Rabbi Yom-Tov Ehrlich ( he, יום-טוב עהרליך) (1914–1990) was a renowned

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 ...

musician, composer, lyricist, recording artist, and popular entertainer known for his popular

Yiddish Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ver ...

music albums. He was born in a small

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

, Kozhan Gorodok,

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

, and raised in a nearby village,

Davyd-Haradok Davyd-Haradok ( be, Давыд-Гарадок, ; russian: Давид-Городок, pl, Dawidgródek) is a city in the southwestern Belarusian voblast (province) of Brest. It has 5991 inhabitants (2021 estimate). History Within the Grand Duchy ...

, Belarus (then

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

). He survived

the Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...

Samarkand fa, سمرقند , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = City , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from the top:Registan square, Shah-i-Zinda necropolis, Bibi-Khanym Mosque, view inside Shah-i-Zinda, ...

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

. Later, he moved to

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 ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. Ehrlich was born to a family of Karlin-Stoliner Hasidim. His grandfather, Yom Tov Simcha Ehrlich, was an aide to Rabbi Aharon of Karlin, an early leader of the Hasidic movement. Ehrlich himself was a Hasid of the late Rabbi Yochanan Perlow of Karlin. Some of Ehrlich's favorite songs were later recorded by other popular Hasidic entertainers, such as Mordechai Ben David, Lipa Shmeltzer and

Avraham Fried Avraham Shabsi Hakohen Friedman ( he, אברהם שבתי הכהן פרידמן, born March 22, 1959) better known by his stage name, Avraham Fried, is a popular musical entertainer in the Orthodox Jewish community. Career Fried was encouraged ...

, although Ehrlich himself used Russian classical and folk melodies to his own Yiddish lyrics. His most popular songs include: "Yakkob", the tale of a Jew in

Uzbekistan Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked cou ...

during the Holocaust; "Shloof mein kind" ("Sleep, my child"), the song of a Jewish woman who finds a child alone in the woods during the Holocaust; and "Williamsburg", a song about Hasidic

Williamsburg Williamsburg may refer to: Places *Colonial Williamsburg, a living-history museum and private foundation in Virginia *Williamsburg, Brooklyn, neighborhood in New York City *Williamsburg, former name of Kernville (former town), California *Williams ...

during the 1950s.

Discography

* The Wandering Jewish Folk Singer *Yiddish Nachas (1960) * Torah (1961) * T'shuva (1962) * Shema B'ni (1963) * Ameritchka (1964) * Emunah (1965) * Shabbos (1967) * Luksus (Double Album) (1967) * Chevlei Moshiach (Double Album) (1969) * Shabchi Yerushalayim (1970) * Middois (1973) * Dai (1974) * Shelo Asani Goy (1975) *Journey Through Song 1 - Lamnatzeach B'naginos (1975) *Journey Through Song 2 - Mizmor L'sodah (1975) *Kol Mevaser (1977) * Yetzias Mitzrayim (2 Volumes) (1978) * Chessed * Elliyohu Hanuvee * A Shabbus Mitten Rebben * Der Satmerer Rebbe (2 Volumes) (1981) * Der Baal Shem Tov (2 Volumes) *Emunas Tzadikim *Shoshanas Yaakov *Ashreinu (2 Volumes) *Hallel *Rannenu Tzadikim (2 Volumes) *Modeh Ani *Bitachon

References

External links

Brooklyn Rail about him

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ehrlich, Yom Tov Hasidic entertainers Hasidic music Yiddish-language singers American Orthodox Jews 1914 births 1990 deaths People from Williamsburg, Brooklyn People from Mozyrsky Uyezd Soviet emigrants to the United States