On March 1, Meir, Yehuda and Shmuel Weiss, students in Yeshivas Heichal Hatorah and sons of Rabbi Duvie Weiss, rav of Congregation Ohr Chadash in Bergenfield, knew nothing about guitar. They had never picked one up except perhaps to pass it to someone else. In fact, they never learned or even dabbled in any musical instrument or even realistically thought they ever would. Words like chords, beats, strums, minor, major had no personal resonance for them. Then COVID-19 hit and that all changed.
A family friend who plays guitar, Rabbi Benzion Scheinfeld, was already acquainted with the boys, having taught them to ski years before. On numerous occasions, Rabbi Scheinfeld suggested the boys take up guitar lessons but the suggestion was always met with dismissive smiles and hidden skepticism. Skiing was one thing, but music was a whole different story and was never truly on their bucket list.
Additionally, despite so many wonderful talents and abilities, innate musical ability was not really in their Weiss genes and investing in guitar was an invitation for frustration. But after a few days quarantined at home, Rabbi Scheinfeld received a call from Rabbi Weiss, who told him that the boys were interested in guitar lessons. They wanted to use their time at home productively and deep down really did want to learn guitar but just never felt they had the focus and time. Now that they were forced to stay at home, they were committed.
The first hurdle was getting guitars for the boys, which was accomplished after a few emails to Teaneck shuls. The next hurdle was how to possibly teach guitar with strict social distancing, and it was decided to do it through Zoom. Rabbi Scheinfeld is a big believer that with patience and perseverance most of us can do just about anything. He explained to the boys that they would take a slow approach that makes each step feel accessible and even easy, but at the end it would add up to big steps. He cautioned that unlike piano, where even on the first day one can feel and hear some musical accomplishment, when playing the guitar the first few lessons can be frustrating and are more about building muscles and neurons in fingers than actually playing music.
The first lesson indeed was about mechanics and muscle awareness and felt more like an OT class than a music class. But at the end, Rabbi Scheinfeld told the boy boys to simply pluck one string and not just hear, but feel the beauty of a clearly played note. Yes, just one note. That he explained was the beginning of music and if you were able to feel the subtle beauty of one simple note piercing the silence then you would start to feel how special playing the guitar could be. The boys smiled a bit awkwardly over Zoom at the slightly unexpected speech Rabbi Scheinfeld gave them and then after a few tries proceeded to successfully play one simple note. As it rang out they actually seemed to understand and feel what the beauty of playing music can really touch inside one’s heart, and they were inspired to see this project through.
For the next two months Rabbi Scheinfeld and the boys met at least four times a week for about an hour over Zoom. Each night Yehuda would send Rabbi Scheinfeld a Zoom link, with all the technical hurdles that entailed, depending on the mood of the computer and quality of the internet connection available. Each day the Weiss home became a cacophony of practicing guitars and each night the living room was filled with sounds of focused effort being honed into songs over Zoom. The single pure notes and hurting fingers slowly turned into A minor and E major chords, which then slowly turned into Eitan Katz’s “L’maancha” and Joey Newcombe’s “Thank You Hashem.” Rabbi Scheinfeld tries to teach not just how to play the music but also how to feel the music. With each night came a new niggun and a new connection to the inner truth that music touches. All three boys now play over 25 niggunim and know the language of music. They understand the emotional difference between a major and minor chord and the technical difference between a three-beat song and a four-beat song. They understand the exciting dissonance of an E7 chord and the frustrating fine-motor skills one needs to develop to play an F chord. Most importantly they feel the satisfaction of committing to a goal and seeing how one can truly grow even in such a short time if one truly puts in the effort and consistency. It has also brought them in touch with a mode of expression for their hearts and emotions that they will treasure throughout their lives. Rabbi Weiss and his wife, Lili, have seen how a home can be transformed by the sounds of niggunim resonating each day and how the wonder of life can be forever accessed by kids willing to put in effort to grow. They are so grateful to Rabbi Scheinfeld for adding so much joy and ruach to their home and for helping to make the COVID quarantine into an everlasting growth experience for their kids and family. Rabbi Scheinfeld is happy to teach kids or adults of any age and can be reached at 201-362-0310.
By Jewish Link Staff
