Yaakov Shwekey

Yaakov Shwekey is an Orthodox Jewish recording artist and musical entertainer. He is of Egyptian and Syrian Sephardic heritage from his father's side; and Ashkenazi from his mother‘s side.

Family and early life Shwekey was born in Jerusalem to an Ashkenazi Jewish mother raised in the United States, and a Sephardi Jewish father born in Cairo to a family from a Syrian background. His parents had met and married in New York City. In his early years, Shwekey lived in the Bayit VeGan neighborhood of Jerusalem, but he eventually moved to Polanco, Mexico City, and attended Yeshiva Ateret Yosef. He later lived in Lakewood, NJ, and Brooklyn, NY, and attended Yeshiva of Brooklyn before moving to Long Branch, NJ. As a child, he sang in the Ateret Yosef Choir in Mexico City, and he and his brother, Yisroel Meir, sang with the Miami Boys Choir for a short period of time. In his young adult years, Shwekey studied in Rabbi Menachem Davidowitz's yeshiva (TIUNY) in Rochester, NY. After studying for a few years in the Deal kollel and his subsequent marriage, Shwekey launched his professional career as a singer.

One of his best-known songs is Racheim (Have Compassion), composed by Pinky Weber.

On 19 April 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, Shwekey collaborated with popular Chabad-Lubavitch rabbi and speaker Rabbi Y.Y. Jacobson, both working from home, to stream a free online live concert on YouTube. The reason for this, Shwekey said, was to "make people happy, because that's what God gave me the ability to do". The concert was viewed 138,000 times within its first three weeks online, and is still available on YouTube, accessible via the original link.

In 2021 Shwekey released A Toast to Life in which he sings songs which takes inspiration from Jewish life and themes in a typically Ashkenazi style of Hebrew pronunciation despite his Mizrahi heritage.

Shwekey said in an October 2025 interview that he will soon be releasing an album produced by Doni Gross, comprising over 100 Shabbat songs, together with a book co-authored by Shwekey and Yisroel Besser and published by ArtScroll.

Concert controversy In August 2007, Shwekey and Avraham Fried were slated to headline a major concert in Jerusalem at Teddy Stadium. The event was produced by Moshe Ben-Zimra and billed as a commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the reunification of Jerusalem. Leading Haredi rabbis, including Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, the Gerrer Rebbe, the Belzer Rebbe, Rabbi Aharon Leib Shteinman, Rabbi Shmuel Wosner, and Rabbi Chaim Pinchas Scheinberg signed a ban which appeared in the Haredi press forbidding participation or attendance of the event or similar events. Their ban stated that concerts should not be performed in front of both men and women, regardless if there was separate seating.

Shwekey issued a response that he had already posed the question to Rabbi Ovadia Yosef when an earlier concert featuring him, along with Mordechai Ben David, was also banned. Rabbi Yosef responded that there is absolutely no prohibition as long as the event had completely separate seating. Neither Shwekey nor Fried pulled out of the concert.

Notable duet concerts

In 2000, Shwekey performed a duet with a young Mordechai Shapiro to his song Rachem. In July 2019, Shwekey and Omer Adam sang a duet together. Yaakov Shwekey headlined a concert together with Shlomi Shabbat at Live Park in Rishon LeZion, Israel and Nokia Arena in Tel Aviv. On February 25, 2020, Yaakov Shwekey and Kobi Peretz headlined a concert together at the Pais Arena in Jerusalem. Yaakov Shwekey and Ishay Ribo performed together at a recent concert in Israel. Yaakov Shwekey and Hanan Ben Ari performed live in Tel Aviv together in 2016.

Shwekey has been praised for his ability to collaborate with Jewish musicians of various backgrounds and for having the rare ability to reach Jews from all corners of the Jewish world. He is widely considered one of the most popular Jewish religious singers in the world today.

Personal life and philanthropy He and his wife Jenine and their six children live in Long Branch, NJ. a respite and support program for special needs children, and Shwekey also volunteers much time and energy to this philanthropic endeavor. In an interview with Yated Ne'eman, Shwekey said, "I'm convinced that the success I've experienced in my music career is all because of our work with these special children."

