Yaacov Shapiro

Yiddish was the everyday language of European Jews for a thousand years. It was also the foundation of a flourishing culture that was almost wiped out in the Holocaust. Yiddish does not thrive in Israel, which adopted Hebrew as its national language and which seems to look upon Yiddishness as old fashioned. Some Israelis, however, struggle to keep Yiddish culture alive. Among them are Yaacov Shapiro. The distinguishing characteristic of Shapiro's music is its gentleness. His are not the wild dances of klezmer, but folk songs and lullabies.