Reb Yaakov Shwekey: From "Shomati" to "Vehi She'amda" ר' יעקב שוואקי: פון "שמעתי" ביז "והיא שעמדה"

Reb Yaakov Shwekey is today one of the best-known Jewish singers in the world. But his road began far from the big stages.

From Yerushalayim to Mexico

According to Wikipedia, he was born in Yerushalayim in 1977. On his father's side he is Sephardic — his father was born in Cairo to a family with Syrian roots. He grew up in Bayit Vegan in Yerushalayim and later in Mexico City, where he learned in Yeshiva Ateret Yosef and sang in its choir. Later he lived in Lakewood and Brooklyn, and with his brother Yisroel Meir he sang briefly in the Miami Boys Choir. As a bochur he learned in Rochester, and afterwards in the Deal kollel.

The Hits

His first album, "Shomati", came out in 2001, with "Shomati", "Meheroh" and "Racheim". "Racheim", composed by Pinky Weber, became one of his best-known songs. "Shomati" (by Yossi Green) and "Im Eshkacheich" (by Yochanan Shapiro) are heard at many chasunos.

A few albums:

• "Yedid" (2004)
• "Leshem Shomayim" (2007)
• "Ad Bli Dai" (2009)
• "Libi Bamizrach" (2010)
• "Cry No More" (2012)
• "Musica" (2018)

The Song That Almost Wasn't

In an interview with COLlive, Shwekey tells the story of "Vehi She'amda", composed by Yonatan Razel. They had worked all day on songs for the album "Ad Bli Dai" with the famed composer and arranger Ken Burgess, a"h. Razel was the last composer, and they still had not found what they were looking for. As they were putting on their coats to leave, Razel said he had one more song...

Shwekey restructured it slightly — "Matzileinu" became the high part. At first people asked him why he made a Pesach song: "It'll never be sung year round." Today it is sung every day. "Had we put our coats on a little faster," Shwekey says, "this song might not have been. It shows that the Ribono Shel Olam orchestrates everything."

His official YouTube channel has a 2021 video from "Shwekey Live Park" in which he and Razel sing it together again.