A New Children’s Anthem? Aharon Razel and Ariel Zilber Release a Hasidic Duet

Aharon Razel and Ariel Zilber have released a new single, “Otiyot Melamdot Emunah” (“Letters Teach Faith”), built around teachings associated with Rabbi Yitzchak Ginzburg. The song presents Hebrew letters not just as writing symbols, but as the child’s first doorway into holiness and Torah.

The inspiration comes from the classic midrash “Otiyot d’Rabbi Akiva,” in which the letter aleph tells a child, “Emet lamad picha” (“Teach your mouth truth”). Ginzburg expanded that idea into a series of practical, faith-filled lessons tied to the names of the letters, including bet, which urges the child to “seek God always,” and gimel, which calls on him to “repay a Jew with kindness.”

Razel wrote, composed, and arranged the track, saying he wanted something “simple, innocent and addictive” that would bring these ideas to young listeners. He said that when he encountered Ginzburg’s words, he immediately felt that “there is a nigun that wants to come out,” and added that the melody tries to capture both a child’s first encounter with the aleph-bet and the Hasidic depth hidden in each letter.

Razel said Zilber’s “unique and warm voice” was the right fit for the project, because it adds simplicity and inner feeling. He hopes the song will enter homes and schools and become part of “the soundtrack of our children’s childhood.”