The Kapach Brothers: Giving Yemeni Jews and music a social media spotlight

In times when the name Yemen is directly associated with the oppressive Houthi regime and its attacks against Israel and international shipping routes, the Kapach Brothers, a new music ensemble, revives traditional Yemeni music, bringing many in Israel and around the globe to reconnect with their roots

“They look exactly like Yemenis!”

“Of course – they are Yemenis just like us!”

“They even make the same entrance with the parents to the wedding hall!”

“May God keep the joy. The Jews of Yemen are distinguished and unique...”

These Arabic comments were posted on a short clip of a traditional wedding song titled “Ya Mahijja” (O, road), sung by the Kapach Brothers ensemble during a wedding in Israel several weeks ago, and shared by Yemeni pro-peace activist Majda Alhaddad.

Not all comments in Arabic were positive, however. Some wondered openly what made the Jews leave Yemen, while others joked that being both Yemeni and Jewish is a combination that entails “no life in this world and not in the afterworld.” And then there were those who wished all sorts of negative “blessings” in the Houthi style. Nevertheless, the video reached over 100,000 views in Arabic-speaking circles, which in turn symbolizes a curiosity and a deep longing to connect with ancient traditions.

In Israel, the clip exploded with over 500,000 views on Facebook, some 276,000 views on YouTube, and a whopping 1.3 million views on TikTok combined between two versions. These stats strengthen the young ensemble’s feelings that the revival of traditional Yemeni music indeed has a large crowd. The Jerusalem Post contacted Ariel Kapach, one of the brothers and singers in the ensemble, to hear more about the group behind the song-turned-phenomenon.

Early beginnings

The Kapach Brothers ensemble is composed of four singers: “three brothers and one beloved brother-in-law,” he said. They are Ariel, a student of design; Yinon, deputy CEO at a marketing company; Uri Gafri, who is married to the Kapachs’ sister Tzofiya and owns a production company; and Eliya, the youngest, who is a photographer and video editor, as well as the ensemble’s stylist.

The oldest brother, Netanel, was part of the group at first but had to part ways with the band due to his business activities.

“We were actually established as an ensemble at my wedding,” Kapach said. “I really wanted to enter under the huppah [the Jewish ceremonial canopy] with the traditional Yemeni song ‘Ya Mahijja’ in a different style and arrangement.”

Kapach described his family as well immersed in and connected to Yemenite traditional music. “From Shabbat songs to prayers in the synagogue, to folk songs and dances that always do good to the heart and strengthen us, this is all part of us,” he explained.

“Like every Yemeni child, we were also educated by the mori [a teacher and rabbi who teaches children to read and pray in the traditional Yemeni style], and he helped us to develop the ability to sing in proper tune in prayer and reading the Torah. And our father is a Hebrew language teacher who always made sure that our grammar and pronunciation are correct.”

URI’S FATHER, the late Eliezer Gafri, was a well-known Yemeni singer. Uri was born into a family where “everyone sings,” as described by Kapach. In 1987, Eliezer met his wife, Uri’s mother, and together they formed a band called Yasmin. Their first performance was at the wedding of Uri’s aunt, and that’s how the Yasmin band became famous. From there they grew and became successful in concerts and performances throughout the country.

The Kapachs’ paternal grandparents immigrated to Israel in 1949 from a village called Al-Qafla, located in the northwestern governorate of Amran in Yemen. Their grandmother was what was known as a “henna singer” (mughniya) and accompanied many brides on their wedding day. Women in Yemen used to perform the traditional henna ceremony where the bride would leave the house, and songs of joy and prayer would be sung for the new couple, wishing for God to make them successful.

“With these songs, the newlywed couple would come into the hall,” the grandson said. “As children, we always liked to sing Yemeni songs with our grandmother and ask her about the translation of the words. Whenever we talk to my grandmother about traditional Yemeni music, she is moved and says how important Yemeni poetry is to her and how connected she feels to it.

“Our uncles are also traditional chazanim [prayer leaders] in the synagogue, and they lead the songs, tunes, and prayers in an exceptional way. We have no doubt that a large part of the love for Yemeni music and the connection to tradition was planted in us thanks to the fact that we liked hearing them in the synagogue. And now we’re trying to follow in all of these people’s footsteps,” he added modestly.

BROTHERS YINON and Ariel were the ones who planted the seeds for the ensemble. They went to high school together and enrolled in music classes as part of their bagrut (final exams), performing several times as a small band with Yemeni songs arranged in a renewed style, in a similar fashion to the current incarnation of the ensemble.

