Lipa Schmeltzer: 2001 vs. 2026 ליפא שמעלצער: 2001 קעגן 2026

The Shukipedia channel put out two short videos: Lipa schmeltzer 2001-vs-2026 and Lipa schmeltzer 3.0 2001 vs 2026. Same Lipa, just 25 years apart. So we asked: how do you get from there to here?

The Kid from Square

Eluzor Lipa Schmeltzer was born on March 17, 1978, in New Square ^[1]. He's the second-youngest of twelve kids. He learned at the Makova yeshiva in Kiryat Ata ^[1].

After his wedding in 1998, he went looking for work as a badchen. He never had formal musical training ^[1]. He started performing at weddings and bar mitzvahs in Brooklyn and upstate. Pretty fast, people were saying: this guy's got something ^[1].

2001: The First Push

His first album, "Nor B'Simcha", came out shortly after the wedding. He borrowed $15,000 to make it ^[1]. And the album? Let's just say it wasn't a hit.

In 2001 came the second album, "Shema", with producer JJ Fried ^[1]. From there it went up. The thick round glasses, the peyos, the outlandish outfits and the funny YouTube videos made him a star in the Chasidish music world ^[1].

With him you get rock, jazz, almost-rap, tefillos, klezmer and skits, all in one concert ^[1]. He writes songs in Yiddish, Hebrew and English. Some people said it was too modern. But the crowd kept dancing ^[1].

Lipa has also always shown up for benefit concerts. After tragedies he wrote songs like "A Letter to Moishe'le" after Mumbai in 2008, and "Leiby Forever" in 2011 ^[1].

2026: Lipa 3.0

Today he has 19 solo albums ^[1]. The album "Eluzer Lipa'le" was made with Dolby Atmos. It was the first Jewish music album to do that ^[1].

And he's not slowing down. There's the new single "Ich Bin Zich Mochel", a song about forgiving yourself first ^[3]. On Spotify you'll find "Freilach On Fire!" and "Kovati (AKA Lipa's Superbowl Takeover)" from 2025. From 2026 there's the "Keep Going Medley" and his latest release, "Lipa's Tekiyos" ^[2].

If you want to see the difference with your own eyes, both shorts are waiting on the Shukipedia channel.