Pearls of Yiddish Song with Zalmen Mlotek Episode 12: Nokhemke Mayn Zun (Nokhem My Son) From the repertoire of Emil Gorovets Sung by Cantor Daniel Singer Featuring original illustrations by Annabel Parker This parody of an older religious song “Meyerke Mayn Zun” is a conversation between a father, set in his traditional ways and his modern son.
This episode of Pearls of Yiddish Song is dedicated to the memory of Cantor Robert Abelson z”l (1929 – 2026) who sang “Nokhemke Mayn Zun” many times at Folksbiene events. A note from guest artist Cantor Daniel Singer: “This song, Nokhemke Mayn Zun, is dedicated to Cantor Robert Abelson, my teacher, mentor, and my gateway into the world of Yiddish song. During my four years at HUC–JIR, Bob coached me in chazzanut and Jewish art and folk songs and introduced me to the sound and soul of Yiddish. He sang this piece with Zalmen Mlotek and opened the door for me to the world of Yiddish theater.
I hadn’t grown up hearing Yiddish in Wisconsin, though I knew all of my grandparents once spoke it fluently. Through Bob, I found a voice I had inherited but never heard. Bob also introduced me to Zalmen Mlotek more personally and trusted me to substitute for him in NYTF performances of On Second Avenue. In our many coachings, he insisted that Yiddish song begins with the text: knowing it, speaking it, internalizing it, and letting the words shape every musical choice.
That philosophy led me to write my cantorial thesis and perform my recital with music associated with Sidor Belarsky, one of the great interpreters of Yiddish art song. Nokhemke Mayn Zun demands exactly that kind of attention. It’s not a single voice but a living conversation between father and son, moving from love, to marriage, and finally to the joy of a grandson. The singer must inhabit a conversation between generations, not just notes.
Bob passed away at the age of 96, still singing flawlessly to the very end. His life and legacy live on through the many hundreds of cantorial students and thousands of congregants and audience members shaped by his teaching, many of whom had experiences like mine. In many ways, Bob felt like a grandfather I never met. He opened a door to an older world of Yiddish performance and gave me a lasting sense of connection to an age gone by, for which I remain deeply grateful.”
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