The Story Behind the Song: Racheim

“Racheim” one of the unforgettable songs released by Yaakov Shwekey on his debut album Shomati in 2001 was composed by the prolific and versatile Pinky Weber. The singer and the composer first met at a Brooklyn wedding where Pinky was wearing his other hat: He’s also a popular badchan.

“I came to be badchan at the mitzvah tantz but I arrived early ” Weber remembers. “They announced that a bochur named Yaakov Shwekey would come up and sing and I watched as this fellow Yaakov took the mic and sang MBD’s classic ‘Racheim Bechasdecha.’ Wow he really knows how to sing I thought and I went over afterwards and asked if I could compose a song for him. He replied that he would wait until he got married.”

Around a year later Pinky got a call from producer Yochi Briskman. “He said he had a new singer but he didn’t really want to say his name because it was still under wraps. I guessed — ‘Yaakov Shwekey?’ He was shocked. ‘How do you know?’ What I didn’t tell him was that I was just waiting for the day. ‘Racheim’ was the first song I composed for him and after that there were many more.”

(Originally featured in Mishpacha Issue 684)