A 2007 resurfaced clip turned a choir of Orthodox Jewish boys into a TikTok sensation — all thanks to one man's passion and determination to go viral

• A group of Orthodox Jewish tweens called the "Miami Boys Choir" have gone viral on TikTok.
• Chananya Begun, the son of the group's founder, launched the TikTok account for the group in June.

A group of tween Jewish singers known as the Miami Boys Choir has been a household name for decades within the Orthodox Jewish community, according to many people who grew up listening to them. But over the past few weeks, they have become a viral sensation across the globe.

The choir has released more than 30 albums, mostly composed by founder Yerachmiel Begun. The group blew up on TikTok after Yerachmiel's 34-year-old son Chananya posted a clip from a 2007 performance of the choir's Hebrew song, "Yerushalayim," which has racked up 8.8 million views on the platform.

Commenters said they fell in love with the catchy tune, saying they had been listening to it "on repeat" after discovering it.

The four soloists in the video, who are now adults in their late 20s, became TikTok sensations, as thousands of viewers duetted the original clip and rated each of the soloists. One member, David Herskowitz, now 27, has since made his own TikTok account and posted a handful of Miami Boys Choir-themed videos.

Behind the story of a musical group finding success among a new audience is a personal tale of a son who simply wanted to honor his father's work, said Chananya.

He told Insider he set up the group's TikTok account because, at 66, his father was not particularly interested in exploring opportunities on the platform himself. He'd always hoped it would go viral, but the song's huge success still came as a shock.

Chananya's perseverance and passion for the song helped it go viral

Formed in Miami Beach, Florida, in 1977 and led by Yerachmiel, the Miami Boys Choir is made up of Jewish children who sing a variety of original songs which they have performed live across the US.

It took some convincing from Chananya before his father got on board with the idea of launching a TikTok account, he told Insider, as TikTok "wasn't really his world or thing," but Chananya saw an opportunity after spotting a pattern for young talented children going viral on the platform.

Chananya, who has his own day job as the founder of a creative arts organization, said he had less work to do over the summer months, and decided to set up a TikTok account for the group.

He uploaded the 2007 clip of the choir's performance of "Yerushalayim" on August 16, which he said got about 20,000 views overnight.

Noticing that the video did relatively well in comparison to previous posts, he uploaded the clip again a few days later, and it went hugely viral.

"It was only the second video that went viral after I posted it again. Thank the Lord I did that," he said.

The clip, which was captioned "Four Miami soloists in 40 seconds," showed four boys singing along to the song in turn, while the rest of the choir, dressed in colorful shirts and standing in formation, performed a choreographed dance around them.

Chananya said he was happy to see that "Yerushalayim" was the post that launched the group's viral success on TikTok because the song has always had a special place in his heart.

He told Insider that it is the only song ever released by the Miami Boys Choir that he had a hand in composing, as he wrote the trumpet and saxophone introductions for the song.

"The fact that the one that actually went viral was the one that I was involved in was such a nice little thing to throw into the mix," he said.

Chananya said he hopes to honor his father's legacy and message by sharing his music on TikTok

Chananya, who is currently not officially affiliated with the choir, said he was happy to volunteer his time to setting up the TikTok account to help his father. "I wanted to do something for my dad. It had the potential to be really, really wonderful for him," he told Insider.

"I wanted to do something to further my father's legacy. My dad has worked so hard all these years and is still working hard, so for me, I just felt that if I could do something that would really blow this thing wide open, I wanted to do it," said Chananya.

According to Chananya, his father was shocked to learn how viral his group had become on TikTok. "Him and the rest of the family are still trying to wrap their heads around it," he said.

Chananya said he hopes that as he keeps posting videos about the choir, his father's message of promoting "genuineness and excellence" through performance will continue to spread.

"From a religious perspective, we talk about art as imitating God, who creates and gives out of love. So if we imitate him and combine that with being excellent on stage, I really think that could change the world and have a really positive impact. That's exactly what it did this time," he said.

For more stories like this, check out coverage from Insider's Digital Culture team here.