Chayala Neuhaus: The Creator of “A Yid”

The Creator of Chayala “A Yid” Neuhaus

By Chaya Sara Schlussel

Ask people what their favorite song is, and their answer will largely depend on a combination of factors including age, community, and popular trends. A yeshivish guy in his mid-forties, living in Lakewood, will almost inevitably start waxing poetic about the songs he grew up with – from the vocal power of MBD, to the warm ‘hartz’ of Avremele, to the tear-jerking ballads of Abie Rotenberg. A teenager living in the Five Towns will more likely start belting the high-octane, up-tempo beats of 8th Day or the dance floor hits of Uri Davidi. It’s all about demographics. Which makes it all the more incredible when a single song speaks to an entire generation; from the Bais Yakov schoolgirl to the Holocaust survivor, from black kappel to colorful kipah srugah; from Brooklyn to Belgium to Bnei Brak, the song “A Yid” has captured hearts and uplifted souls without discrimination. It’s both timely and timeless – a classic that’s as relevant today as it would have been half a century ago, and doubtless will continue to be for decades to come. The teenager who’s struggling spiritually hums it right along with the zeide for whom physical pain and loneliness are a daily challenge. “A Yid never breaks, and a Yid never bends, and a Yid never gives up in the night.” Those words strike a chord with Klal Yisroel that is more poignant and pertinent than anyone would have imagined.

I caught up with Chayala Neuhaus, the talented composer and lyricist who masterminded the song “A Yid,” to find out what inspired her, and how it feels to know that your song is literally changing the frum world one Yid at a time. “I’ve been composing since I was 11, and I’ve never stopped since.” There’s a smile in her voice as she recounts how she would walk around holding a tape recorder practically everywhere she went. Whenever inspiration struck, she’d sing into the device so as not to forget the tune. Later, she’d tweak it and fine-tune it, molding it into an actual song. By the time she was 18, she was composing and writing professionally for camps, schools and

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organizations.

Chayala explains that what really drives her is the inherent message in the song. If the lesson she’s imparting is one that resonates with her, she will invariably deliver something beautiful. Sometimes the song is so meaningful to her, it practically writes itself. “The great thing about songwriting is that you get to put a message right into listeners’ pockets. People don’t always have time or patience tuning in to a 45-minute speech, but a 3 ½-minute song can pack the same punch, in a fraction of the time.” And while a lecture is inspiring for the moment, it is usually quickly forgotten amid the daily grind. By contrast, a song is played repeatedly, and so its influence echoes with every press of the play button. “I’m not a singer, I’m a writer,” Chayala relates. “Which means I don’t need ‘fillers’ or shallow songs to fill up an album. My goal is always to create music with meaning.”

By the time she was 29 years old, she had hundreds of tracks, all of which were close to her heart. Contemplating the idea of producing her own CD, she collected the ones she felt were most profound, and tried them out on a test audience. Those listeners were instantly wowed. At the time, a renowned child soloist by the name of Dovid Pearlman kept coming to her studio to record various projects he was working on. She decided to collaborate with him and release an album. With the encouragement and support of her ever-growing fan base, she eventually created “Miracles,” a collection of her favorite works, in 2015. “Miracles” touched the heartstrings of discerning audiences worldwide, who were captivated by Chayala’s inimitable writing style. It was so well received that “Miracles 2” was released three years later, sung by Yehuda Kirschner and produced by the legendary Donny Gross. Songs like “Im Atem Mishamrim,” “Miracles” and “Holding Back the Tide” became the melodies kids sang around the campfire and moms sang while washing the dishes.

Chayala’s been teaching piano, voice and guitar for years. Between that, fulltime mommying, and freelance writing for productions and events, she was always too busy to reach out to singers and expand her horizons. But those singers eventually found her. Mordechai Shapiro, Moshe Tischler, Uri Davidi, Benny Friedman – they were all looking for quality material, and they knew exactly where to go.

