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by Riki Goldstein

The year which is drawing to a close, 5771, has brought a series of heartbreaking blows. We were shattered by the multiple tragedies Klal Yisrael endured in Meron, then just weeks later, the Surfside collapse brought us to a new low.

Composer and producer Eli Gerstner shares how he felt. “Like many people, we knew of families who were in the Champlain towers building. And for the first two days, we still hoped and prayed they would be found alive. Coming on the heels of the Meron tragedy, we all felt that another disaster was just too much.” As Eli was davening for the rescue, the powerful words “Avinu Malkeinu kera ro’a gezar dineinu…[tear up the evil decree]” were going round and round in his mind. Just then, he received a text from a friend of his, who had been diagnosed with cancer.

“That was the straw that broke the camel’s back,” he says. “It all just hit me.” And in the overwhelming pain of so much suffering, in the swirl of darkness, he began to sing and plead with Hashem. At the piano, he put the pain into music with the words “Avinu malkeinu, send a refuah sheleimah to the sick of Your people, tear up the evil decrees.” The melody that emerged from those tearful prayers, “AVINU,” was just released on Sunday August 29th, the first day of Selichos.

One phrase which jumps out from that first night of Selichos is we ask Hashem to look at our misfortunes instead of our sins—“Penei nah el hat’laos, ve’al lachataos.” Instead of focusing on what we are doing wrong, please, Hashem, won’t You consider all our pain and troubles. Consider the pain of Your children who are sick, the families who are grieving and forever incomplete, the couples longing for children, the teenagers lost and broken. If You look at those, surely You will have mercy and bring an end to harsh decrees. Surely You will stop sending us tragedies.

Eli had already planned the final two songs to be released as part of The Chizuk Project, but when he sent his new nigun to Jeremy Strauss of Strauss Music and the Chizuk Project, they decided to lay their original plans to the side, and work on this new song, which is so expressive of the pleas arising from all our hearts.  They both knew who would sing it: Benny Friedman, whose depth of emotion enriches his vocals and touches the listeners’ hearts.

“When we sent the song to Benny, he immediately agreed to sing it,” Eli says. “And we all knew, as we worked on the track, who we were dedicating it to—the cholim of Klal Yisrael.”

Benny loved the song, “it’s a song you could feel in your kishkes.” More than that, he loved the idea that singers and fellow Yidden were getting together to daven. “When a person is mispallel by himself, that’s a beautiful thing. But being mispallel with the community is an entirely different level. The Chizuk project is bringing people together, creating a tzibbur to daven for cholim across the world, and we all hope our united tefillos will be answered speedily.”

Eli immediately began to work on the arrangements. Although he had composed the song on the piano, he decided to switch the intro to a cello, which he felt would “sing” it with more emotion. The cellist put an incredible amount of “soul” into the music, which can be felt from the first bars of the song. Benny’s delivery is likewise striking, each word an emotional plea and a melodic gem.

The song was almost ready, and Eli began to look for a list of cholim that could be shared, for Klal Yisroel to plead together on their behalf. We all know people struggling with illness, undergoing difficult treatments with uncertain prognosis. We all know that Hashem is the ultimate doctor and only He determines each patient’s outcome. But his search for a collective list yielded no results. Individual groups had their own listings, but no one had come up with the idea of a united resource.

“Together with Jeremy, I realized that it was up to us to create that list. If only we could all physically see just how many of our brothers and sisters need a yeshua, we would beg and plead with Hashem to have rachmanus and to bring a refuah too all, and ultimately, the Geulah.”

So, “The Global Cholim List” was born, together with the launch of this song. The Hebrew name of any choleh who needs the force of Klal Yisrael’s tefillos behind him can be added, and we can all turn to it to help us focus on our brothers and sisters suffering. We can all ask Hashem to consider their pain, which is our pain too, and bring an end to tragedy with the ultimate Light, when all cholim will be cured.

At CholimList.com, we can unite to inspire ourselves to rise up in prayer. And as we open the door to a fresh, new year, let us hope that Hashem will see our challenges, our agony, our confusion, and heal our hearts with His goodness.