Rabbi Yishai Rabi definitely has a musical soul. Besides being a talented guitarist and a beautiful singer, in a certain sense, his very essence is a very special melody. Like any musical composition that has high notes, soft notes and sharp notes harmoniously woven together into a tune or song, Rabbi Yishai has the distinct talent to combine bits and pieces from every facet of life to bring out the beauty of Torah Judaism. At times he’s funny, chilling or balling and at times he is passionate, deep and emotional. He fuses his multi-faceted personality to bring out the light of Torah and, as all of our students know, to bring out each and every individual’s eternal light.
It is no surprise that Rabbi Yishai utilizes his musical gifts to inspire and uplift the Lev boys. Every Chanukah, he holds a late night kumzitz with the boys singing stirring songs of deveikut while peppering the evening with inspirational words of Torah. He also serves as Chazzan on the last day of Chanukah singing Hallel with a musical accompaniment by our beloved Udi, the master piano player. This year, Rabbi Yishai led the Tefillot but everyone sensed his prayers were different, deeper. And rightly so. Standing beside him was his son David, celebrating his Bar Mitzva! The entire Hallel took on a festive note as they sang the age old words of David Hamelech. The singing only ended after 11 a.m., when the boys were invited to a celebratory breakfast in David Rabi’s honor. We wish Rabbi Yishai a big Mazal Tov and may he continue striking the chords in peoples' hearts to bring out the song of their souls.

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