The Jew Spot

Jewish rock band on the rise, Yaakov Chesed grasps its success from two secret formulas found within their name – the emet, truth, of Yaakov, father to the twelve tribes, and the chesed, kindness, of Avraham, the grandfather of the Jewish people. With all members of the band learning Torah, growing on a spiritual level, the struggles and emotions are all laid out there through the lyrics of Jake, lead singer/guitarist, and the melodies put together by Michael (lead guitar), Dovi (bass), and Mosky (drums).



Now touring from Oregon to Israel, Yaakov Chesed is working on their second album, one they say is on a more mature level. Lead singer Jake and manager Yoni share with The Jew Spot the emet and chesed within their music and what they hope that translates to for their listeners.

The songs on your first album share very intense feelings of the longing, and struggle, of connection and not only from first person, but as a Jewish people as a whole throughout history. How were you able to create music that expressed the emotions of the Jewish People and not just the Jewish person?

A lot of the songs that were written on the first album was when I was learning in Israel. And the first time I ever went to the Kotel, the song Harmony just came to me. When I was in Israel, it was the most time I ever had to myself. I was on Moshav, where nobody else was, and I’d sit on top of this mountain and reflect. A lot of the songs came from the singing and thinking, and trying to connect.

Growing up, these songs came from the transition of teenagehood to adulthood. A lot of people in that stage feel that way. They are trying to connect; find something to connect to.

Yoni: My favorite lyric from the first album is the first line of Harmony, If these stones could sing, what would they sing about? It’s such a simple lyric, but it’s such a uniting lyric too. What would they sing about – the notes of the Western Wall, the Kotel, unites all of the Jewish nation.

Everyone goes there. Jews from all over the world, whether religious or not. These stones are uniting everybody. What would they sing about?

Tell us about the correlation between the music and the Jewish growth? Has one influenced the other more so?

It actually works together. The more you grow as a Jew, the more topics you have to write about for songs – the different things you go through in your life, the different feelings you have as you’re growing. The growth isn’t always positive. You also fall, but hopefully a positive experience emerges in the end. Life works that way that too.

We hear stories from our fans about different things they are going through in their lives and that also helps us write.

Why do you feel the need to label yourself as the “Jewish” rock band, and not put yourself out there as a more mainstream band?

Well, the more people we can reach out to and inspire the better. We’re definitely Jewish. People come over to me and say, ‘I don’t like Jewish music. I don’t like the sound. But it’s so good to hear Jewish music that I could listen to.’ It’s one of the greatest feelings, especially hearing it from our fanbase of teenagers who don't otherwise listen to Jewish music.

The sound is not based on Jewish music. The words are Jewish, but the actual tunes or rift is American alternative rock.

Yoni: Matisyahu is the first Orthodox musician who broke through the barriers, but most of his songs are in English, and at least half of Yaakov Chesed songs are in Hebrew. That confines us a little bit because it’s hard for people who don’t understand Hebrew to make out the words to understand what the songs are about. Yet, it happens to be that our two most downloaded songs on Itunes are Hebrew songs, so maybe Yaakov Chesed will break through those barriers too.

What is the relationship between where each band member is spiritually and how that plays into the music?

On the last album, it was much more about trials and growing, and feeling lost and trying to connect to G-d. This album is about us as a nation in general. Much more of a collective experience.


When we go on a road show, there is a lot of bonding time and time to learn. The spiritual growth is behind the scenes, without the music itself. But I think it comes forward more when you actually strap on your instruments and perform.

It seems that your struggles in the first album are not so unique, and many people in this world do get lost, and more so depressed. Do you feel music is a way to find meaning and heal?

In Chassidus, it says second to the Torah, the most spiritual element is music. Even before you’re born, every single thing that you’ve experienced in your soul is music. That is why everyone has that desire for music. Every single person in this world has felt lonely and empty at some point. Everyone is searching for something. Our core is always yearning for something more. Our human nature is yearning for something more.

That is something I am always feeling. No matter where I am in life, I always want to connect more and more and more.

What do you hope others get from listening to your album and hearing you perform?

Hope and inspiration. And connection to HaShem. No matter what religion you are, everybody has some form of a G-d. Anything monotheistic is connecting to that one source of everything. With all the negative feelings people get in their lives, I want people to feel hope and inspiration, and a connection to their creator.




To learn more about Yaakov Chesed, visit their site at http://www.yaakovchesed.com/
Download their music on Itunes.
And make sure to friend request them on www.myspace.com/yaakovchesed.