The century-old mansion-turned-shul that is the Young Israel of Wavecrest and Bayswater was filled with lights this past Motza’ei Shabbos, matching the dancing and energy of the New York Boys Choir, as it expands to include participants from Queens.
“The number one thing is that the kid feels like a million bucks,” Rabbi Yitzy Bald, the choir director, said of the group’s impact. “He asks questions in class, davens from the amud, and leins. It’s now a different world, 99 percent of responses from parents have been this. It’s such an amazing thing.”
A resident of Bayswater, Rabbi Bald started the choir in 2008, with boys from his neighborhood as the first class. “I write my own lyrics, not just a pasuk slapped on top of a disco beat. We have a lot of messaging going on.” It is an immersive experience that offers an education each Sunday, in which the maestro explains the meaning behind the songs, with stories and examples.
“My son likes to dance, and there is no outlet in a regular yeshivah for a boy who likes to sing and dance,” said Cheryl Dubin, whose son Eli, a sixth grader at Yeshiva Tiferes Moshe, is in the choir. “He is growing from it and it teaches him to be a team player.” Having seen growth in her son’s confidence, Dubin hopes to see more parents from Queens signing up their boys for the choir.
“A year ago, the choir performed in Queens and then my sons joined them. We have a lot of singing and dancing in our house,” said Yosef Kaplowitz, whose sons Moshe and Yitzchak attend sixth and seventh grades respectively, at Tiferes Moshe. “It’s a talent that HaKadosh Baruch Hu gave them.”
Luba Glasser lives in Yonkers, where her husband Rabbi Craig Glasser is the Rav of Northeast Jewish Center. To attend choir practice on Sunday either in Bayswater or Marine Park involves driving for at least an hour, and she praised Rabbi Bald’s unique teaching approach. Her son Aaron Dov attends the Breuer’s yeshivah in Washington Heights.
“My son is very musical and loves to sing, like my husband’s family. This is his second year in the choir, and it is worth it. One week, my son was very exhausted from school, and I asked him if he wanted to stay home. But it’s the one thing that he loves, and I could not take it away from him.”
Dubin noted that, during the Covid lockdown, Rabbi Bald expanded his program, calling it New York Boys Choir for Everyone, lowering the age and requirements for participation. At the same time, he maintained the smaller core group that appears in concerts and recordings. “For the professional choir, there’s a certain bar. People who pay tickets to hear them expect no mistakes.”
At the Bayswater concert for parents and friends, Rabbi Bald was the maestro, choreographer, and deejay for nearly 30 boys lined up in rows. The next day, I spoke at length with him about his career and music. Between recording albums, teaching the boys, and his job as a rebbi at Mill Basin Hebrew Academy, Rabbi Bald was driving and had a few minutes to spare.
“Enemies will humble themselves. If not for the Torah, I’d be lost in my sorrows,” quoting one of his songs that is on many people’s minds as Israel fights its war against Hamas. He spoke of personal challenges in his childhood, an earlier time when many schools did not recognize the trauma caused by bullying. “I wrote a song in my dorm at Merkaz HaTorah. When others played basketball, I played the keyboard. They’re sure not playing basketball anymore,” he said about his older classmates. “Hashem gives everyone a gift on how to be m’chazeik.”
For some, confidence in life is bolstered by sports, and for others it comes from creative expression such as music. “The choir is a safe place; nobody can make fun of one another. That’s grounds for instant dismissal. They should feel absolutely safe to be here.”
He spoke of one mother who cried on the phone in joy at the positive effect of the choir on her son. Remembering the bullying that he endured, Rabbi Bald composed Bring it On, with English lyrics that include a few bars composed by rapper Nissim Black. “We put it into the song. It was an unbelievable job,” he said.
Among his childhood heroes, Rabbi Bald spoke of Torah Vodaath Rosh HaYeshivah Rav Avraham Pam zt”l. “Rav Pam would walk over and bring out the best in every student,” he said. “I vividly remember, at age 29, he said, ‘Now’s your time to go into chinuch.’ I wanted to be a teacher, mentor, rebbi, inspiring kids with Torah and music.” He then asked the gadol whether a career as a rebbi meant giving up on music.
“He had tremendous siyata diShmaya. Most schools in Brooklyn were not involved in music. I worked with kids at risk.” Rav Pam replied, “Absolutely not. If you don’t get a job in Brooklyn, you’ll work somewhere else. Don’t you dare give up the gift that Hashem gave you.”
Since then, his songs have given hope to people, students who found confidence, mourners in need of consolation, and he’s seen miracles. “A 44-year-old lady, Etta Raiza Greenfeld, was paralyzed after giving birth. The doctors did not know if she was functioning. They invited us to visit her house. One doctor noted her left eye was blinking.” The doctors brought out cards and created a system of communicating with her. When the New York Boys Choir played for her, she expressed the name of the song, Smile Again. “What were the chances? There were tears coming out of her left eye,” he said.
With miracles, concerts, albums, and a growing student body, only geography and time can limit the New York Boys Choir. “I have two separate practices on Sunday afternoons, in Brooklyn and in Far Rockaway. Crown Heights and Lakewood are calling me, but I can’t spread myself that thin. I’m zocheh that I’ve merited to do what I love, and chinuch and music that makes kids shine.”
For more information about New York Boys Choir, Rabbi Bald can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or at 917-225-3113.
By Sergey Kadinsky
