Rav Avshi Weingot on the song Shomer Yisroel

What inspired me to put out this song? It was not something I planned. It actually just came to me.

I was sitting one day with my daughter on a swing. She almost fell off and I caught her in midair. In that moment, it hit me so clearly. Just like I was watching her, catching her, Hashem is watching us all the time. Protecting us. Holding us even when we do not realize it.

I felt a strong responsibility to put this song out because there is so much darkness in the world right now. I am exposed to so many painful stories. Endless stories of people giving up, people losing hope, people giving in to yiush. There is a deep heaviness everywhere.

And I kept thinking about something fundamental. We are not a nation without leadership. Even in galus, we are not abandoned. We have a King. We have a living leader, Dovid Melech Yisroel Chai Vkayam. We have Dovid HaMelech, alive and real, who wrote songs that are not just a part of our history. These songs are alive, in every neshama. They are here for us to connect to, to draw strength from, to scream, “Shomer Yisroel, Hashem, You are my protector, my guardian, my security!” One pasuk here could mamash save a person’s life.

After the hostages began coming back, I became even more aware of how many people are living without the basic foundations of Yiddishkeit. People who do not know brachos or Shema. People who do not know these pesukim. Imagine not knowing those words. Imagine not knowing that you are guarded. Imagine how dark life becomes when all you see is what is in front of your eyes and nothing more.

The ability to close our eyes and focus on this truth, to scream to ourselves and to the world, “We have a Shomer. We have Someone who is watching us, guarding us, protecting us, waiting for us, knowing us,” is so necessary right now. Especially in times of hester panim, when it feels hidden, when the pain feels overwhelming.

I could not sleep last night after hearing another heartbreaking story. The levels of pain people are living with are extreme. That is why it is so important to bring the light of this song into every place and every dimension.

That is why I am screaming this song. “Shomer Yisroel” is not just a concept. We are not alone. We are connected. We are one.

In these times of Ikvisa D’Meshicha, as we feel the birth pangs of Moshiach, it is so integral that we cry out as one unit. Many individual souls, connected together across the world, building our connection to one another, ultimately gathering in strength to greet the coming of Moshiach.

Hold on. These are the moments before morning, and the light of Geulah is so very close.
B’ahava Rav Avshi

Written by R' Avshi Weingot
Produced by Izzy Drihem

Video by Matti Shriki