Yaroslav Maly and his new girlfriend. Yaroslav Maly: As soon as we start taking some things seriously, we have a huge number of problems

More precisely, a small part of them, unexpectedly for dad, came to congratulate him on his solo concert. As it turned out later, there are already eight of his offspring living in the world, which Yarik carefully keeps silent about. And, judging by the latest data, the artist is not going to stop there.

Very little is known about the singer’s personal life, although he assures that answers to all questions can be found in his songs. Each album is a piece from the story of his life.

Yarik had several wives and, it seemed, each one tried to tie him to themselves in the old proven way - with children. But Maly is not the kind of person who agrees with conventions. Therefore, when his last official wife gave birth to a daughter, he still filed for divorce a couple of months after this pleasant event. What to do - love occupies a special place in the lives of creative people. If it is not there, then there is no inspiration.

By the way, the singer shows himself to be caring and attentive father. He does not shy away from responsibility and provides for his children. It’s just a pity that he doesn’t like to brag about their successes and achievements.

The children of Yaroslav Maly, Luka, Eva and Solomon (what names!), ended up on solo concert father is not accidental. True, no one thought that this fact would lead Yarik into such confusion. Of course, he could not avoid curious fans who were filming the happy dad both on stage and behind it. It is important that the guys prepared not only flowers for him, but also congratulations. A good reminder about yourself, right?

They danced backstage, periodically ran out onto the dance floor of the fan zone and, according to others, sang all the songs that their father performed that evening.

Unfortunately, we couldn’t find out anything about the other five guys. Still privacy, Yaroslav Maly guards with enviable stubbornness.

That is why, once again, we turn to you, our beloved readers. If you know the names of the children, what they do and how they live, share this information with us and everyone else. Comments are provided for this case.

Nature rewarded him generously. The growth of Yaroslav Maly is so significant that next to him on stage, Philip Kirkorov himself seems short. But the surname seems to have been specially given so that the leader of two groups - “Tokyo” and “Machete” - would not become arrogant, keeping in mind spiritual development.

Origins

Citizen of Ukraine, future soloist, born in the Dnepropetrovsk region (Krivoy Rog). Date of birth - 02/11/1973. Vocal abilities Music teacher I.S. Beer was the first to discover, almost by force sending the boy to music school, where he completed his balalaika class. Then in Kyiv he entered the music school in the conducting department. He was expelled from his third year, and Yaroslav Maly, whose biography had changed dramatically, set off to conquer the Russian capital.

It was 1991. All he had with him was his talent and ambition. Before the creation of the Tokyo group, 10 years would pass, filled with composing music, parties and, unfortunately, drugs. Two people played a decisive role in his life during these years: Gosha Kutsenko and Natalya Simakova.

Gosha Kutsenko, after listening to the song “Indira Gandhi,” said that it was worth doing. He agreed to participate in his video without payment, and did everything to ensure that the musician began a relationship with MTV.

The actress and singer was friends with Ilya Lagutenko, appearing in his studio to record her tracks. Yaroslav Maly’s height (204 cm) and his talent impressed the girl. An affair began between them. For eight years (2005-2013) they were husband and wife. A few months after the birth of their daughter Michelle, the couple divorced. But Natalya managed to do something for which the musician will always be grateful? - get him off drugs.

Success

In 2002, together with bass guitarist Demyan Kurchenko, the composer and musician created the group “Tokyo”, which has nothing to do with the Japanese capital. “Currents” are energy, constant movement forward. The group's compositions are love: for a woman, friends, country. Their video clip “Tenderness” has collected more than 15 million views on the Internet.

Films by F. Bondarchuk “The Ninth Company”, “ Inhabited island", R. Gigineishvili's comedy "Heat" added to the group's popularity thanks to its amazing soundtrack. The song “When You Cry” was dedicated to the main woman in the musician’s life at that time - N. Simakova.

After the group appeared on television, especially at A. Pugacheva’s “Christmas Meetings,” they began to openly talk about Yaroslav Maly’s height: “Two meters of beauty and talent.”