Today, Chayala runs C-note Studios, a musical engineering studio where women and girls can learn to optimize their talents. “I have a very big passion for training people who want to boost their musical abilities,” she says. “I got a recording studio when I was little. Today, everyone’s buying studio equipment but they don’t really know what to do with it. They don’t know what good audio is supposed to sound like. But if they’re going to do studio recording, they might as well do it well – and I have the experience to help them.” She’s been training people privately for the last 12 years, but because of the Covid lockdown, she finally had the time to consolidate the training into a broader-reaching course. Ever resourceful, Chayala put

“I got a together a course that teaches worecording studio men and girls how to implement great sound and audio. Not surprisingly, the when I was little. course sparked and took off. It caught Today, everyone’s on with teens who were recording for high school productions, married wobuying studio men who were looking for new career equipment but options, and professional musicians they don’t really who wanted to create music from the comfort of their own workspaces. Now, know what to do she is no longer limited to students in with it.” her own vicinity. This online platform has given her the opportunity to reach people around the globe, and provide them with a comprehensive curriculum that inculcates the art of songwriting, along with the recording, mixing and mastering of incredible music in new, innovative ways. There’s a whole virtual community of talented students, comprehensive workshops, and meetings on zoom to spread the harmony. Sure, there are Youtube videos that teach pro audio, but they’re not geared to the mores of the frum world. With Chayala’s course, wouldbe artists are getting top-quality training, without having to fill their headspace with non-Jewish junk music. Because each of us is, after all, “A Yid.” The song “A Yid” was composed for a school play years ago. Chayala was always very attached to it. She even got a few offers from singers to purchase it, but she held back because she wanted the perfect singer to do it justice. So it lay in her song stash collecting musical dust motes until Donny Gross presented it to Benny Friedman, who was immediately touched by the depth of emotion in it. At that point, in the summer of 2020, the urgent trauma of Corona had already passed, but we were all still so confused and dejected by all we’d been through. We needed a song to uplift us and make us feel whole again. To strengthen us and encourage us and tell us that everything would be alright. When “A Yid” was released in February, nobody could have fathomed the response. “The track became the theme song for the Meron tragedy, which actually makes me both incredibly humbled and slightly uncomfortable. Humbled because I had the wonderful zechus to be mechazek many people in such

a fundamental way. And uncomfortable because it might seem exploitative of the disaster, which of course was never my intention.” It’s already been covered in Yiddish and acapella versions. It’s been used as the soundtrack for video clips of people suffering in hospitals, of teenagers dealing with spiritual challenges, of a rebbe in cheder sitting and singing it emotionally with his students. People from every walk of life have reached out to Chayala with the same personal statement: “I feel like you wrote that song just for me.” One woman admitted that her husband hasn’t been religious for a while, but he listened to “A Yid” for an entire week straight, on repeat. It’s like a chant, a personal mantra. No matter what they are going through, no matter how weak or inadequate or vulnerable – the song is a private reassurance to every Yid that we, as a nation, will persevere. We will find our resilience.

Chayala says she is incredibly moved by the overwhelming feedback. “As a writer, I always wonder whether or not a song will be well received. And sometimes, the lines that I consider taking out are the ones that end up resonating with people the most.” With the medium of music, she’s grateful to be able to connect with so many listeners, in her own private way.

Klal Yisroel has endured so many tragedies recently, we often find it hard to catch our collective breath and move on. We feel like we’ve been punched one time too many, and we’re left reeling. The song “A Yid” reminds us that sometimes, all we can do is accept. We can’t always fix what’s broken, or change what’s unrelenting. But we can rise to the challenge and be what Hashem needs us to be, even in the hardest times. All we need to do is remember that our Father loves us – and that’s what “A Yid” holds on to.

A Yid

Lyrics

My friends, in times like these It’s hard to see past the insanity In a reality So uncertain and unknown

Life as we knew it - Forever changed And there’s no peace of mind to be found Who can even make sense of tomorrow When our dreams keep crashing to the ground

And yet as we rise to greet another day And the sun is still bright in the sky Always a reason to hope for better times Though it seems like the answer’s worlds away We’ve got enough just enough to keep us going Holding on to unbroken simple faith

Because a Yid never breaks And a Yid never bends And a Yid never gives up in the night A Yid perseveres, through the deepest despairs His emunah strengthens him for the fight And a Yid understands that Hashem has a plan And that’s all it takes to make it through His Tatte loves him that’s what a Yid holds on to

The world went dark The crouds dispersed On the streets that were once filled with light But a brilliant light emerged from deep inside our hearts

Shuls were shuttered and still But our prayers rang through our homes Instead of looking out for inspiration We dug deep and found strengths we’d never known

And one more time We will rise to greet another day Where every moments more precious than ever And life’s sweetest little joys they are the treasure

Because when it feels like the answers worlds away We’ve got enough More then enough to keep us going We’re holding on to unbroken simple faith