiring to be like other singers, to be a “billionare”, in “Hashem’s army” are just not the right way. They defend them and say “No – the messaging of the song is about that they are in Hashem’s army, or that איזהו עשיר השמח בחלקו.”

This is incorrect. Maybe those are the words of the songs, but that’s not what the kids see and internalize. All the kids absorb is that being an “influencer” is a thing to aspire to be, and this happens by seeing this group clad in different forms of “swag”, singing that they want to be like Zusha, or in army fatigues in a military jeep, singing that they fight battles.

I believe it’s accurate to say that most parents aren’t raising their children to be influencers, so why are parents letting these songs play in their houses? We all remember the major protests that occurred against the songs “Ben Bag Bag”, “Hashem Melech” etc. Those songs are nothing compared to the latest round of songs being released by this group. Why don’t I hear anybody discussing this?

This would’ve been maybe a smaller issue, but now they’re having livestreams with these kids to talk directly to your children’s brain. Do you want that as a parent?

Signed,

Y.D.

Cedarhurst, NY

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