Label "Machete"

In 2010, the composer and musician created his own production center, Machete Records, launching three more projects: Machete, Siberia, Mishka. In two of them - “Tokyo” and “Machete”, the author remains a soloist, falling in love with the audience thanks to his charismatic appearance, recognizable timbre and stunning emotionality. The groups are distinguished by different musical material, of which quite a lot has accumulated over the years of creativity.

After the divorce, the contract with Siberia was terminated. This is all Yaroslav Maly. His wife (N. Simakova) was the lead singer of the group, and he did not want to bind her with obligations.

"Tokyo" is actively touring abroad, having big success. "Machete" for a long time performed successfully in Russia, but a year and a half ago the situation changed.

Homecoming

Before historical events in Ukraine, Maly bought an apartment in Kyiv. He accepted the events on the Maidan, and even performed there with his team. Subsequently, I began to feel a misunderstanding with former colleagues on Russian show business, which is associated with the media’s incorrect presentation of events in their historical homeland. Together with his new wife named Rachel, who became the director of his projects, he moved to Ukraine.

Having four children from previous wives, he is raising four more together with Rachel, born before they met. Father of many children does not divide children into friends and strangers. The spiritual growth of Yaroslav the Small is associated with his appeal to the religion of his ancestors. He has Jewish name- Moshe Pinchas, he reads the Torah, attends the synagogue and honors Religious holidays and traditions.

His latest disc is dedicated to the relations between Ukraine and Russia “War and Peace”. I would like to believe that peace will definitely come, and Yaroslav Maly will perform again and again in front of admirers of his talent from Russia.

When Yaroslav Mal y, the lead singer of the groups “Tokyo” and “Machete,” and his wife Rahel agreed to an interview, I was very surprised, because they never talk about their personal lives, and even more so about children. Until now, the press only knew that Yaroslav had four children from his ex-wives and four children from Rachel, who became his children.

We met at the synagogue at 9 o'clock in the morning. I couldn’t gather my thoughts all morning - I was very worried. First of all, because I wanted to get to know Yaroslav the father - I know Yaroslav the musician from his performances: these are almost the only concerts after which you leave with a feeling of love and light inside. Extraordinary warmth comes from the lyrics, music... and in general - from Yaroslav himself.

During our conversation, I caught myself thinking that the typical relationship “I am a father - you are a child: I teach - you listen” here is embodied in something amazing. Yaroslav and Rachel complement each other so much and talk about their children in such a way that it immediately becomes clear what love is.

- Yaroslav, do your children go to your concerts?

Yaroslav: Yes, of course, our children perform with us.

Rachel: And then we go and look at those they like (laughs - author).

- What performers do they like?

Yaroslav: Well, now, for example, we are getting ready to go to “Hurts”. So let's all go together.

- I asked about concerts because I saw only one news that your children were at your concert.

Yaroslav: Yes, by the way, you are somehow miraculously the first to photograph us with the children. I mean - in this form, when we came with our family and give an interview - this is the first time.

Rachel: We were offered it before, but...

Yaroslav: Somehow Rachel liked you.

- It's nice! Yaroslav, tell me, what is it like to be such a father of many children?

Yaroslav: We don't have any dramatic stories. Each of our children is ours common child. The fate of each of us is ours common destiny. That's why we don't divide our children, they are all really ours. We love them very much.

For example, yesterday Rachel talked to my daughter for an hour and a half on the phone. There is excellent contact between them. I know less than Rachel what is happening to her.

Vitalik (son of Yaroslav - author), for example, only calls Rachel. Because he knows that dad can ask questions (laughs - author).

- What feelings did you have when you found out that you were having your first child?

Yaroslav: You know, with the advent of Rachel, 4 children appeared in my life at once. Straightaway! And I can say that, of course, I did not expect this. But it’s so strong... I can’t explain, but I see myself in them - they really look like me. Just yesterday there was a situation: we came to the synagogue, I sat down behind a column, opened the Torah, began to teach... And I heard a conversation between two grandfathers: “Look what good children this man has - they are beautiful themselves and have beautiful names. And a copy of dad - they don’t look like their mother at all!” (laugh - author).

