In honor of Yud Alef Av, the yahrtzeit of R’ Hillel Paritcher, the Gaaguim project has released a warmly authentic rendition of a Niggun Hisvaadus composed by the renowned chossid himself.

The depth of the melody reflects the extraordinary spiritual stature of its composer. In Likkutei Dibburim, the Frierdiker Rebbe draws a striking contrast between R’ Hillel and another of the great Chassidim of his generation.

“R’ Aizik Homiler was a maskil, while R’ Hillel Paritcher was an oved,” the Frierdiker Rebbe said. “The chossid R’ Hillel served Hashem with his very body. His body itself felt what it needed and how it needed to act. Just as the brain is a vessel for intellect and the eyes are vessels for sight, R’ Hillel’s body was a vessel for precisely what was required.”

At the same time, the Frierdiker Rebbe described R’ Hillel as “a wondrous maskil,” capable of explaining the deepest concepts in Chassidus with clear explanations built on sound and firmly grounded foundations.

The stirring melody carries the warmth and inward depth of an old Chassidishe farbrengen, drawing the listener into the world of avoda with which R’ Hillel was so deeply identified.

The niggun is recorded as Niggun 215 in Sefer Haniggunim and is an alternate version of Niggun 91.

The track marks the 93rd release from Gaaguim, a project dedicated to preserving Chabad niggunim in their authentic form. The series is led by Rabbi Menachem Mendel Amar, rav of the Ohr Menachem and Me’oros centers in Ashdod.

The recording is dedicated l’ilui nishmas Mrs. Miriam bas R’ Eliyahu Althaus a”h, and in the zechus of the kinus shluchei chinuch in Eretz Yisroel.

Vocals are by Rabbi Amar, with arrangement by R’ Oved Munis, violin and musical production by R’ Mordechai Brotzky, consultation and guidance by Rabbi Chaim Weiss, and production by Shmulik Amar.

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