It started as a simple collaboration, but it sparked a revolution in Jewish music. About 15 years ago, Yoely Klein and Shaya Gross teamed up as a musical duo. A few years later, their hauntingly powerful “Vaafilu B’hastarah” took the world by storm, launching them onto the international stage.
Since its release, “Vaafilu B’hastarah” has become a modern classic—performed by top-tier voices like Yaakov Shwekey, Chaim Israel, Yosef Karduner, and even artists outside the frum music world. At the time of the song’s breakthrough, Shaya Gross was a highly sought-after keyboard player on the chasidishe wedding circuit, while Yoely Klein brought his signature vocals. Today, Shaya has stepped away from the wedding scene and shifted into various business ventures, yet his deep connection to music hasn’t waned. In fact, his musical insights are so valued that people still regularly seek his opinion. Interestingly, since leaving the stage, the duo has been releasing music more frequently than ever before.
Many of the duo’s releases have featured high-profile collaborations with celebrated singers and composers, including Hershy Weinberger, Arele Samet, Ari Hill, Yoely Davidowitz, Mendy Weiss and Motti Goldman, adding new layers of depth and diversity to their ever-evolving sound.
Nearly every song they release turns into a hit. So what’s the secret behind the Klein-Gross magic that keeps listeners coming back for more?
I meet them at Shaya’s home in the heart of Yerushalayim’s Geula neighborhood. The two live just minutes apart and spend a lot of time together. Their connection runs far deeper than a professional partnership; they share a warm, enduring friendship that’s clearly the foundation of everything they create.
Yoely arrives a bit late to our scheduled meeting. As we wait, Shaya smiles and leans in, eager to share something.
“People don’t realize what kind of person Yoely is,” he says. “He’s truly special. Do you know he goes to the mikvah before every one of our song releases? He’s been doing it for years. And every Thursday, he personally prepares food for needy families and delivers it himself. People know him as a singer on stage, but behind the scenes, he’s a true ish chesed.”
Every song Shaya has composed—or co-composed—has been performed by his longtime musical partner, Yoely Klein. Every song, that is, except one: “Hoshana Sho’agim,” recorded by Ari Weber and Ari Hill, and notably featuring Shaya’s own voice in the opening. The haunting melody was originally composed by the Nikolsburger Rebbe of Monsey—one of Shaya’s rebbes—who is renowned for his soul-stirring niggunim. Together with his friend Hershy Weinberger, Shaya set the heartfelt words of Hoshana Sho’agim to the rebbe’s tune. This song was recorded when Shaya moved back to the US several years ago, which is why he was able to be part of the recording. But the move was only temporary. A month later, Shaya and his family were back in Israel.
For those who know Shaya only as the calm, deep-voiced singer he is today, it’s almost hard to imagine that he was once one of the most sought-after keyboard players at the largest chasidishe events.
“I was never the guy with fingers flying across the keys,” Shaya tells me. “Someone once told me, ‘You’re not a racehorse,’ and they were right. Playing at a wedding isn’t all about speed—it’s about creating the perfect moment. You have to know the right key, the right rhythm and, most importantly, the right playlist for every stage of the simchah. To me, that’s far more important than how fast you play.
“Yoely and I introduced a lot of innovations to the wedding scene, which is why we were in such high demand,” Shaya recalls. “We brought the kumzitz-style part into chasidishe weddings. We also introduced the electrifying segment of ‘Rabbeinu Shaag B’kol Gadol,’ which has now become a staple at countless weddings.
“I’ll never forget the first time we did it. It was a wedding for a Ponovezh talmid, packed with hundreds of bachurim. Suddenly, Yoely stopped the music and led everyone in shouting, ‘Rabbeinu Shaag B’kol Gadol!’ The energy in the hall instantly skyrocketed. Yoely didn’t even realize he’d started something; it was completely spontaneous.
“From that moment on, it became a signature highlight at weddings. Until then, weddings followed the same traditional set list, but after that, everything changed. Breslov niggunim and fresh ideas began weaving their way into regular weddings, transforming them forever.”
At this point, Yoely joins the conversation. Both he and Shaya are Satmar chasidim and the same age, 43, but their early lives couldn’t have been more different: Yoely was born and raised in Bnei Brak, while Shaya grew up in New York.
“I always loved music—but more than that, I loved joy,” Yoely begins. “At home, I would often listen to Bobov niggunim, and late at night I would enjoy listening to Carlebach telling his stories. Back then, there weren’t kumzitzes like today, so those few times that people gathered to sing together felt truly magical for me. I never thought I had a special voice, though.
“When I was learning in Monroe, we’d go to all the chasunahs at the local halls. Almost every wedding in Monroe at that time featured Michoel Schnitzler singing. At the time, chasidishe wedding singers were rare—there was Michoel and a few others, but that was it. You’d walk in and see him singing with such deep emotion and joy, that rich baritone voice—it left a huge impression on me.”
Shaya nods. “Michoel Schnitzler invented the chasidishe wedding style that’s still thriving today.”
Yoely smiles in agreement. “Michoel was a chiddush. He would just sing and people would start jumping and dancing like crazy. He had tremendous power, yet no ego at all. He was the simplest person—he never put on airs and never acted aloof. He was just a genuinely happy person who came to make others happy. At that time, practically the only other chasidishe singers in the US were concert performers like Mordechai Ben David and Avraham Fried. You could say Michoel Schnitzler was the first chasidishe wedding singer.”
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