TBE interviewed Jacob Spike Kraus, a Jewish musician and song-leader, who recently visited Temple Beth Elohim in January for weekend of musical programming. In his interview with TBE, he talks about his love for Jewish music and everyday Judaism, as well as the importance of staying involved and engaged in the Jewish community.  And of course- how he got his nickname “Spike.” Special thanks to Jacob for taking the time out of his busy schedule to chat about all things Jewish Music!

TBE: How did you enjoy your time at services and with our youth and the 20/30s communities?

JSK : The thing that I loved the most was the ability to spend time singing, making music, and sharing space with every generation of the community. It was really special for me to see how TBE provides programming and engagement in a Jewish holy space for the whole community, from the youngest to the oldest. It was energizing, and I really had a blast.

 

TBE: What excites you about Jewish music? And writing Jewish music specifically for a Jewish audience?

JSK: I grew up in Belmont, not far from TBE. My dad is a rabbi. I went to Jewish Day School, Hebrew school, NFTY, Eisner summer camp. I had a lot of Judaism in my life and I took it for granted growing up. It was just another thing I did—like, wake up, brush my teeth, be Jewish. Walk the dog, take out the trash, be Jewish. I wasn’t connected to it. It was a very mundane piece of my childhood. Not mundane, as in boring, but routine. 

I started song-leading at Eisner in sixth grade. I had a separate interest in music growing up that became a pathway for me. I had all this knowledge about Judaism and I found the ability to use music as a key to open a door and dive into Judaism. I merged my passion for music with the everydayness of my Judaism and it excited and energized me. I finally felt like I had an authentic way to connect. I’m really excited to be a role model and travel to communities of all ages and share this avenue of connecting, because it’s so personal for me.

TBE: If you weren’t singing what else would you be doing?

JSK: It’s no secret that communal Judaism, all over the country, is slowing down. Part of what I consider my role is to help model to folks and say, “You can stay involved and engaged. You can be an educated Jewish lay person that is involved in the life of the community and does creative Jewish things without having to commit to becoming a Jewish professional.” So, I’m a professional Jew, of sorts, but I’m very intentionally not a graduate school Jew.

 

TBE: Where do you find inspiration?

JSK:. I like searching through prayer books for texts that speak to me. Sometimes I’m moved by things that happen around me in the world, or a musical phrase will speak to me. And then I’ll find a text that feels like it fits with the hook that I have in my head. I like finding texts from Torah, pull them into the 21st century, and set them to music.

 

TBE: What song you’ve written means the most to you?

JSK  

Proud To Be, a song about being proud to be Jewish. I wrote the song in 2015. It took me 20 minutes. During the last five years, all over the world, but especially in America, we started to see a lot more bigotry, hatred, and antisemitism. I’ve never felt ashamed to be Jewish, but I didn’t realize that not everybody felt that way. It’s really eye-opening for me, and startling, and at times, scary. This song (that I had written as a throwaway) suddenly took on a new meaning for me. It’s a song about being proud to be Jewish and I really am proud and grateful to be a part of this global community. 

 

TBE: Where did Spike come from? 

JSK:  I used to spike my hair when I was at Eisner. There were a ton of “Jacobs” so they nicknamed me Spike and it stuck!