I believe that in addition to physical connections, there is a spiritual connection. And we feel it very well.

We actually feel this way about each other - you can’t even imagine. If something happens to us with any difficulties, we immediately see it in our children. So we have to deal with something, resolve something, overcome some obstacles, and we see that they are at the same time with us. We never ask them for anything. We very rarely say that this is the situation and you need to be careful. That we need to pray to the Almighty, ask him to help us.

Rachel: This is because together with them we get to know this world and God. Together with them, we sit down every Saturday on Shabbat, on family day, and read stories about people, about their qualities, where it is clear what is good and what is bad. And we discuss it, and then everyone goes about their own business all week. Saturday is a special day when we explore the world with our children. These days we come to understand who we are, what we want to do.

- In your cultural tradition It is customary to treat children up to a certain age as celestial beings, when, in principle, everything is allowed to them - is this true?

Yaroslav: We don't have such a tradition. It’s just that until the age of 3, some people don’t make any comments to their children, and then it's already underway some kind of adjustment. But, in principle, we were just really lucky with our children. They just chose us, I don’t know why - apparently to make it easier for us (smiles - author).

That is, they don’t bother us at all, and they are not deities for us, in any case, they are simply our partners in this life: we learn something from them, they learn something from us. We have a common scale of values. And there is no violence in this - we are talking absolutely calmly in different topics and we never force them to do anything. Just how we feel is how we talk about it with them. And then we realize that they feel exactly the same. This is an amazing moment, because children sometimes talk to us in such a way that we understand that this is the solution to the situation that we had.

- So, you don’t need to raise children?

Rachel: They need to be corrected. 🙂 And our faith helps us a lot. First of all, it is respect for parents. What is respect? This is just trust. That is, it’s not just stupid obedience, but trust in the opinion of your parents, because they have already lived through something. Our faith teaches children to treat their parents correctly.

Yaroslav: We do not insist, we do not impose - we give them freedom in their choice. But at the same time, we correct it very carefully so that later it does not affect their psyche. We treat them very carefully, and they treat us very carefully.

Rachel: Dad talks to them. In any situation, they lock themselves in the office and talk.

Yaroslav: They love to go somewhere with me. We always go somewhere, the children always talk to me. They have the whole world The inside is generally great! And we share this world with each other.

- Do they go on tour with you?

Yaroslav: Yes, sometimes we take them with us.

- And on recording songs?

Yaroslav: Yes, and at rehearsal. They are with us everywhere. The two of us don’t go anywhere at all - someone else always goes with us.

- I saw someone helping you, do you have a nanny?

Rachel: Yes, of course there is a nanny. But this is not education - this is care.

- How long has your nanny been with you? I ask because recently I also got a nanny, and I was painfully worried about this fact, because I seem to be a bad mother, since I leave my child and want to work.

Rachel: Well, firstly, there must be a nanny so that mom feels good. Because the mother’s condition is directly transmitted to the child. When the mother is tired, the child will also be irritable. It's verified! 🙂

When a nanny arrives, you don't have to leave home right away. It’s better to hire a nanny just when you’re still at home. And you can see this person and correct him somehow. After all, in any case, the nanny cannot meet all expectations at once. But the most important thing is that she needs to be treated as an assistant, because even if there are feelings between the child and the nanny, this is not mother's love. Only the child and his mother have it. Even if mom is very busy.

- How is your typical day? A normal work day when everyone wakes up and goes somewhere?

Yaroslav: We wake up at 6 am. Rachel prepares the children for transportation to school, I go to the synagogue for prayer, then we meet after prayer at home. We hang out there, do some things, sometimes I manage to make music if there are no rehearsals or any meetings. Then I go to rehearsal, and Rachel deals with things related to business, contacts, negotiations, concerts. on her great amount everything hangs, besides the fact that she is a mother. Then I come, and we all meet together again, the children are just returning, we eat together, and then we go to the synagogue together. In the evening we have time to play together, sometimes I have time to make music - a little bit. 🙂 They also take part in this process, and then we immediately pass out. 🙂

- Is it scary to be a father?

