Yaakov Shwekey, Yisroel Besser, & Doni Gross fuse story and song to enrich your Shabbos soundtrack

Photos: Naftoli Goldgrab

When international music icon Yaakov Shwekey decided to honor his parents’ legacy, he wondered: Why not create a project that shares not only the soundtrack of their Shabbos table, but also the profound stories and lessons that inspired it? In a groundbreaking collaboration with star producer Doni Gross and acclaimed author Yisroel Besser, he’s now bringing that vision to life

IT isn’t often that the book and music worlds meet — the creative process and logistical effort that go into a great album are so different from the crafting of a book that it’s hard to imagine a project that fuses the two.
But Yaakov Shwekey’s upcoming project aims to do just that.
It includes both a musical album, produced by Doni Gross, and a book, coauthored by Yaakov and bestselling author Yisroel Besser, and published by ArtScroll/Mesorah Publications.
Shwekey.
Besser.
Gross.
It sounds like the collaboration of the century. Over the past 25 years, Yaakov’s acclaim has spread across the world, his incredible performances and numerous blockbuster hits inspiring thousands of Jews. Doni’s not as visible in the music world — as a producer and arranger, most of his work takes place behind the scenes — but music fans know that he’s one of the biggest new talents in the industry. And Yisroel Besser’s writing has stirred and empowered countless readers, whether through the pages of this magazine or his numerous bestselling books. What brought these three creative dynamos to one shared table? What’s this project all about?
I sent a text to Yisroel Besser, asking when he’d be available to talk about the project.
“I’ll have time to talk soon,” came the reply. “But first, you must see this clip. Then you’ll know what we’re talking about here.”
He attached a short video — just 31 seconds long. It showed a brightly lit studio, with Doni Gross sitting on a swivel chair, concentrating on the massive screen before him. The monitor displayed multiple rows of audio data of various colors, stacked one atop another — a secret code that Doni was manipulating with practiced ease. After a brief silence, he clicked on one of the segments and hit delete. “Yaakov, let’s try singing it one more time!” he called out enthusiastically to the singer, who was perched on a barstool behind him, wearing a large headset. “It needs a little more of that Friday night flavor,” Doni continued. “Like, I want it to make me smell that bubbling chicken soup.”
Yaakov closed his eyes tightly, seeming to transport himself to the Shabbos seudah of his childhood. He then began singing into the mic again. The headset and computer screen seemed to melt away as he conjured a scene of tranquility and eternity, investing each word of the song with his own emotional inflections: “Dorshei Hashem, zera Avraham ohavo!”
The clip ended with Yaakov’s face frozen in that perfect singing position, finger pointing into the air.
Yisroel sent me a simple follow-up text: “You chap?”
I definitely did. This wasn’t just another album. It was an attempt to capture — and convey — a deep, essential truth.