Shwekey had a close relationship with Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, and his single Maran Sheli is dedicated to his memory. The new lyrics had been written by Mishpacha editor Yisroel Besser for a Trump fundraiser earlier that summer at the home of late Trump donor Stanley Chera, and Shwekey would later film a music video for this version of the song. Video of the Teumim Mesivta performance, which showed Shwekey performing the song to an apparently unmasked audience and ended with chants of "U.S.A! U.S.A!", went viral online

Discography

Album name Year released Comments Shomati 2001 Features the hits "Shomati" "Shehechiyonu" "Meheroh" "Racheim" & "Chasoif" Shwekey 2 2002 Features the hits "Av Horachamim" "Hamelamed" "V'noh" & "Ki Hatov" Besimcha 2003 Collection of popular Jewish wedding songs Yedid 2004 Features the hits "Hu Yiftach" "Vehaarev" "Ben Bag Bag" "Omar" "Shema" & "Im Eshkocheich" Behisorerus 2005 Collection of popular Kumzits songs Live in Paris 2006 Also released on DVD Leshem Shomayim (Shwekey 4) 2007 Features the hits "Birshus" "Eishes Chayil" "Emes" "Halo Yadata" "Ma Ma Ma" & "Tatte" in both English & Yiddish Live in Caesaria, Israel 5768 2008 Also released on DVD. Includes duets with Yonatan Razel and Yossi Green Ad Bli Dai (Shwekey V) 2009 Features the hits "Areivim" "Veshochanti" "Mimkomcha" "Illon" & "Vehi She'omdah" The Shwekey Collection 2010 Triple album compilation of songs from previous albums Libi Bamizrach 2010 Features the hits "Libi Bamizrach" "Boee Beshalom" "Hakadosh Baruch Hu" & "Rau Banim" Live in Caesaria II, Israel 5770 2010 Also released on DVD. Includes duets with Chaim Yisrael, Baruch Levine, Yitzchak Meir Helfgot, and Acheinu. Features the hits "Refuah" & "Kol Mevaser" Cry No More 2012 Features the hits "Kedai" "Lo Yaavod" "Oleinu" "Yesimcho" & "Cry No More" Live in Nokia Stadium, Israel 5773 2013 Also released on DVD. Includes duets with Shai Abramson and Shlomi Shabat. Features the hit "Mi Shebeirach" Kolot 2014 Includes duets with Shlomi Shabat and Aharon Razel. Features the hits "Am Yisrael" "Kolot" "Tefillat Kallah" "Et Rekod" & "Asara Bnei Adam" I Can Be (Single) 2015 Also released as a music video We Are A Miracle 2016 Features the hits "Maamin Benisim" "We Are A Miracle" "Smachot" "Maran Sheli" "Inshallah" & "Chaim Shel Shalom" Those Were The Days: My Favorite Collection 2017 Double album featuring covers of many classic Jewish songs from a variety of artists and genres A Time For Music 29 & 30, Part 1 2017 Also released on DVD. Includes a duet with Yitzy Waldner A Mother's Promise (Single) 2018 Also released as a music video Aleph Bais Gimmel (Single) 2018 Celebrates the release of Sholom Mordechai Rubashkin Musica 2018 Released in June 2018; most compositions were done by Yitzy Waldner, who appears on "Tefilat Hashla".

In addition, Shwekey appears on the following albums:

Yonasan Weiss with The Yeshiva Boys Choir, 1988 (Child Solo on "Maher") Torah Today (Miami Boys Choir), 1990 (Member of the Boys Choir) Shuvu El Hashem (R' Shmuel Brazil), 2000 ("Kechu", "Kerasicha", "Im Eshkachech", "Shuvi Nafshi", & "Yerushalayim") Dance With Neginah 5 (Neginah Orchestra), 2001 ("Zoche" & "Hora Medley") Dance With the Stars, 2002 ("Zoche") The Best of The Best 2 (Gideon Levine), 2002 ("Al Tiktzof") Miami 25 (Miami Boys Choir), 2002 ("Racheim" duet with Child Soloist Mordechai Shapiro) Journeys 4 (Abie Rotenberg), 2002 ("Mama Rachel") A Time for Music XVIII (HASC), 2005 ("Ben Bag Bag", "Mama Rachel", "Ki Hatov", " Racheim", “Ribono Shel Olam” & "Finale") Vezakeni (Baruch Levine), 2006 ("Vehu Keili") Eternity (Oorah), 2006 ("Eternity") A Time for Music XIX (HASC), 2006 ("Racheim","Mama Rachel", Yedid", "Shema Yisroel" & "Finale") Harei Yehuda (Yehuda Gilden), 2008 ("Yehi Shalom") A Time for Music XXII (HASC), 2009 ("Emes", "A Vinkele", "Leshem Shomayim", "Vehu Keili", "Mi K'amcha Yisrael", "Carlebach Medley", "Rachem Medley", "Ma Ma Ma", & "Finale") Mona 7 (Mona Rosenblum), 2017 ("Uteshuva U'Tefilah Utzedakah") Shir 3 (Shlomo Yehuda Rechnitz), 2021 ("Achas") Tzama 6 (Chabad) 2021 ("Mimitzrayim G'altonu") Lchaim & Nachas (Moshy Kraus) 2021 (Featured Performer) Legends Untie (Mendy Hershkowitz Band) 2023 (Featured Performer alongside Mordechai Ben David & Avraham Fried)