Akiva, Jewish Music Superstar (Behind the Bima #177)

from Bocaraton, Florida. This is Behind the Beimma. This week, the rabbis are joined by the renowned Israeli singer Akiva Tourma. Together, they explore Akiba's rise to fame, his deep personal connection to the music that unites the Jewish people, and his inspiring message of hope and resilience. Tune in for an intimate conversation that goes beyond the music. All this and more behind the Beimma. We're here with the one and only the great Akiva Turjan. We are behind the Beimma. Behind the Beimma. and we're behind the concert because we're about to have an incredible concert at Bucharon Synagogue, 1100 people after an incredible Shabas and an incredible Moz Shabas together with our soldiers. Just want to say Kea, it's been a great honor to have you in our community. We're so looking forward to tonight to this concert and I are Mishbah's brother-in-law is my cousin, the great so we've already been connected small world. I want to begin by really thanking you not only for being such an incredible musician who produces music that touches the heart, but for serving Amisaw this last year and a half on the front lines fighting for the Jewish people. I saw you in concert soon after the war began. You were wearing your uniform. You came in, you put your gun down, you sang, you picked up your gun, you went back out to the front. So in Israel, only in Israel, you could be a celebrity singer, but when is need you, there's no celebrity, there's no singer, there's like everybody else. So what was that like when you got the call to go fight and to join to be part of the idea of to come as a reservist to put down your career and your family and to go out and join the Jewish people on the front line and fight? So spec first of all, so especially for me. It's great honor for me to be here and thank you for having me uh here. Nice to meet you and you all all of you and beautiful people beautiful they met uh it's beautiful asia of Torah the first of all I'm I'm I'm in shock I've never never been in like in this place like this and to be a singer in Israel it's not it's not like to be in a superstar in in US you know you you have you have to be in um your uh uh your legs and uh grounded ungrounded. You you have to be you know I I came from their army. I I I grew up like like anyone. I grew up I grew up in Dimona in a the middle town in the in the desert and I went to yeshiva and after the yeshiva I went to Galani and the they are called me. So I I came right and and you know I have a I have a song about uh about this shootim you know uh you you don't need to tell uh complicated stories about you can say uh so simple they told you they told you you can't you can't come you can't fight so so go why not right why not because you're because You have a you have a more opportunities because you have connected connected to to government you can you can cancel it. Okay. So coming so and you know last years it's it was uh it's not was a simple how many days were you and me living just for our listeners? 240 240 days. Yes. It's not it's not it's not simple. And after after 150 I came uh I go back came back to my home and after two months they called me again. Wow. uh say two rounds. Uh and uh and so when when I was in in there, I didn't feel that like uh like uh it's it's the the complicated of this right to my my wife and my kids. They they are the really the real fighters. And I want I want to spot on on on the the women and the spotlight on the wives of the service. They know when you came out. I know you often went to go do concerts four soldiers and four victims of uh October 7th and four hostage families. So you were in Milim on the front line and then you were Muim on the stage singing. So your family really didn't see you a lot. Yeah. It's a different mission but but it's really everyone is shal. Yeah. And here it's it's like you do to meet people to meet um teenagers. I met I met before in last night and and they they they say hi say that and we talked and and I I saw in their eyes that you can you can you can like you can be um a regular people and and be and be a religion guy and be a hashem and it's it's it's you can't connect between them. It's not it's not fight. It's not a contradiction. Everyone of us, not just teenager, connection between the worlds, business, money together, together with the morning. Yeah. this this uh place this big. So I want to ask you about that in terms of your music because um obviously on the one hand you're a musician and you play in big you know I saw you in Quesaria and there was the whole gamut of Judaism religious non-religious older younger everyone was there and when you're on the stage but you're a rock star on the stage but you're also a bentora I know you learn the dafomi every morning and your soul has such nishama to it your songs have such nama to it have such a soul to them so how do you balance those two on the one hand you're playing music, the beat, the the energy, but on the other hand recognizing that you're still a oid hashem. You're still a you're still a bentora. When when you when you are understanding the the mission the so you you you don't need to to take the personality. It's