עֲשָׂרָה נִגּוּנִים — מֵהֶם תְּנוּעוֹת בִּלְבָד — מְיוּחָסִים לְרַבֵּנוּ הַזָּקֵן שֶׁהוּא בְּעַצְמוֹ חִבְּרָם.

הַמְיוּחָסִים לְרַבֵּנוּ הָאֶמְצָעִי, הַיְנוּ שֶׁנִּתְחַבְּרוּ בִּזְמַנּוֹ וְהָיוּ מְנַגְּנִים אוֹתָם לְפָנָיו, אֲבָל לֹא שֶׁהוּא מְחַבְּרָם. וְהָיְתָה אֶצְלוֹ קְבוּצַת אַבְרֵכִים מְנַגְּנִים — וִידוּעָה בְּשֵׁם "דעֶם מִיטעֶלעֶן רֶבִּי'ס קאַפּעֶלעֶ" — וְנֶחְלְקָה לִשְׁתֵּי פְּלוּגוֹת: בַּעֲלֵי שִׁיר — בְּפֶה, וּבַעֲלֵי זִמְרָה — בְּכֵלִים שׁוֹנִים.

There are ten melodies,1 some of them merely melodic phrases, whose composition is ascribed to the Alter Rebbe.2

Those ascribed to the Mitteler Rebbe were composed in his time and were sung in his presence. He was not their composer, however. He had a group of musical young men who were known as “the Mitteler Rebbe’s choir,” which comprised singers and various instrumentalists.

A Story with an Echo

In addition to his choir, the Mitteler Rebbe had another group of young men trained to perform acrobatic stunts on horses. Usually, they would perform on chassidic festivals or similar occasions. Once, however, on an ordinary weekday, the Mitteler Rebbe requested a performance. His son, anxious to please his father, led the horsemen in their feats, but in the midst of one of the stunts he fell, and crashed to the ground in pain. The Mitteler Rebbe immediately called for medical assistance, but asked that the performance continue. Only when it was over did he go to his son.

“Why didn’t you go to your son beforehand?” one of the chassidim respectfully asked the Rebbe.

“Let me answer your question with another question,” the Rebbe replied. “Why did I call for a performance on an ordinary weekday?

“The answer is that joy has great healing powers. I saw that there was a Heavenly decree against my son and I sought to nullify it or at least mitigate it. That’s why I called for a celebration. When he was injured, I hoped that the decree had been annulled, and that continuing the celebration would speed his recovery — which indeed proved to be true.”3