Yaroslav: Not scary at all!

-Have you ever been afraid?

Yaroslav: No, this is actually a huge thrill. It is impossible to explain what happens when you have contact with a child. This is fantastic and not scary at all - it is absolute happiness. And we want to have as many children as possible.

- What is the role of the father? What is the most important thing a father should pass on to his children?

Yaroslav: A father simply must be a kind and worthy person. Sometimes strict, but very rarely. Basically, the mother should be strict. It seems to me that this is what we are doing. Our mother is the general in the house. 🙂 Really, dad is there, on the street, and somewhere else he’s in charge. And at home everyone focuses on their mother.

It is important that children are good people. And you need to show this by example. After all, you grow up with your children. You understand that you cannot give up because they are looking at you. You have to be more organized, you have to be more clear. Well, because they follow your example. They love you. That's why they watch what and how you do. And, of course, this is a mutual process of growth.

- How is it in your family? As I understand it, there are older children. Do they choose their own path? Or are you trying to guide them in some way?

Yaroslav: We help them with this. This is exactly what Rachel is doing for us. As, in principle, everyone else. 🙂 I say, you should have interviewed her - she would have told you everything!

Rachel always has ideas and shares them with our children, who then think they are their own ideas! Somehow, miraculously, she manages to do it all. But we never insist on anything. We always have our own opinion, it is 100% clear to us, and we very rarely change it, because we are very rarely wrong, very rarely. 🙂 But in general, of course, they are grown-up guys, this is their life. Our task is to make everything around them so that they make as few mistakes as possible.

- Do you share your experience with them? That is, do you tell them about some moments of your life?

Yaroslav: In principle, we have nothing special to share. They can take the food themselves (laughs - author).

- I mean, for example, I opened Wikipedia and read that from the age of 16 you took drugs and had an addiction. Do you tell them about such moments?

Yaroslav: The elders know about this, naturally, but children live in such an atmosphere and environment that they do not understand what drugs are at all. God bless! And for me it was also a spiritual search, because all the things that surrounded me stopped bothering me. And so I was looking for something else. Some kind of way out. And, in fact, a person’s whole life is an opportunity to become better, an opportunity to let one’s soul manifest itself. An opportunity to feel a piece of the Almighty within yourself. And this is the most important thing, so all paths are good here. Apparently for me, for the soul that I have, it was necessary to go through these moments. But they don’t need this at all - they are already initially at such a level that sometimes you just look at their actions, at the way they look at things, and you understand that you yourself have something to learn from them. We do not hide this in any way. This is my path, and I am very glad that I passed it with dignity and move on.

- If you were speaking to parents and you were asked to advise them on something, what would you recommend to them? ?

Yaroslav: Well, probably, be yourself and understand that you are not living this life for children - you are living this life for the person who is next to you. You must make the person in your couple beautiful and happy - this is the most important thing. Children are around it. They are not in first place, because as soon as children become first place, a substitution occurs. The most important thing is to feel whole in this world. And you can’t feel whole without your soulmate. This also needs to be explained to children. They understand this very well, and then they prepare to meet their soul mate, and they will continue to pass on this experience to their children. And in this sense, the only thing we would like to wish is not to lose ourselves under any circumstances.

The lead singer of the group "Tokyo" and "Machete" Yarosav Maly, after 8 years of marriage with actress and singer Natalya Simakova, filed for divorce. After a long period of discord in the family, the couple came to a mutual decision to separate. The couple have been living separately for several months now.

From her marriage, Natalya has a daughter, Michelle, who was born just a few months ago. As Heat.ru learned from Yaroslav’s close circle, she will stay with her mother, and Yaroslav himself promised that Natasha and Michelle would not need for anything. Just recently, Maly posted photos of himself with his daughter and seemed very happy. He does not give any comments about the divorce.