not it's not you. It's not the person. It's it's a kind of you. It's part of you. It's not you. You are saying I'm a rockar. [Music] That's not who you are. It's just it's just for the lesson. Never think the rabbi come coming to the lesson and uh he he's standing in in front and everyone needs to listen to him and in in other situation he needs to sit sit in sit down and listen to other other guy and he standing in front. It's not really. We We are We We're all together. We're all the same, but everyone has everyone has different I told you yesterday in Shabbat, he told me how you helps you. What helps you? Said he comes home from says, "Here, take out the garbage. No, I'm I'm a husband, the father of my kids and the in [Music] out they are singers and they are not different life without this. It's so hard. It's so hard. Wow. I just say one of the highlights of of Shabbat was when you got up in front of the entire Basset to say the for the Medina for for Israel for the Kayim and it wasn't just an ordinary Shabbat. There was two great things happening. We had Aka the superstar was here. We also had almost two dozen Israeli soldiers who were here and to see them up on the beimma and you sang the tila and everyone together and there was a third component which was the which was the community which was the people in the shul. When you travel around America are there things that surprise you? Are there things that you see in the in the communities that you say, "Oh my gosh, I had no idea that there are people like this that that that that care that are doing that are what's the feeling that you bring back to Israel after being in a community like Bocar." Uh so I I I take in a lot of inspiring from from from the communities from of of here and and other places. Uh the love the pure love to Israel. There is here a lot. I I feeling I feel it from from anyone that I meet the and I I felt it on the stage yesterday on the Biman not stage BMA with with the soldier that after that after that I I I uh that we we serviced it to together. You serviced together in in Lebanon next to in in they are was with me with me to few missions for them and when when I were were there and close the circle. Wow. Sometimes you have to go far to feel close. I feel like that's a song right there. Be a future. It should be a song, right? They they are back from the war. They they are they have u they have you know uh trouble in in their hearts because of this. There are a lot of bomb in in is in their head. Yes. And and they need to to to fix it now. It's not simple to fix it. It's not like going to hospital or take a pill and go back to home. And you are the the that that the that you are understanding it understanding it it and give supporting of it. It's it's amazing it and I feel it. It's more too much mash. It's like a moment for me. You should know high moment for me. We we went we sat around last night and I asked the guys what the highlight of the entire week was and one of the guys he says I never come to banesset. He said I came yesterday because I had to you know that was the program and he said the highlight for me was standing up on the beimma with you and he said while you were doing the for the kayim he said it was the first time since the war tears went in his eyes and he got so emotional sitting in a banesscent with you doing for them. He said that was the that was the highlight for him. Unbelievable. Let me ask you, you're one of 11 children. I know Tila. I know you sister. You're wonderful sister brother and sisters. And your amazing parents. I know you're amazing parents. Building Deona. Incredible special people. It's great. It's easy to see where you come from with such special parents and amazing siblings. What's it like to be one of 11? You know, instead of finding your Some people might feel like I'm just a number. There's so many. Is it uh what's it like to grow up one of 11 in a very musical family? I know everybody plays music and you have a sister who performs for women in Israel is very popular. So, what was it like? Who who were the inspirations in your family? Your parents. What's it like to grow up one of 11 and and to get your music from your family? Um my parents they had uh uh so specially want to give the conception. Okay. Everyone is a star. Everyone of you unique perspective on life. You everyone of us need to to feel like which one was the only 11 only children? 11. It's like You you know one of the one of one of of 11. Everyone of us saying it. 90% in more 10% more. Wow. Okay. Love it. Unbel. And who are your musical inspirations? your parents, your whole family is very musical, but you've written original songs and you're part of a wave in Israel and and like Maswood said, you see people from all parts of the Jewish people who connect to your music and and how deep your songs are. From those who are not yet religious to those who are part of the community, every every community even last night the soldiers, most of them are not religious. They knew all of your songs. They were dancing. They were loving it. So, who's your musical who's your musical inspiration? Who inspires you? Is is didn't see the the keeper or not keeper or black keeper or white keeper. He