20 Feb FUN QUESTIONS WITH BENNY FRIEDMAN

When did you start performing at the
Camp HASC concert?
14 years ago was my first time.
Fill in the blank:
When Moshiach comes__________
We will need a lot of new songs.
Fill in the blank:
Back in the day, we used to_______
Have others that we could rely on. Today,
it’s all on us.
Name someone in Tanach you want to
know more about than what the kriah
says:
Everybody. I don’t even know what the
kriah says!
What’s your favorite Yom Tov?
Yud Daled Kislev- the Rebbe’s
anniversary
What is your favorite Kumzitz/Fabrengen
song?
Right now, I would say “Achas Shoalti”
from the Yingerlach.

What song do you like to listen to on
a Friday afternoon to get you into the
Shabbos mood?
8th Day “It’s Shabbos Now.”
What’s your favorite Mordechai Shapiro
song?
“Boker Tov Olam.”
What’s your favorite Moshiach song?
Omed B’shaar by Amir Benayoun.
What’s your favorite chuppah song?
I love the old Avraham Fried “V’hu
Kchosson.”
Name a song that reminds you of your
childhood:
That’s a lot of songs. Any song that they
played on the early HASC shows.
What is your favorite Abie Rotenberg
song?
“A Small Piece of Heaven.”
Favorite Dedi song:
“Tzur Kol Olamim.”
What do you remember most about
Sheya Mendlowitz Z”L?
I remember sitting around with him and
laughing the night away. I didn’t work
with him so much, a few shows, but
just humor. He had a beautiful attitude
toward life.
What’s the #1 song people ask you to
sing these days?
“Yama.”
Somebody that lives/lived in your
lifetime that represents the power of
ONE.
Hashem.
I thought you for sure were going to say
The Rebbe?
I didn’t want to be too obvious.
Obviously, The Rebbe. The Rebbe
represents Hashem Echad.

Name someone alive that you’ve never
met that you would like to meet before
your time is up.
First of all, I intend to live forever. Second
of all, who would I like to meet? Sandy
Koufax.
Name someone alive that you believe is
a leader:
Shai Graucher
Name a game that you like to play with
your kids on Shabbos:
My brother makes funny parsha
questions, so that’s a thing we do every
Shabbos. We laugh and laugh and laugh.
What is the #1 middah that someone
should look for when looking for a
shidduch?
I really don’t know.
But it’s a very good idea that everybody
should have a mashpia or an advisor/
coach. It should be someone that you
trust and can ask for advice when you’re
going through the shidduch process. It’s
really a massive decision and it’s very
good to have someone smart you can
talk to.
What do you think the secret is to keep
the achdus that we have going right
now?
The secret to achdus is perek Lamed
Beis of Tanya, where he explains that
nothing external should ever influence
your opinion about a yid. You have to
realize that every single yid is infinitely
valuable to Hashem, not for anything
that he does, but just for the fact that
he exists. So, nothing that a Jew can do
should ever be able to stop you from
feeling that achdus. If you focus on the
Chelek Elokah Mima’al, you’ll have an
easier time focusing on the achdus.
Since the war began, everybody was told
to take a kabbalah upon themselves, to
improve themselves, to help Klal Yisrael,

what have you taken upon yourself as a
kabbalah?
Increasing my learning in Rambam
because somebody one time said to
The Rebbe that he needs a mofeis and
The Rebbe said if you need a mofeis,
then you should learn Rambam because
Rambam is Rashei Teivos for Rabbos
Mofsei B’eretz Mitzrayim, so if a person
needs a mofeis, they should learn
Rambam. We need miracles, so it would
be a good idea.