Moshe Hecht (born 1985 in

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

, New York) is an American Hasidic singer-songwriter and

rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...

, best known as the eponymous lead singer of the

folk rock Folk rock is a hybrid music genre that combines the elements of folk and rock music, which arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music revival. Performers s ...

group Moshe Hecht Band.

Biography

Early life

Hecht was born in

, New York in 1985 to a

Hasidic Jewish 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 conte ...

family, one among 14 children. (As archived on the band's website.) He is the grandson of prominent Chabad rabbi

Chaim Gutnick Shneur Chaim (HaKohen) Gutnick (1921 – 25 October 2003) ( Heb.: שניאור-חיים הכהן גוטניק), was a prominent Orthodox Jewish Chabad rabbi in Australia. Early life Gutnick was born in Zolotonosha, Ukraine; soon afterwards his f ...

. He displayed interest in music at an early age, singing in school choirs and even writing a musical for

Hanukkah or English translation: 'Establishing' or 'Dedication' (of the Temple in Jerusalem) , nickname = , observedby = Jews , begins = 25 Kislev , ends = 2 Tevet or 3 Tevet , celebrations = Lighting candles each night. ...

when he was 18. He also began listening to secular musicians like

Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981; baptised in 1980 as Berhane Selassie) was a Jamaican singer, musician, and songwriter. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, his musical career was marked by fusing elements o ...

, Simon & Garfunkel, and

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

, but was often forced to hide their records from his devout friends and family. After high school, Hecht spent a year in the

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

doing

community service Community service is unpaid work performed by a person or group of people for the benefit and betterment of their community without any form of compensation. Community service can be distinct from volunteering, since it is not always performe ...

, then 18 months in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

completing his

rabbinic ordination Semikhah ( he, סמיכה) is the traditional Jewish name for rabbinic ordination. The original ''semikhah'' was the formal "transmission of authority" from Moses through the generations. This form of ''semikhah'' ceased between 360 and 425 C ...

Musical career

Hecht gained a strong community following in 2008 with the release of his song "Lamplighters", a tribute to the Chabad emissaries killed in the 2008 Mumbai attacks. Building a community following from this and other singles, he formed the Moshe Hecht Band in 2010 with a group of local musicians. The band's debut album, ''Heart is Alive'', was released by Aderet Music on October 18, 2011.

Discography

* ''Heart is Alive'' (2011)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hecht, Moshe 1985 births Living people Folk musicians from New York (state) American folk singers American Orthodox Jews Hasidic entertainers Jewish rock Jewish folk singers Chabad-Lubavitch rabbis 21st-century American singers American people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent