Moshe Yess

Who is Moshe Yess?

Moshe Aaron Yess was an Orthodox Jewish musician, composer and entertainer from Montreal, Canada. A member of the Chabad community in Montreal, Yess was a regular performer at Chabad House events and shows, together with general music festivals and the annual A Time for Music concert.

In the 1960s, Yess shared stages with David Crosby, Jefferson Airplane, and The Association. For a time he was part of a psychedelic music group named Research 1-6-12 which produced one album in 1968. As a solo performer he played in Las Vegas, Reno, and other hot spots. In 1978 he moved from Hollywood, California to Jerusalem, Israel, where he enrolled in Dvar Yerushalayim Yeshiva. There he met Rabbi Shalom Levine, who became his mentor in Halacha and his musical partner in Megama. They spoke about harnessing American-style music to communicate the beauty and values of Judaism. Thus was Megama born.

One of Yess's biggest hit songs was "My Zaidy," in which the speaker remembers his grandfather, who was his last link to Judaism. "My Zaidy" -- "zaidy" is the Yiddish word for grandpa—touched several generations of American and Canadian Jews. Other hits by Megama included "Ain't Gonna Work on Saturday" and "Not Ashamed," and one of their successful children's shows was called "Judeo Rodeo."