Shir Yaakov
| Shir Yaakov | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Sam Benjamin Feinstein-Feit |
| Born |
February 27, 1978 Manhattan, New York |
| Origin | Hudson Valley, New York |
| Genres | Jewish music, folk, electronic, hip hop |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter, composer, liturgist, educator, prayer leader |
| Instruments | Vocals, guitar |
| Years active | 2005–present |
| Associated acts | Darshan, The Epichorus |
| Website | shiryaakov |
Sam Benjamin "Shir Yaakov" Feinstein-Feit (born February 27, 1978) is an American liturgist, singer-songwriter, composer, and prayer leader. He is a co-founder of the Kol Zimrah minyan and musical director at Romemu, the largest Jewish Renewal community in New York. As a musician, he has recorded three full-length albums and has performed with the groups Darshan and The Epichorus.
Feit was raised in Manhattan by a secular Jewish family. He attended the Abraham Joshua Heschel School beginning in third grade when his mother got a job there. His family were members of the B'nai Jeshurun synagogue. As a child, Feit took piano and guitar lessons and taught himself music, including transcription and composition. In high school, he was influenced musically by Nirvana's Kurt Cobain.
After graduating high school, Feit worked in photography, graphic and web design. He started becoming more religious in his early 20s, influenced by Sefer Yetzirah and the works of Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, the founder of the Jewish Renewal movement.
Feit moved to Jerusalem's Nachlaot neighborhood in 2005 to study in yeshiva. There, Feit and his friends created an informal band called Lev Yerushalayim, with whom he would beatbox and freestyle rap at late-night concerts outside Yeshivat Simchat Shlomo.
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