Founded by Yerachmiel Begun 1977, the Miami Boys Choir has been an Orthodox Jewish music staple for decades, especially among children and teenagers. Now, the group’s music clips have gone viral across social media platforms, particularly TikTok, with tens of thousands of non-Jewish people chiming in on the group’s performances.
The Miami Boys Choir launched a TikTok account about 3 months ago, posting small clips of the group from various periods and gaining a small following on the platform. The account is run by Chananya Begun, the son of Yerachmiel and the founder of the Young Talent Initiative in Lakewood.
But then it posted a clip of 4 well known soloists – Yoshi Bender, Chaim Abramowitz, David Hershkowitz, and Binyomin Abramowitz – singing MBC’s famous “Yerushalayim” during a 2007 performance.
After languishing in TikTok’s algorithm for a bit, the clip suddenly went mega-viral, with millions of Americans viewers being regaled by the lyrical performance of Orthodox Jewish teens.
Thousands of TikTok users have chimed in about the clip, expressing wonder at MBC’s musical talent and “ranking” the soloists who they most like. Most viewers don’t even know what the words to the song mean, but that hasn’t stopped them.
As of Thursday evening, the “Yerushalayim” clip has been viewed nearly 8 million times and has been “liked” over 915,000 times.
Chananya Begun told NBC News that he told his father before launching that some surprising things could happen if Miami Boys Choir videos start getting around.
“I told him: ‘Dad, we have to get on TikTok. … There’s a chance, nobody knows for sure, but there’s a chance something crazy could happen,’” Chananya said.
He added that he believes the music group has gone viral because Orthodox Jewish music is “extremely real and genuine and deep … and it’s an extreme pursuit of excellence.”
YWN reached out to Yerachmiel Begun for comment, and spoke briefly to him on the phone. He said this story is not for YWN, refused to give a comment, and hung up.
Source: (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)