The world of Hasidic music is mourning the untimely passing of singer-songwriter 62-year-old Michoel Shnitzler, a 35-year veteran of the stage and studio.
Beginning in the year 2000, Shnitzler went on to release 15 albums and more than 150 original songs, many of them in Yiddish, over his lifetime. He was one of the most popular wedding singers in the world; on his website, he stated that he sang at 4,200 weddings.
Shnitzler also composed songs for his fellow vocalists, who included such musical luminaries as Lipa Schmeltzer (“Lipa”), Pinky Weber and Motti Ilowitz.
The vocalist, who had a heart condition, had just returned to the United States from Israel after the Passover holiday when he suffered a massive heart attack this past Friday at around 6 pm while visiting the Monsey area.
After intense efforts to save his life, Hatzolah paramedics were forced to declare the performer’s passing a few minutes before the start of the Sabbath.
Michoel Shnitzler was born in Berkley, California. He learned at the Tosh Yeshiva in Quebec, Canada, and after his marriage, lived in Kiryat Yoel. He later lived in Monsey, Seagate and finally in Brooklyn’s Borough Park neighborhood.
Two of the vocalist’s brothers passed away in one year (5773/2012-2013) both due to heart failure. A third brother who passed away at age 63 in 5779 (2018/2019) was a fundraiser for “the special cause of Tzidkas R’Meir Baal Hanes,” the singer said in the explanatory notes for a song he released in 2021.
The funeral for Michoel Shnitzler is set for Sunday morning 10 am at the Har shalom cemetery, 44 Hillside Avenue, Airmont, New York.
Baruch Dayan Haemet.
