Moshe Neria Kursia: "My Most Powerful Prayers Come Out on Stage"

A childhood story that stays with you?

"When I was 14, I went with friends to Eilat during the summer vacation. At night, the guys planned to go to a party. At the last minute, before leaving with them, I decided to stay at the hotel. Throughout the night, I roamed the city, talked to Hashem, and realized it was the first time I truly chose a path for myself."

A Jewish aspect you personally connect with?

"Direct conversation with Hashem. For me, it's mainly expressed through writing. This is the strongest therapy for me. I write to Him whenever I can, especially when I'm in pain, when it's tough, when I fall, when I don't manage to be what He expects me to be."

A figure from Judaism who inspires you?

"King Solomon. I believe he is what we aspire to be. Living both extremes, which are only apparent extremes, at their peak power. Living the mundane through the holy. Spiritual richness can lead to healthy material richness, and from that, creation. King Solomon's creation fascinates me. To take such high concepts and write about them from the most personal point is the ideal for me. And not just to write it, but mainly to live and truly understand it."

Judaism for you is?

"An international mission. Sometimes we forget this, unfortunately, and remain within our own spaces. To spread light and repair the world, there must first be internal work, but we must not forget the purpose for which we were chosen."

A mitzvah particularly dear to your heart?

"Though it's hard to choose, I would choose 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' Ultimately, the entire Torah is directed to this point. Everything leads there. What many people don't know is that the precondition to loving others is first to love yourself. This is also hinted at in the verse itself: 'Love your neighbor - as yourself.' It's not always easy, but it's always very important."

'Save Me':

Your favorite holiday?

"Purim. I was born during Chanukah, and it is a very beloved holiday close to my heart, but I live completely from Purim to Purim. It's the only day of the year when I feel 100% real, without pretenses, without lies, without unnecessary smiles. If I want to cry, I cry. If I want to hug, I hug. Without thinking about what people will say or how I look from the outside. Usually, this holiday brings with it great lights for the future, and when I manage to capture something from it for the rest of the year, it's the biggest thing that can be."

What are your dreams?

"To be happy, loving, and beloved. Ultimately, this is the big goal. From this, I believe I'll achieve my role and purpose. One can't truly fulfill Hashem's will when we're sad or lonely. It will never be complete that way. Yet, I say I dream of combining music and education at the highest intensity possible. To fill Caesarea – and the next morning, deal with souls in need of an ear and a heart."

'I Have Made You Swear' with Ishay Ribo :

How is Hashem present in your life, and how does He affect your actions?

"Perhaps more than anything else. I am committed to halakha, so I'm constantly at war to bend my will to His. Beyond that, I'm in contact with Him all the time. When I'm sad, when I'm happy, always. Just before I go on stage, we have a few beautiful moments that accompany me throughout the performance. I constantly try to think about what He wants me to do and how I should do it. It mixes a lot with ego and fantasies, but I'm always working on it."

A biblical character you would like to meet?

"King David. I must learn or at least observe someone capable of perfectly balancing between heroism, gentleness, and strength. Balancing these is the hardest thing for me in the world."

An interesting conversation you once had?

"One day, while studying in yeshiva, one of the rabbis caught me for a talk that lasted 4 hours. We talked about the life that had passed so far, the feelings, thoughts, and plans for the future. It was the most pleasant thing in the world. To sit with a person who broadcasts to you that he's only with you, nothing else interests him at the moment, and he really wants to hear you and listen to your soul. This is one of the qualities I'd very much like to acquire – to be completely there for someone else. To this day, we are very good friends."

'Let's Move':

An interesting story that happened to you?

"Between activities during Operation Protective Edge, one of Israel's most famous and talented musicians, Avi Singolda, came to us. We ended up sitting and singing a few songs together, and I was as excited as a kid. I didn't quite remember the lyrics, and I even sang off-key, but it was a special moment. Singing with the best guitarist in the country in front of Gaza, with missiles falling in the background, is not an everyday occurrence."

A book or song that influenced you greatly?

"Even here it's very hard to choose, but I'll go with 'I Have a Chance to Be Saved' by Evyatar Banai. I once read in an interview with Evyatar that the song was written and composed in 5 minutes, which only reinforces my thought that it is simply a kind of gift from above."

What do you particularly love about Shabbat?

"On Friday night, after the meal, just before going to meet friends, I especially love to go to the study hall, sit there alone with the Gemara, and hum to myself tunes. It feels like a glimpse of the World to Come."

Professionally, are you in the place you imagined you would be?

"To be honest, in the beginning, the goal was very realistic – one performance a month. However, I admit that the more I realized my dream, the appetite grew. So, thank God, the aspirations are bigger today, but I'm very happy and grateful to Hashem for what I've achieved."

Where do you want to be in ten years?

"In a study and writing room, in my and my family's home, which is in a quiet, green village, after at least three successful albums. Making a living from music and learning a lot of Torah."

What do you think of ba'alei teshuvah? And how connected do you feel to ba'alei teshuvah?

"We are all ba'alei teshuvah, woe to anyone who isn't. But it's true that some come from secular homes and started searching and choosing from scratch. On one hand, it seems tough to me, but on the other hand, it's the most genuine and pure thing there is. It's something I'll never truly be able to understand."

A lesson you've learned in your life?

"I can truly see how true the phrase 'one who faults, faults in his own defect' is. It's amazing how the things that bother us the most are actually our reflection in other people."

What is your favorite prayer?

"The prayer on stage. There's a moment in the performance when I do a personal meditation facing the audience. My most powerful prayers come out in front of the audience on stage. It might be my most exposed moment during the performance, but because of that, it's also the strongest. Usually, I cry at that moment. The most personal things come out there."

Something you'd like people to know about you that they don't?

"That I really, really want to be good."

What are the plans for the future?

"With Hashem's help, we've started working on the second album, and it's really exciting. New materials, and my mind is buzzing with ideas and directions. The desire to constantly innovate, to be original, and yet remain true to myself and my values sometimes gropes its way in the light and sometimes in the dark. It's not simple, but it's part of the matter. In the meantime, we continue to perform and guest appear. Additionally, we've started doing master classes, which is an amazing concept. Just me and the piano in front of classes of 30-200 people in the audience. It's a rare opportunity to see and hear the people who hear the songs face to face. In regular performances, the audience is much more passive."

After 120 years, what would you want to know that you've done and left in this world?

"That I've done good. That I've influenced. That my creations are eternal and passed from one to another. Before Rabbi Nachman passed, he told his students: 'I'm a wondrous man, and my soul is a great wonder, a novelty like me has never been.' What dies is the body, but the novelty of each person can exist forever. And that's what a person truly leaves behind. So, may it be upon me and all of us."