David Werdyger
Encyclopedia
David Werdyger is a Hasidic
Jewish
Hazzan
and solo singer who is considered one of the pioneers of 20th-century Jewish music. A Holocaust
survivor who was incarcerated in several Nazi concentration camps
, including the factory run by Oskar Schindler
, Werdyger moved to Brooklyn
, New York
after World War II and began recording albums featuring the music of the Bobov, Boyan
, Skulen
, Melitz, Radomsk, and Ger
Hasidic dynasties, recording 60 albums in all. He also founded and operated a successful travel agency
, Werdyger Travel, and established the Jewish record label, Aderet Records, which is now managed by his son Mendy. He is the father of popular Jewish singer Mordechai Ben David
and the grandfather of Jewish singers Yeedle (Mordechai's son) and Yisroel Werdyger (Mendy's son).
(Cracow), to which the family moved shortly after David's birth. The Werdyger family was known for its musical talent, and as a youngster, David's singing ability was readily apparent. At the age of six he became the soloist in the choir of the Eizik Yeikeles Synagogue in Kraków, and at age 12 he was invited by Yankel Talmud, the leader of the Gerrer choir, to be a soloist in that choir in the town of Ger
. On Rosh Hashana, he sang before the Gerrer Rebbe
, the Imrei Emes
, and thousands of Hasidim.
. In response to rumors of a mass deportation, David, his unmarried sister Yettie, and his parents went into hiding with 16 others in a bunker in their uncle's warehouse, where they were cared for by a Polish employee. Three weeks later, they sneaked into the Podgórze
ghetto of Kraków. From there, his parents bought their way out of the ghetto into Sosnowice
, where one of their married daughters was living. David never saw them again.
In the ghetto, David worked in forced labor battalions, and when a mass deportation took place in the Podgórze ghetto, he went into hiding with 15 others. Two weeks later, his group was ferreted out of their hiding place and taken with 180 other ghetto residents to the Kraków-Płaszów concentration camp to be shot by firing squad
. Each man passed before Nazi
camp commandant Amon Göth
; when it was David's turn, Göth asked him what type of work he did. "I am a professional singer, and I have a trained soprano voice," Werdyger replied. "Would you like to hear something?" Momentarily taken aback, Göth replied, "Sing the song you Jews chant when you bury your dead." Werdyger began singing the traditional Jewish prayer for the dead, El Molei Rachamim ("God, Full of Compassion"), with great feeling and power, ending with a thunderous "Amen
." His voice so moved Göth that the commandant directed him to the camp rather than to the firing squad; he was one of the 40 men saved from execution that day.
Werdyger was an inmate in the Płaszów for five months, after which he was transferred to the nearby factory under the direction of Oskar Schindler. He also spent time in the Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp
and the Linz
labor camp, where he was liberated on Saturday, 5 May 1945.
to attend Yaakov Meir's wedding and was there introduced to Malka Godinger (1923–1980), daughter of Meir Godinger. They married shortly after. Several months later Werdyger and his wife left for Paris
, France, where their first son, Yisrael Aryeh, was born. Four years later, in February 1950, they sailed to New York.
The couple had three more sons in America: Mordechai
(born 1951), Chaim (born 1954), and Mendel (Mendy) (born 1959). Werdyger encouraged his four young sons to sing with him in the recording studio and in concert. Mordechai began calling himself by his Hebrew
patronymic
, Mordechai Ben David, when he launched his solo singing career in the 1970s.
Upon arrival in New York, Werdyger began working as a hazzan in the Warshever Shul on Rivington Street; after a year he moved to the Chasam Sofer Shul on the Lower East Side
. His fame as a hazzan spread, and he signed a contract with the New Lots Talmud Torah Shul, which was famous for the high-caliber hazzanim that it attracted. Within a few months of this appointment he began receiving invitations to appear in concert, and he performed before audiences of thousands in Chicago
, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and other cities. He also started training with a voice coach, who taught him how to create his own cantorial compositions. During this time he also opened Werdyger Travel in Brooklyn.
Later, Werdyger moved to the Rabbi Meir Simcha Hakohein Shul in East Flatbush, headed by Chabad
Rabbi Jacob J. Hecht
. Rabbi Hecht tapped him to sing cantorial selections on his weekly radio program, Shema Yisrael, which exposed Werdyger to even larger audiences. One Sunday, Rabbi Hecht advised him, "Reb David, there's only one way that you can make it in today's world of popular singers and children's choirs, You've got to make a record." In 1959, Werdyger went to a professional recording studio to record his first record, Tefillah L'David, which sold out its first production. In 1960 Werdyger recorded another album, Mizmor LeDavid, which was also favorably received.
