AHAVA RABA- Sung by Nechemia Brodt- Composed by R’ Efraim Wachsman- BMG Song 2008

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CHORUS:
אַהֲבָה רַבָּה
,אֲהַבְתָּנוּ
אַשְׁרֵינוּ ,אַשְׁרֵינוּ
מַה טּוֹב חֶלְקֵנוּ
(x2)
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VERSE 1:
The story, to every Yiddish Kind is told,
Of Hillel Hazaken so tired and cold,
He earned but a penny a day,
And half of it he used to pay.
The Shomer who sat at the gate
Of the Beis Hamedrash, making sure everyone paid,
One day, even that half a trefik he didn’t earn
The Shomer said, sorry, you can’t come in to learn.
So he climbed up on top of the skylight,
It was Erev Shabbos at the time of twilight,
The heavy snow began to fall,
But Hillel didn’t notice it at all.
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Inside was burning the fire of Torah
Al Aish Levana, Aish Shechorah,
Every word so precious to know.
In the morning, they discovered
His frozen body covered
Under three Amos of snow.
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The ice had frozen every limb,
Quickly, they brought him in,
They warmed him up by the fire,
The story continues to inspire.
Aza ahava how can we contain,
For so many Doros sustained,
Were burning feverishly,
Ki Cholas Ahava Ani.
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CHORUS:
אַהֲבָה רַבָּה
,אֲהַבְתָּנוּ
אַשְׁרֵינוּ ,אַשְׁרֵינוּ
מַה טּוֹב חֶלְקֵנוּ
(x2)
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VERSE 2:
Open up the Gemara, Bava Kama, Daf Ayin Zayin,
You see a Blatt that’s only Tosafos, you should be Me’ayin,
Hear the Maaseh and listen,
When and how that Tosafos was written.
The entire Yeshiva of Baalei Tosafos were chained and bound,
And they were taken into a crusader’s dungeon deep underground,
At dawn, they were to be burned alive,
They had only one night left alive.
With sharp knives, their fingers they cut,
In a bowl, they collected the blood,
And with that ready, they began the Tosafos to write,
They wrote and wrote through the night.
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They wrote because they knew that they must,
They wrote it for us,
Our children for eternal learning.
They poured out onto the pages,
The Kedusha of ages,
Even as their Gufim were burning.
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Who can understand such a love?
Such a Kesher to the Ribono Shel Olam above!
Oy, Heiliger Bashefer, look and see,
Ki Cholas Ahava Ani.
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CHORUS:
אַהֲבָה רַבָּה
,אֲהַבְתָּנוּ
אַשְׁרֵינוּ ,אַשְׁרֵינוּ
מַה טּוֹב חֶלְקֵנוּ
(x2)
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VERSE 3:
Reb Yosef Hakohen was a very poor man,
He never had a cent in his hand,
But to him, the Ribono Shel Olam gave,
Two Lechtige Kinder, Yehuda & Aryeh Leib.
Each one of them only owned one shirt,
One morning, the mother had to wash it out from the grime and the dirt,
They had nothing to Cheder to wear,
She said, Shtey inter der oiven and wait over there.
The Melamed came to the house looking for them,
Where are my two precious gems?
The father asked, where are they, she showed them, they’re standing over there,
They Nebach don’t even have a shirt to wear.
The father said it’s not kedai for Torah to miss even one word,
And he took off his own shirt,
He took his Kinderlach and put them both in it,
He said, Loif tzu Cheder, don’t waste a minute.

Zenen zai geluffin in cheder,
Mit ein hemt far beider,
Mir ken zich farshtellin vee es zey toz,
But these children began to grow,
And today we all know,
Yehuda became the Kuntres hasfeikos
And Aryeh Leib became the Heilige Ketzos.
Aza ahava how can we compare,
Ah leebshaft mamish un ah shiur,
We can clearly see,
Ki Cholas Ahava Ani.
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CHORUS:
אַהֲבָה רַבָּה
,אֲהַבְתָּנוּ
אַשְׁרֵינוּ ,אַשְׁרֵינוּ
מַה טּוֹב חֶלְקֵנוּ
(x2)
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VERSE 4:
The young boy stood at his mother’s bedside,
Ehr veint os Tehillim, he cried and he cried,
But the Shaarei Shomayim were closed,
And the Neshoma to Shomayim arose.
He was only a Bachur of 16 years,
He thought he cried out all of his tears,
But 6 months later, like a nightmare come true,
His father was Niftar too.
Young Chaim Shmuelevitz was left all on his own,
With his brothers and sisters to raise alone,
It was a time of hunger and war,
And all day he had to stand in the storm.
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But at night, the candle was burning,
He was sitting and learning,
Hours and hours of Torah so deep.
Years later, his brother
Would say, he was like our father and mother
But we never ever saw him sleep…
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At 19 he was Mee’id that he knew,
All of Shas and Poskim Baal Peh through and through,
Oh, how could this possibly be,
Nur Ki Cholas Ahava Ani.
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CHORUS:
אַהֲבָה רַבָּה
,אֲהַבְתָּנוּ
אַשְׁרֵינוּ ,אַשְׁרֵינוּ
מַה טּוֹב חֶלְקֵנוּ
(x2)
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VERSE 5:
We’re Mispallel now that we should be Zoche,
Tzi azeleche hasuges hoiche,
Mir beten, vetaher libeinu,
Veharev na hashem elokeinu.
Ribono shel olam, give us Cheshek and Tshuka,
For your zeese Torah, azoi mesuka,
Fill our hearts with fire,
With a bren, with a holy desire.

Oy heilige tatteh,
Mir villen nisht zain mevater,
Oif an ois achas mitoraseinu.
So we beg you please,
Mach es far ins zees,
Veniheye anachanu vetze’etzaeinu.
Ki Cholas Ahava Ani.
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Kolanu yodei shemecha,
Velomdei sorasecha,
Look at your Kinder and you’ll see,
Ki Cholas Ahava Ani.
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CHORUS:
אַהֲבָה רַבָּה
,אֲהַבְתָּנוּ
אַשְׁרֵינוּ ,אַשְׁרֵינוּ
מַה טּוֹב חֶלְקֵנוּ
(x2-4)
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