all the time tried to look at the the eyes of the crowd of the one in the crowd and and and and see the soul. And I think if if you understanding that everyone of of the guys in the inaria is a soul of Hashem, they can you have a you have a you have a ben of Hashem. So who am I that I understanding on on his on his life? simple songs that Jewish music you mentioned yesterday also debas you mentioned free and now all of their songs were basically parts of which they put to music that's not right your music and some of the others today is all original it's what changed what changed where all of a sudden it's not the music that you listen to right first of all it's a good question because I I I like to to composing from and if you know with Moto it's a new sound from new album and and I think with with uh um originally erh uh kilu lyrics you can you can give uh give give a lot from your your heart you can give more and more more more connect to to someone that he know he don't came coming from from the Jewish Jewish school or or rel religion school And uh when I I feeling like when someone feel my heart feel that I want to to to sing my truth in my heart he's feeling it. So this this is my uh do you think about it when you're on stage? Try I try to do the best. Let's go behind the beimma behind the stage. When you're on stage performing at a concert tonight when you're going to perform, are you just are you a little nervous? I want to make sure I get the notes right. I want to hit that note. I want to get the words. I want to perform well. Or are you even connected to the nishama of the song and to the people? Meaning when you look out, are all the people just one big blur and I just got to get through the songs or you're able to stop and see people and connect to the depth of the song. You get nervous. I got a I got a nervous but but not like this. No verse because we we we did a lot of prepares before the the the stage before this. Uh right. We hear them preparing for preparing. Yeah. For a few hours and it's not it's not this I have a you know sometimes it's I have a more strong in my heads my like this but I'm all all the time trying to to be in in in connect in in present present connected. Yeah, in balance in this in the spot in my spot. the this is my my I'm on it all the time and especially in this situation it's not it's not a simple thing for me to sing in all the time inet you are not singing be front the crowd you sing before the and it's not simple for me I I I I told it to my my uh my players my They are not all of them connect to religion and connect to connect to Torah in regular they have a connect of course but you know everyone in the is in different way and I told them it's not simple for me you need we we we need to understand it be you know maybe we can't do with it anything but but before staying with it and thinking about it and in in in other situation we need to to need to be before can because because we want to take all of all of the guys all of the crowd to to thinking about the life think about the think about think about the Jewish Jewish life or Jewish and all of this is called well let me ask you a question about that it's been obviously a very difficult 15 months for Israel after October 7th before October 7th was difficult the Perude the divisiveness and then October 7th and then then there was a lot of unity and now it was a little harder and we're trying to get back the unity. If you had one message for Amistra, what would that message be? If you could talk to Jews all around the world and say this is my message to you, what would it be? Wow. It's uh I think that we we getting a lot of of news from outside from outside the from newspaper and outside newspapers news the newspaper and the internet social internet social media and there's a lot of fights in there and and Some some sometimes we need to stop and uh to to listen to the the heart, listen to the history, listen the to the the Tanakh, what what the the process that our our nation went into the all all of the history and what now be afraid from from this and this that we are I [Music] want the message we're finishing up. Yeah. We can we are we are and if we know him that knowing that that we are as I'm I'm I can to relax not not be on it all the time and stress what what we can do what if you want to you want if you want to help to to am you can stay in your in your home and light a candle of the of someone and do you sometime it's it's it's everything can start from some somewhere somewhere can and sometimes I I think I feel like I need I need to fixate everything I need to to be on it in all all place what Trump said Trump said and what be said and what the the politics and what Where is it right now? And and I I think it's not it's not makes me happy. And before to to to go through it, you we have to to stay in in positive vibration. Yes. Yeah. To be a positive and to be together said he's my my teacher. Yes. uh positive we are not in simple simple situation we are mash in in in the spot of the history we we we never been in situation like this so this is my message you know it's not my message my my my teacher message catch us next time for another peak behind the beimma