Yaakov From Uzbekistan - The story Behind the Song

Yesterday, the fourth of Adar, was the Yhartzeit of Yaakov Potash. Known famously as Yaakob from the popular heart wrenching Reb Yom Tov Ehrlich song which was subsequently recorded by Avraham Fried on his Yiddishe Gems.

I was told that when Yaakov escaped, the first house he found was none other then the house of Reb Yom Tov Ehrlich's parents. When he entered their home, Yaakov’s pants were torn from his journey to survival, so his mother (RYTE’s mother) sewed up his torn clothing while Yaakov waited in the other room.

Below is an article the Homodia newspaper ran six year ago. We apologize for not having the full article right now. We hope to Imy"h post the full writeup in a few day.

Click here to read a review on the Yiddish Gems Vol. 1, by Sruly Meyer. Hosted at JMR.

Click on the image below to enlarge.

Talking about RYTE and the Hamodia, here is a nice interview the Hamodia had with RYTE's niece, a composer of many very popular songs.