After that, Werdyger started his own recording label, Aderet Records, to record Hasidic niggunim (melodies) which were unknown to non-Hasidic religious Jews in America. He asked Yankel Talmud to provide him with the best Gerrer melodies and released Songs of the Gerer Chassidim Loi Sevoishi in 1962. His next album, A Melitzer Oneg Shabbos, introduced Melitzer niggunim, including several tunes composed by the Melitzer Rebbe, Rabbi Yitzchak Horowitz, whom Werdyger met while vacationing in Miami. Werdyger's third album, A Gerer Melava Malka, featuring a solo by his young son, Mordechai, sold over 30,000 copies. Subsequently Werdyger recorded the niggunim of the Skulener Rebbe, Rabbi Eliezer Zusia Portugal
, on Skulaner Chassidic Nigunim Vol. 1, and of the Bobover Rebbe, Rabbi Shlomo Halberstam, on Bobover Niggunim.
Werdyger's successful albums led to concert appearances in the United States, Canada, and England, in which he sang both cantorial and Hasidic melodies. Unsure of how his repertoire would be received at a yeshiva
benefit concert
in London
, he requested accompaniment by a boys' choir. Forty boys accompanied him, and he discovered the value of adding child vocalists and soloists to his music. Thereafter he produced an album for the Boyaner Hasidim on which he and his son Mordechai sang together, accompanied by the Boyaner's men's choir.
Werdyger continues to sing on albums produced by Aderet Records, including two Shabbos with the Werdygers collections produced by his son, Chaim. In 1997 he contributed cantorial renditions for the PBS
documentary A Life Apart: Hasidism in America.
.
In 1993 Werdyger published his autobiography, Songs of Hope, as part of the Holocaust Diaries series published by CIS Publishers.
Hasidic Judaism
Hasidic Judaism or Hasidism, from the Hebrew —Ḥasidut in Sephardi, Chasidus in Ashkenazi, meaning "piety" , is a branch of Orthodox Judaism that promotes spirituality and joy through the popularisation and internalisation of Jewish mysticism as the fundamental aspects of the Jewish faith...
Jewish
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
Hazzan
Hazzan
A hazzan or chazzan is a Jewish cantor, a musician trained in the vocal arts who helps lead the congregation in songful prayer.There are many rules relating to how a cantor should lead services, but the idea of a cantor as a paid professional does not exist in classical rabbinic sources...
and solo singer who is considered one of the pioneers of 20th-century Jewish music. A Holocaust
The Holocaust
The Holocaust , also known as the Shoah , was the genocide of approximately six million European Jews and millions of others during World War II, a programme of systematic state-sponsored murder by Nazi...
survivor who was incarcerated in several Nazi concentration camps
Nazi concentration camps
Nazi Germany maintained concentration camps throughout the territories it controlled. The first Nazi concentration camps set up in Germany were greatly expanded after the Reichstag fire of 1933, and were intended to hold political prisoners and opponents of the regime...
, including the factory run by Oskar Schindler
Oskar Schindler
Oskar Schindler was an ethnic German industrialist born in Moravia. He is credited with saving over 1,100 Jews during the Holocaust by employing them in his enamelware and ammunitions factories, which were located in what is now Poland and the Czech Republic respectively.He is the subject of the...
, Werdyger moved to Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
after World War II and began recording albums featuring the music of the Bobov, Boyan
Boyan (Hasidic dynasty)
Boyan is a Hasidic dynasty named after the town of Boiany in the Ukraine. The Hasidut is presently headquartered in Jerusalem, Israel, with communities in Beitar Ilit, Bnei Brak, London, Antwerp, Brooklyn, and Monsey, New York.-First Boyaner Rebbe:...
, Skulen
Skulen (Hasidic dynasty)
The Skulen Hasidic dynasty was founded by Rav Eliezer Zusia Portugal. It is now headed by his son, Rav Yisroel Avrohom Portugal...
, Melitz, Radomsk, and Ger
Ger (Hasidic dynasty)
Ger, or Gur is a Hasidic dynasty originating from Ger, the Yiddish name of Góra Kalwaria, a small town in Poland....
Hasidic dynasties, recording 60 albums in all. He also founded and operated a successful travel agency
Travel agency
A travel agency is a retail business that sells travel related products and services to customers on behalf of suppliers such as airlines, car rentals, cruise lines, hotels, railways, sightseeing tours and package holidays that combine several products...
