
NEW YORK (VINnews) – Ten weeks after her passing spawned a worldwide campaign for peace, footage has emerged of eight year old Charlotte Herzberg making a mistake that was, perhaps, divinely inspired.
As previously reported on VIN News, footage of Charlotte singing Abie Rotenberg’s classic Neshome’le went viral when it was released by singing sensation Shaindy Plotzker shortly after Tisha B’Av. An August 11 social media post added an extra dimension to the story, with Plotzker revealing that Charlotte had actually sung one word of the lyrics incorrectly.
“If you know the original song Neshomele, which was put out by R’ Abie Rotenberg many years ago, the lyric goes as follows, ‘let me stay here up in heaven, where it’s safe and I’ll be pure,’” said Plotzker.
But after listening to the clip on repeat after Charlotte’s passing, Plotzker realized that her young soloist had changed the words “it’s safe” to “I’m safe.”
“It’s almost like in that moment her neshama knew,” shared Plotzker. “It’s like Charlotte’s sending us a message that she’s safe – I’m okay.”
In addition to taking comfort in the switch-up, Plotzker said that it brought home an important lesson.
“It reminds me that Hashem plans every little thing in our lives,” said Plotzker. “We don’t always get the answers, but sometimes, it clicks. Because when Charlotte changed one lyric six months ago, we had no clue what it would mean to us now, and it’s just a reminder that Hashem is in every. Single. Moment. Because every step is perfectly planned.”
Plotzker’s Neshome’le was recorded in June just days after Charlotte’s passing. Recorded at a breathtaking estate in Alpine, New Jersey, it features the Shaindy Plotzker Voice Students, included a solo by Charlotte that had been recorded months earlier, and as of this writing, had garnered 101,000 views in just two weeks’ time.
Having forgiven the driver of the car that hit Charlotte as she was riding her bike, her parents created Shalom for Charlotte, encouraging people to put aside grudges and hard feelings as a zechus for her neshama. With Charlotte’s story touching hearts all over 100,000 acts of shalom have been made since that time, with a small fraction of those acts of forgiveness reported at www.ShalomForCharlotte.com