They wrote a lot about the high-profile romance between Maly and Simakova and with great enthusiasm. Young, eccentric, in love - this is how most friends and fans spoke about them. Yaroslav always said in his interviews that love comes first for him. And Natasha admitted that Yarik is the love of her life. The plans of the then newlyweds were to create a large, strong family with 6 children.

By the way, in Yaroslav’s work everything sounds much simpler: in his lyrics he asks listeners - “no matter how strong you are, do not part with your loved ones.”

Over 8 years of marriage, the Maly - Simakova couple has become one of the most beautiful and stable in show business. The couple constantly appeared together at various film premieres and screenings. But a few months ago the situation changed dramatically. The guy began to appear alone while Natasha was busy with her creativity. And the artist categorically refused to answer questions about his wife and personal life.

In addition, the music label Machete Records terminated the contract with the group Siberia - the project of Natalia Simakova. From February 1, his wife will be free from any contractual obligations. Now the Machete Records label includes only two musical projects: the groups "Tokyo" and "Machete".

On Beit Shabbat in Holon:
An exclusive concert of the leader of the group “Tokyo/Machete” Yaroslav Maly in Israel, in a club format. With the participation of Moishe Yankovsky. Acoustic set, new songs, the opportunity to personally communicate with the musician. May 25 at 20:00.
Then we all go together to celebrate Lag Baomer on Meron.
Reservation of seats by phone. 0526940770
https://www.facebook.com/events/863286387151561/

Nine in the morning. A small cafe in the center of Kyiv. The entrance is well disguised. An establishment "for its own people". At a table, a man and a woman drink Americano coffee from the same cup. We could order a second one, but they like to split everything between two people. The waitress asks if the guests will have breakfast, and they answer her: “Yes, everything is as usual for us.” Once every 10-15 minutes, one of the visitors comes up to their table and greets them in a friendly manner. These two have already become “friends” in the Ukrainian capital, although they moved less than a year back. The man's name is Yaroslav Maly, he is known to music lovers as the frontman of the group "Tokyo" and the creator music project"Machete". For film buffs - as the author of soundtracks for Fyodor Bondarchuk's films "9th Company" and "Inhabited Island". For gamers - as the author of the music for the game Need for Speed ​​Shift. The woman sitting next to him is his wife and part-time director, Rachel-Ora.

Get out of Moscow

Until recently, they were prominent figures in Russian show business- one of those who can afford to start something grandiose without lacking money and government support. What's it worth? international festival alternative music Red Rocks, founded by Yaroslav and his company Machete Records. He didn’t just gather celebrities like the bands Brainstorm and Okean Elzy and invite world stars like the British Morcheeba, he sent them to remote provinces where most people didn’t even know what alternative sound was: Kemerovo, Barnaul, Ulan-Ude, Chelyabinsk etc. In a word, he systematically increased the level of musical literacy in the vastness of the federation, and reputable financial institutions, such as Sberbank of Russia, gave money for this. During his presidency, Dmitry Medvedev personally patronized one of the events organized with light hand Yaroslav Maly.

It is impossible to be in Russia now. There are fewer thinking people. Many are leaving. Those who remain live under such severe information pressure that the brain does not have time to process the information in order to draw the right conclusions. People who used to communicate with me, their parents and spouses, sit in front of their TVs, watch news on the Internet and believe that children are being crucified in the Donetsk region. They don’t understand how I can live in Ukraine, and it’s useless to explain. Firstly, I am outraged by the lies pouring out from television screens. Secondly, and this is perhaps the most important thing, I feel good here. He hardly showed up at social gatherings, but was constantly at the center of discussion in the Moscow glamorous crowd. IN Last year the Tokyo leader was talked about especially a lot, and most often with bewilderment. He did something strange modern Russia act - he moved to Ukraine, moved his wife and four children to Kyiv, and also completely abandoned concert activities in the Russian Federation. IN last time he was in Moscow three months ago and claims that he was counting the hours until his departure.