, Werdyger Travel, and established the Jewish record label, Aderet Records, which is now managed by his son Mendy. He is the father of popular Jewish singer Mordechai Ben David
Mordechai ben David
Mordechai Werdyger , professionally known as Mordechai Ben David or MBD for short, is an American Hasidic Jewish singer and songwriter popular in the Orthodox Jewish community. He has been referred to as the 'King of Jewish music'. He has produced many popular Jewish albums over the past 40 years...
and the grandfather of Jewish singers Yeedle (Mordechai's son) and Yisroel Werdyger (Mendy's son).
Early life
Werdyger is the youngest of four sons and four daughters born to Yisrael Aryeh Werdyger, a well-to-do wholesaler of men's shirts and dry goods and a prominent member of the Gerrer Hasidic community of KrakówKraków
Kraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...
(Cracow), to which the family moved shortly after David's birth. The Werdyger family was known for its musical talent, and as a youngster, David's singing ability was readily apparent. At the age of six he became the soloist in the choir of the Eizik Yeikeles Synagogue in Kraków, and at age 12 he was invited by Yankel Talmud, the leader of the Gerrer choir, to be a soloist in that choir in the town of Ger
Góra Kalwaria
Góra Kalwaria is a town on the Vistula River in the Mazovian Voivodship, Poland, about 25 km southeast of Warsaw. It has a population of about 11,000 . The town has significance for both Catholic Christians and Hasidic Jews...
. On Rosh Hashana, he sang before the Gerrer Rebbe
Rebbe
Rebbe , which means master, teacher, or mentor, is a Yiddish word derived from the Hebrew word Rabbi. It often refers to the leader of a Hasidic Jewish movement...
, the Imrei Emes
Avraham Mordechai Alter
Avraham Mordechai Alter , also known as the Imrei Emes after the works he authored, was the third Rebbe of the Hasidic dynasty of Ger, a position he held from 1905 until his death in 1948. He was one of the founders of the Agudas Israel in Poland and was influential in establishing a network of...
, and thousands of Hasidim.
Holocaust years
With the Nazi occupation of Poland in September 1939, Werdyger was subject to frequent arrests and forced labor on the streets of Kraków. In the summer of 1940, when the Nazis ordered all Jews to leave the city, Werdyger's family moved to an uncle's home in ProszowiceProszowice
Proszowice is a town in southern Poland, situated in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship , previously in Kraków Voivodeship . Its population numbers 6,206 inhabitants . It is the capital of Proszowice County....
. In response to rumors of a mass deportation, David, his unmarried sister Yettie, and his parents went into hiding with 16 others in a bunker in their uncle's warehouse, where they were cared for by a Polish employee. Three weeks later, they sneaked into the Podgórze
Podgórze
Podgórze is a district of Kraków, Poland, situated on the right bank of the Vistula River. Initially a village at the foot of Lasota Hill was granted city status by the Austrian Emperor Joseph II in 1784 and has become Royal Free City of Podgorze...
ghetto of Kraków. From there, his parents bought their way out of the ghetto into Sosnowice
Sosnowice, Lesser Poland Voivodeship
Sosnowice is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Brzeźnica, within Wadowice County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, in southern Poland. It lies approximately east of Brzeźnica, north-east of Wadowice, and south-west of the regional capital Kraków....
, where one of their married daughters was living. David never saw them again.
In the ghetto, David worked in forced labor battalions, and when a mass deportation took place in the Podgórze ghetto, he went into hiding with 15 others. Two weeks later, his group was ferreted out of their hiding place and taken with 180 other ghetto residents to the Kraków-Płaszów concentration camp to be shot by firing squad
Execution by firing squad
Execution by firing squad, sometimes called fusillading , is a method of capital punishment, particularly common in the military and in times of war.Execution by shooting is a fairly old practice...
. Each man passed before Nazi
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
camp commandant Amon Göth
Amon Göth
Amon Leopold Göth was an Austrian Nazi and the commandant of the Nazi concentration camp at Płaszów, General Government...
; when it was David's turn, Göth asked him what type of work he did. "I am a professional singer, and I have a trained soprano voice," Werdyger replied. "Would you like to hear something?" Momentarily taken aback, Göth replied, "Sing the song you Jews chant when you bury your dead." Werdyger began singing the traditional Jewish prayer for the dead, El Molei Rachamim ("God, Full of Compassion"), with great feeling and power, ending with a thunderous "Amen
Amen
The word amen is a declaration of affirmation found in the Hebrew Bible and New Testament. Its use in Judaism dates back to its earliest texts. It has been generally adopted in Christian worship as a concluding word for prayers and hymns. In Islam, it is the standard ending to Dua and the...