“Traditional Yemeni music has several unique aspects,” Kapach said. “For instance, no melodic instruments were played traditionally, except for percussion ones, mainly made of tin. This was due to a tradition saying that we shouldn’t use musical instruments, as a reminder of the destruction of the Temple – though other, more upbeat songs exist where we do use instruments,” he said.

“In other words, oral musical traditions were of utmost importance, as no notes were ever written down. Our music has its specific rhythms and musical scales, some designed uniquely for specific piyutim [liturgical poems],” Kapach said. “There’s a book called the Diwan, which features these piyutim, along with instructions for the rhythm, scale, repetition of choruses, line endings, and more. The themes of this music vary, from love songs between couples, to love songs directed at the Shechina [divine presence], and there are many, many songs of longing for Eretz Israel.”

Going viral

The huppah video was first posted on TikTok, and the group received thousands of comments and praises, among them from some who elaborated on how they felt reconnected to their Yemeni roots as a result of the song. “Many people connected to the original words that tell the moving story of the pairing of Yitzhak and Rivka,” he explained.

“This week we had the privilege of bringing joy to another bride with our rendition of ‘Ya Mahijja,’ which for her was a memory of her father who passed away and did not get to see his daughter under the canopy,” Kapach said, adding that the audience present in the hall was comprised mostly of guests having Bukhari or Dutch origins, and there were a few Yemenis from the bride’s side.

“As soon as we started singing, the whole audience rose to their feet and came to hear the performance,” the ensemble’s co-founder said. “It was amazing to see how much the audience connected to the song and how the bride was moved. For us, it further strengthened us in knowing that we will continue to do this for love of music and tradition.”

Moving stories of the song’s effect keep reaching the brothers from across Israel. “We were contacted by a woman whose father is in his 80s and was very scared and stressed before a major operation,” Kapach recounted. “The doctors said it was difficult to get him into the operating room because his medical readings were not good. His children didn’t know how to calm him down and encourage him, so they decided to play the song for him. They told us that he was moved to tears, and as a result he calmed down, and that’s how he went into surgery with better parameters.”

One touching reaction came from renowned Israeli singer Narkis, of partial Yemeni descent. She posted a clip on her social media accounts of her playing the song for her grandmother, who is seen deeply moved by it, and the singer explaining that her grandmother used to be a singer at weddings, and the rendition apparently took her back in time.

A third video of a Border Police officer singing “Ya Mahijja” in full uniform at a checkpoint also circulated online on TikTok, adding more to the viral nature of the song.

“We receive many videos from weddings throughout the country, where we see brides and grooms who choose to play our performance at the entrance to the huppah on their special day. This is very touching, and we’re happy to know that our voices can help bring joy to newlyweds around the globe,” the Yemeni music revivalist said.

Another interesting genre of comments that the group gets are from people who used to dislike Yemeni music, “and now they ask us to introduce them to the huppah with our tradition’s original and authentic songs, albeit in our more innovative style. We believe that every person has a source to which he wants to return someday, as the verse says: ‘for the tree of the field is man’s life’ – like a tree, every person is always in search of his roots.”

What the future holds

Regarding the song’s going viral in Arabic-speaking circles, Kapach said: “Indeed, the song is in the Arabic language, and we think that the beauty of music is that it always knows how to connect between so many different worlds. We concentrate on the good and joy that music brings and are happy to know that there are people outside of Israel who connect with our music.

“The fact that we received warm responses to our video in Arabic shows how much music can really connect,” he said. “Some in our family still know the Yemeni dialect well, and this helps us in learning new songs and understanding their meaning.”

The group is currently working on a project to revive, remake, and perform traditional Yemeni music, focusing around wedding songs. “We also received an offer to compose a song in traditional Yemeni style for a famous singer,” Kapach said, although he chose not to reveal the details as yet.

“We are all musicians, and we each bring out our ideas for arrangements and songs, hoping that this would bring our beloved Yemenite tradition back to the forefront. Each of us has his own role in our ensemble and everyone knows his respective part, which keeps our ensemble independent,” he said.

“We are only at the beginning of the road, and we believe that we will go through many more performances, shows, and events together,” Kapach predicted. “But in the meantime, we make sure to enjoy every show or new song we release to the public, so it is the most fun for us – and there is nothing better than that. This winter, we have a round of wedding performances across the country, and we will be glad to make every bride and groom happy anywhere around the world.” 

Follow the Kapach Brothers on Instagram at @kapachbrothers.