Shulem Lemmer (born November 6, 1989), known professionally simply as "Shulem," is an American

Belz Belz ( uk, Белз; pl, Bełz; yi, בעלז ') is a small city in Lviv Oblast of Western Ukraine, near the border with Poland, located between the Solokiya river (a tributary of the Bug River) and the Richytsia stream. Belz hosts the administ ...

Hasidic Hasidism, sometimes spelled Chassidism, and also known as Hasidic Judaism (Ashkenazi Hebrew: חסידות ''Ḥăsīdus'', ; originally, "piety"), is a Jewish religious group that arose as a spiritual revival movement in the territory of contem ...

singer from Borough Park, Brooklyn, in New York City.Irene Connelly (December 9, 2019)
"An Unexpected Hasidic Pop Star Takes The Stage,"
''The Forward''. He is the first born-and-raised

Charedi Haredi Judaism ( he, ', ; also spelled ''Charedi'' in English; plural ''Haredim'' or ''Charedim'') consists of groups within Orthodox Judaism that are characterized by their strict adherence to ''halakha'' (Jewish law) and traditions, in oppos ...

Jew to sign a major record contract with a leading label,

Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...

, under its classical music Decca Gold imprint.

Early life

Lemmer was born and raised in Borough Park, Brooklyn, in New York City. He is a fifth-generation American, from a

family of the

movement.

is a town in Galicia, in

eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russ ...

, where the Belz dynasty originated. Lemmer is the youngest of eight children. Lemmer studied at the Belzer Cheder in Borough Park, and attended the Mir Yeshiva in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

, living in Israel for six and a half years. He began performing at small family events when he was 10 years old; when he was 13 his sister Tzippy, who later died at 23 years of age in a car accident a few weeks after she was married, encouraged him to perform on stage at a brother's wedding. His older brother, Yanky, is the cantor in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

's Lincoln Square Synagogue. The Lemmers are second cousins once removed of Harvard Law Prof. Alan Dershowitz. Before becoming a full-time singer, Lemmer was the director of marketing at a technology firm start-up based in

Williamsburg, Brooklyn Williamsburg is a Neighborhoods in Brooklyn, neighborhood in the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn, bordered by Greenpoint, Brooklyn, Greenpoint to the north; Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, Bedford–Stuyvesant to the s ...

. He also still works as a cantor during the

High Holidays The High Holidays also known as the High Holy Days, or Days of Awe in Judaism, more properly known as the Yamim Noraim ( he, יָמִים נוֹרָאִים, ''Yāmīm Nōrāʾīm''; "Days of Awe") #strictly, the holidays of Rosh HaShanah ("Jew ...

Congregation Ahavath Torah Congregation Ahavath Torah is a Modern Orthodox Modern may refer to: History *Modern history ** Early Modern period ** Late Modern period *** 18th century *** 19th century *** 20th century ** Contemporary history * Moderns, a faction of Freemas ...

, a

Modern Orthodox Modern may refer to: History *Modern history ** Early Modern period ** Late Modern period *** 18th century *** 19th century *** 20th century ** Contemporary history * Moderns, a faction of Freemasonry that existed in the 18th century Philosoph ...

synagogue in

Englewood, New Jersey Englewood is a city in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, which at the 2020 United States census had a population of 29,308. Englewood was incorporated as a city by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 17, 1899, from por ...

Musical career

Lemmer is a

tenor A tenor is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The lo ...

. He has not had any formal training; he researched vocal training on YouTube and Google, and learned how to perform "on the job". He released an album in 2015 entitled ''Shulem''. He is the first born-and-raised Hasidic Jew to sign with a major record label, having signed with

under its classical music Decca Gold imprint. Lemmer consults with a team of rabbinic advisors; his contract stipulates that he can refuse a performance for any reason. In April 2019, Lemmer sang “''

God Bless America "God Bless America" is an American patriotic song written by Irving Berlin during World War I in 1918 and revised by him in the run up to World War II in 1938. The later version was notably recorded by Kate Smith, becoming her signature s ...

''” at Citi Field. He has toured in American and Israeli cities, and sung in London, Krakow, Frankfurt, and Zurich. The music on his November 2019 major label debut album, ''The Perfect Dream,'' is produced by Jon Cohen and accompanied by London's

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London, that performs and produces primarily classic works. The RPO was established by Thomas Beecham in 1946. In its early days, the orchestra secured profitable ...

. It consists of English, Hebrew, and Yiddish songs, including the Israeli song “

Jerusalem of Gold "Jerusalem of Gold" ( he, ירושלים של זהב, ''Yerushalayim Shel Zahav'') is an Israeli song written by Naomi Shemer. Often contrasted with the official anthem Hatikva, the original song described the Jewish people's 2,000-year longing t ...

,” and “ Bring Him Home” from the Broadway musical “ ''Les Misérables''.” The title track of the album, "The Perfect Dream," is an original song written for Lemmer by lyricist Don Black. During the coronavirus pandemic, Lemmer was recruited by the Department of Health and Human Services to raise awareness about the virus to Orthodox Jewish communities. On Holocaust Memorial Day, Shulem Lemmer sang at the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

Discography

*''Shulem'' (2017) *''The Perfect Dream'' (2019)

Personal life

Lemmer lives in the North Dover section of

Toms River, New Jersey Toms River is a township in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. Its mainland portion is also a census-designated place of the same name, which serves as the county seat of Ocean County. He is married, and has three children. In 2019, he was awarded a

Jew in the City Jew in the City is an American Orthodox Jewish nonprofit organization. Mission The organization was founded in 2007 by Allison Josephs initially with the mission of breaking down stereotypes about religious Jews by offering a humorous, meaningfu ...

All-Star Award. His brother

Yaakov Lemmer Yaakov ("Yanky") Lemmer (born November 6, 1983) is an American Chazzan (Jewish cantor) and performing artist. Lemmer performs traditional Hebrew liturgy, Yiddish folk, opera, Broadway, Israeli, and Hasidic music. Lemmer currently serves as Head ...

is a

hazzan A ''hazzan'' (; , lit. Hazan) or ''chazzan'' ( he, חַזָּן , plural ; Yiddish ''khazn''; Ladino ''Hasan'') is a Jewish musician or precentor trained in the vocal arts who helps lead the congregation in songful prayer. In English, this pr ...

(cantor) and performing artist who currently serves as Head Cantor of Lincoln Square Synagogue, a Modern Orthodox congregation in New York City. Lemmer and his brother have performed and recorded music together (as "Shulem and Yanky Lemmer"), including a live performance of "Lo Sachmod" with Shira Choir in 2016 and the 2021 studio release "The Man From Vilna'".

References

External links

*
"Shulem Lemmer singing with Shira, 'Chad Gadyu,'"
June 13, 2015

''The Lakewood Scoop'', January 2020. {{DEFAULTSORT:Lemmer, Shulem Living people 1989 births American Hasidim Jewish American musicians Jewish songwriters Hasidic entertainers Yiddish-language singers Hebrew-language singers Hasidic singers People from Borough Park, Brooklyn People from Toms River, New Jersey Musicians from Brooklyn Singer-songwriters from New Jersey 21st-century American singers 21st-century American male singers Singers from New York City Mir Yeshiva alumni Singer-songwriters from New York (state) Orthodox pop musicians