Take a group of young professionals sharing a love of making music together, using only the human voice. Mix in energy and depth in their repertoire and performance. Stir in their commitment to ensuring that their songs have both uniquely Jewish themes and a universally resonant message. What is the result? Well, the result is an award winning, all-male Jewish a cappella group, known as Y-Studs A Cappella. (Y-Studs is a wordplay on Yeshiva students.)
Y-Studs A Cappella is originally from Yeshiva University. Started as a club in 2010, they have since grown beyond the collegiate level to the professional stage. “We are blessed to be able to share our music with the world and influence so many in the process. Our love for singing, combined with a sincere belief in the power of song, yields our unique ability to connect with and inspire the audiences we sing for,” said Y-Studs.
Y-Studs has entertained audiences across the globe, embarking on multiple European tours and singing at countless concerts, bar mitzvahs, charitable functions and more. Y-Studs has also performed twice at the White House Chanukah celebration. Their international breakout was an a capella cover video of Gad Elbaz’s “Hashem Melech,” which was followed up by “Seder,” a Passover inspired parody of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller,” which received well over a million views on social media and was covered by CBS, Time and more. Their groundbreaking “La La Passover” featured on Z100 morning radio, innovated professional choreography in today’s Jewish video scene. The group made their biggest impact yet with “Evolution of Jewish Music,” a mega-medley, a musical journey through the development of Jewish music, from ancient niggunim to contemporary hits.
And now, Y-Studs is set to release their new video, “Evolution of Shabbat,” on March 2. This is the long-awaited successor and worthy follow-up to their biggest success to date, “Evolution of Jewish Music.” The “Evolution of Shabbat” video is a musical journey from Kabbalat Shabbat through Havdala and encapsulates Shabbat with a thrilling medley of the most popular songs and melodies that we all know and love. The video bursts to immediate life with Kabbalat Shabbat, then takes us through all the seudot, zemirot and tefillot on Erev and Yom Shabbat, reaching an emotional apex with Havdala.
“Shabbos observance is filled with music,” said Ari Mandelbaum, Y-Studs immediate past president, current member and Teaneck resident. “Our goal is ambitious, to showcase the complete musical journey of Shabbos in a few minutes.”
To create this epic revue, Y-Studs members compiled a list of the most well-known Shabbat tunes in consultation with a team of exceptional baalei tefilla and by drawing upon their own personal experiences from years of leading davening and performing. The group invested their pandemic downtime in researching the song list in terms of import and familiarity, and identifying and sequencing the highlights with great precision. The singers rehearsed and recorded their voice parts and the medley was completed by top a cappella producers. The video was filmed by “Evolution” veteran Shlomotions and organized and managed by Miriam Bursky-Tammam.
Y-Studs leader and Teaneck resident Eitan Rubin said, “‘Evolution of Shabbat’ is the project the Y-Studs was born to make. On Shabbat, all music is singing, and a cappella music uses no musical instruments, so the combination is the perfect ‘shidduch.’ Y-Studs blends our love of Judaism and involvement in the secular world to create a sound filled with energy, joy and unity. For us as singers, the group provides an opportunity to contribute to society and connect with a world audience. We also love what we do and have a lot of fun doing it.”
Rubin’s partner is Jordan B. Gorfinkel, known as Gorf. The Nachum Segal Network (NSN), the Jewish world’s premier English language internet radio network, has called Gorf “The King of Jewish A Cappella.” Gorf and his group Beat’achon pioneered professional Jewish a cappella. He followed up with Kol Zimra, the simcha-cappella group that innovated matching singers to the needs of its clientele from its extensive pool of top tier vocal talent on the East and West Coasts and around North America. “The Kol Zimra motto is ‘Inspiring Jewish Harmony’ with the intended double meaning—-harmony musically and communally,” said Gorf.
Kol Zimra recently combined management with Y-Studs to form KZYS Productions. With the merger, explained Rubin, “we have maximum flexibility to provide exactly the music you need for your show, Shabbat or celebration.” Gorf added, “Now we’re always available!”
Gorfinkel, who also does a weekly comic strip, @JewishCartoon, for The Jewish Link, is a comic book creator, newspaper cartoonist, and animation/multimedia entertainment producer.
Y-Studs has big plans for the future. “This is just the new beginning,” said Rubin. “We have big plans for more inspirational and fun music and videos on our Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok accounts.”
Current Y-Studs members are Rubin, from West Orange and currently living in Teaneck; Ari Mandelbaum, from and living in Teaneck; Jacob Siegel, from East Brunswick and living on the Upper West Side; Kevin Perlitsh, from Woodmere, Long Island and now living in Passaic; Akiva Abramowitz, from Brooklyn; CJ Glicksman, from Teaneck; Dovid Abramovitz, from Queens and now living in Teaneck; Moshe Caplan, from California and now living in Washington Heights; Yossi Dietz, from Highland Park and now living in Washington Heights; Tsvi Benshar- from Passaic and now living in Washington Heights; and Cory Hecht from Plainview, New York. KZYS Productions principals are Rubin and Gorfinkel.
Listen to Y-Studs on Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube, YouTubeMusic, Deezer, AmazonMusic, Tidal, Napster, iTunes, Yandex, Amazon. Follow Y-Studs on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and TikTok.
Y-Studs tours North America and the world, leading davening and performing at shuls, community centers, sports arenas, hotel programs and more. Contact: [email protected], phone (973) 698-2936.
Susan R. Eisenstein is a longtime Jewish educator, passionate about creating special, innovative activities for her students. She is also passionate about writing about Jewish topics and about Israel. She has two master’s degrees and a doctorate in education from Columbia University.
