Yitzhak Meir & friends – New Soul

“Shabbos songs have always been special and moving to me.  From Mir to the Second Lebanon War” – says Yitzhak Meir now about to release his debut album “New Souls – Yitzhak Meir & friends meet on Shabbos night“

Yitzhak Meir who is 28, grew up in Moshav Gimzu, the son of the Rav of the moshav (journalist Yedidya Meir is his brother).  Yitzhak currently lives with his wife in Nahlaot in Jerusalem.  He spent a number of years learning in Mir and in Hevron.  At a relatively late age, he decided to join the IDF and even fought in the Second Lebanon War.

Shabbos songs are a major part of his spiritual world.  He is very fond of both old melodies and newer ones.  “These are the lofties moments of the week”, he says, “when the neshama yeteira of shabbos enters a person through the portal of music.”  He explains that these tunes have always accompanied him, from his parents’ shabbos table to Mir with its hundreds of bachurim and through the battle in Wadi Seluki in the Second Lebanon War, a tough battle that took place on shabbos night, during which he softly sang these songs by himself.

A few years ago, he began organizing an event called “Making Shabbos on Thursday”: along with a group of friends he leads groups of both religious and secular people from all over the country that meet on Thursday evenings to sing shabbos songs.  Some people already know the songs but enjoy a new understanding of the meaning of the words, some are hearing them for the first time in their lives.

These meetings gave birth to the album “New Souls”, that was recorded in a lively spontaneous atmosphere, like a reunion of old friends.  The disc includes guest appearances by Aharon Razel, Yosef Kardoner, Daniel Ohaviel and other top performers in the Jewish music world, under the care of Eran Klein.

The classic hassidic niggunim are sun here for the first time in Hebrew (not “ivris”) with authentic hassidic arrangements.  Come introduce your soul to “New Souls”.