." His voice so moved Göth that the commandant directed him to the camp rather than to the firing squad; he was one of the 40 men saved from execution that day.
Werdyger was an inmate in the Płaszów for five months, after which he was transferred to the nearby factory under the direction of Oskar Schindler. He also spent time in the Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp
Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp
Mauthausen Concentration Camp grew to become a large group of Nazi concentration camps that was built around the villages of Mauthausen and Gusen in Upper Austria, roughly east of the city of Linz.Initially a single camp at Mauthausen, it expanded over time and by the summer of 1940, the...
and the Linz
Linz
Linz is the third-largest city of Austria and capital of the state of Upper Austria . It is located in the north centre of Austria, approximately south of the Czech border, on both sides of the river Danube. The population of the city is , and that of the Greater Linz conurbation is about...
labor camp, where he was liberated on Saturday, 5 May 1945.
Hazzan and Hasidic singer
After the war, Werdyger found his eldest brother, Yaakov Meir, and youngest sister, Yettie, still alive. He traveled to MakovaMaków
Maków may refer to the following places:*Maków Mazowiecki, a town in Masovian Voivodeship *Maków, Masovian Voivodeship *Maków, Lesser Poland Voivodeship *Maków, Łódź Voivodeship...
to attend Yaakov Meir's wedding and was there introduced to Malka Godinger (1923–1980), daughter of Meir Godinger. They married shortly after. Several months later Werdyger and his wife left for Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, France, where their first son, Yisrael Aryeh, was born. Four years later, in February 1950, they sailed to New York.
The couple had three more sons in America: Mordechai
Mordechai ben David
Mordechai Werdyger , professionally known as Mordechai Ben David or MBD for short, is an American Hasidic Jewish singer and songwriter popular in the Orthodox Jewish community. He has been referred to as the 'King of Jewish music'. He has produced many popular Jewish albums over the past 40 years...
(born 1951), Chaim (born 1954), and Mendel (Mendy) (born 1959). Werdyger encouraged his four young sons to sing with him in the recording studio and in concert. Mordechai began calling himself by his Hebrew
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
patronymic
Patronymic
A patronym, or patronymic, is a component of a personal name based on the name of one's father, grandfather or an even earlier male ancestor. A component of a name based on the name of one's mother or a female ancestor is a matronymic. Each is a means of conveying lineage.In many areas patronyms...
, Mordechai Ben David, when he launched his solo singing career in the 1970s.
Upon arrival in New York, Werdyger began working as a hazzan in the Warshever Shul on Rivington Street; after a year he moved to the Chasam Sofer Shul on the Lower East Side
Lower East Side
The Lower East Side, LES, is a neighborhood in the southeastern part of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is roughly bounded by Allen Street, East Houston Street, Essex Street, Canal Street, Eldridge Street, East Broadway, and Grand Street....
. His fame as a hazzan spread, and he signed a contract with the New Lots Talmud Torah Shul, which was famous for the high-caliber hazzanim that it attracted. Within a few months of this appointment he began receiving invitations to appear in concert, and he performed before audiences of thousands in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and other cities. He also started training with a voice coach, who taught him how to create his own cantorial compositions. During this time he also opened Werdyger Travel in Brooklyn.
Later, Werdyger moved to the Rabbi Meir Simcha Hakohein Shul in East Flatbush, headed by Chabad
Chabad
Chabad or Chabad-Lubavitch is a major branch of Hasidic Judaism.Chabad may also refer to:*Chabad-Strashelye, a defunct branch of the Chabad school of Hasidic Judaism*Chabad-Kapust or Kapust, a defunct branch of the Chabad school of Hasidic Judaism...
Rabbi Jacob J. Hecht
Jacob J. Hecht
Rabbi Jacob J. Hecht, known as the Lubavitcher Rebbe's right hand man, was a leading Chabad rabbi, educator, writer and radio commentator.- Achievements :...
. Rabbi Hecht tapped him to sing cantorial selections on his weekly radio program, Shema Yisrael, which exposed Werdyger to even larger audiences. One Sunday, Rabbi Hecht advised him, "Reb David, there's only one way that you can make it in today's world of popular singers and children's choirs, You've got to make a record." In 1959, Werdyger went to a professional recording studio to record his first record, Tefillah L'David, which sold out its first production. In 1960 Werdyger recorded another album, Mizmor LeDavid, which was also favorably received.
After that, Werdyger started his own recording label, Aderet Records, to record Hasidic niggunim (melodies) which were unknown to non-Hasidic religious Jews in America. He asked Yankel Talmud to provide him with the best Gerrer melodies and released Songs of the Gerer Chassidim Loi Sevoishi in 1962. His next album, A Melitzer Oneg Shabbos, introduced Melitzer niggunim, including several tunes composed by the Melitzer Rebbe, Rabbi Yitzchak Horowitz, whom Werdyger met while vacationing in Miami. Werdyger's third album, A Gerer Melava Malka, featuring a solo by his young son, Mordechai, sold over 30,000 copies. Subsequently Werdyger recorded the niggunim of the Skulener Rebbe, Rabbi Eliezer Zusia Portugal
Eliezer Zusia Portugal
Eliezer Zusia Portugal , the first Skulener Rebbe, was revered by his followers in Russia, Romania, Israel, and the United States for his personal warmth and his care for hundreds of Jewish youth and war orphans. He established the Skulener dynasty in America in the 1960s...
, on Skulaner Chassidic Nigunim Vol. 1, and of the Bobover Rebbe, Rabbi Shlomo Halberstam, on Bobover Niggunim.
Werdyger's successful albums led to concert appearances in the United States, Canada, and England, in which he sang both cantorial and Hasidic melodies. Unsure of how his repertoire would be received at a yeshiva
Yeshiva
Yeshiva is a Jewish educational institution that focuses on the study of traditional religious texts, primarily the Talmud and Torah study. Study is usually done through daily shiurim and in study pairs called chavrutas...
benefit concert
Benefit concert
A benefit concert or charity concert is a concert, show or gala featuring musicians, comedians, or other performers that is held for a charitable purpose, often directed at a specific and immediate humanitarian crisis. Such events raise both funds and public awareness to address the cause at...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, he requested accompaniment by a boys' choir. Forty boys accompanied him, and he discovered the value of adding child vocalists and soloists to his music. Thereafter he produced an album for the Boyaner Hasidim on which he and his son Mordechai sang together, accompanied by the Boyaner's men's choir.
Werdyger continues to sing on albums produced by Aderet Records, including two Shabbos with the Werdygers collections produced by his son, Chaim. In 1997 he contributed cantorial renditions for the PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
documentary A Life Apart: Hasidism in America.
Personal
Following the death of his wife in 1980, Werdyger remarried Sarah Wercberger, widow of Wolf Wercberger and daughter of Rabbi Osher Zelig Marton, a dayan and shochet in pre-war RomaniaRomania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
.
In 1993 Werdyger published his autobiography, Songs of Hope, as part of the Holocaust Diaries series published by CIS Publishers.
Solo albums
- Tefillah L'David (1959)
- Mizmor LeDavid (1960)
- Songs of the Gerer Chassidim Loi Sevoishi (1962)
- A Melitzer Oneg Shabbos (1962)
- A Gerer Melava Malka (1963)
- Sholosh Seudos Melodies (1965)
- Songs of the Gerer Chassidim Vehoer Eineinu (1966)
- In Cheder Arein (1968)
- Bobover Niggunim (1968) (child vocalist is the present Bobover Rebbe, Rabbi Ben Zion Aryeh Leibish Halberstam)
- Skulaner Chassidic Nigunim Vol. 1 (1969)
- Songs of Camp Kol-Ree-Nah (1969)
- Melitzer Nigunim 2 (1970)
- Ger Holiday Songs (1973)
- Ger Favorite Nigunim (1974)
- Skulaner Nigunim 2 (1977)
- Satmar Niggunim (1980)
- Neginei Boyan (1980)
- Yismechu BeMalkhotkha (1980)
- Sadegora Niggunim (1989)
- Best Cantorial (1995)
- Chassidic Collage (1995)
- L'Dovid Mizmor (2007)
Collaborations
- Fathers and Sons Biglal (1984) (with Yaron Gershovsky)
- 3 Generations: Songs Composed by David Werdyger (1994)
- Shabbos with the Werdygers (2006) (with Mordechai Ben DavidMordechai ben DavidMordechai Werdyger , professionally known as Mordechai Ben David or MBD for short, is an American Hasidic Jewish singer and songwriter popular in the Orthodox Jewish community. He has been referred to as the 'King of Jewish music'. He has produced many popular Jewish albums over the past 40 years...
, Mendy Werdyger, Yeedle Werdyger, Dovid Gabay, Avi Newmark, and Cantor Yakov Yitzchok Rosenfeld) - Bayamim Haheim Bazman Hazeh 2 (2006)
- Shabbos with the Werdygers 2 (2010)