"Blessed are You, Lord, who desires the return"

Of the eighteen blessings of the Jewish prayer "Amidah"

A year and a half ago, when buying an apartment in Kyiv, he did not yet know that he would call it home. Yaroslav simply liked the Ukrainian capital with its leisurely flow of life, quiet streets of the old center and friendly residents. When Maidan began, he also did not think about moving. I just saw on the Internet photographs of students beaten by police officers and decided to support the protesters.

“We made the decision to perform on the Maidan together,” wife Rahel joins the conversation. “We haven’t yet talked about taking a position in the Ukrainian-Russian conflict, and we haven’t seen a conflict as such, we just wanted to express solidarity with people defending their rights. Many Moscow acquaintances did not understand us then, and do not understand us now. Generally for Lately We have seen enough of how connections between people are destroyed, friends disperse and families break up.

Beautiful is far away

On Maidan, Yaroslav Maly experienced his own internal revolution. I was imbued with the atmosphere of the protest movement and dedicated many songs to it: “Fight”, “Freedom and Love”, “ New hero". These compositions were played at a recent Kiev concert. The audience happily sang along: “The hero must return home,” suggesting that it was about the heroes of the Revolution of Dignity. Only people who knew Yaroslav personally understood what he meant in these lines double meaning. He sang not only about those whom he saw on the Maidan, but also about himself, about what was beginning in his life. new stage- return period.

Maly was born in Ukraine, but from childhood he knew that he would leave. I looked at the horizon and imagined thousands of amazing places where I had to come, see and conquer. Small Motherland— Krivoy Rog was too small for an energetic boy with grandiose dreams. IN music school he also “didn’t fit.” He was expelled from his third year. When Yaroslav’s father asked the head teacher why his son was expelled, the answer was short and succinct: “For everything!” This did not upset Maloy Jr. at all; he was not going to waste time in boring classes and wanted to quickly plunge into the real world. adult life. It was 1991, Soviet Union fell apart.

The old rules and foundations were losing force, and new ones had not yet arisen. Almost immediately after his expulsion, Maly went to where, as he believed, he could taste freedom and begin his “great voyage” - to Moscow.

“I didn’t think about getting rich or achieving fame,” the musician recalls. “I just set sail from the shore, not really knowing what would happen next.”

As for what happened next, there are different versions. Most media describe Maly's success story as a male version of the Cinderella fairy tale. A guy from the outback without money or connections, but with hard work and talent, came to conquer Belokamennaya. He was noticed, given a chance, and now he receives the “Discovery of the Year” prize at the “Maxidrom-2003” festival, then the prestigious MTV Music Awards, albums released in hundreds of thousands of copies and music videos on YouTube, collecting more than a million views in the first three days.
What remains behind the scenes is that Yaroslav came to Moscow at the age of eighteen, and organized the Tokyo group at twenty-eight. He is reluctant to talk about this decade; he only says that he opened nightclubs. He doesn’t share details and, apparently, not without reason, it happened in the 1990s. Journalists also, as a rule, do not mention the fact that he took drugs from the age of sixteen. Although Maly himself does not hide this.

Return trip

In conversation, Yaroslav is stingy with stories about his biography. But he easily turns on when it comes to creativity, love, God, revolution. He frowns, clenches his fists and raises his voice when talking about the Russian war. But when I try to find out how the real Moscow he arrived in differed from the one he imagined when leaving Ukraine, he instantly distances himself, the tone becomes indifferent, the phrases become formulaic.

In the end, clearly wanting to close the unpleasant topic, he says in a tired voice:

- Well, as it usually happens... People unite around a common idea. They are moving somewhere together. You trust those whom you have chosen as travel companions, you believe that you are on the same wavelength. And then one day you see that they changed direction long ago for the sake of money or some other interests, and all this time you were walking with them, going in the wrong direction.

— Didn’t like being rich and famous?

— Fame dealt blows to the psyche. You go to the pharmacy and everyone looks at what medicine you buy. You can go crazy this way. I wanted to hide somewhere. Therefore, for some time the Tokyo group was not visible at all. The worst thing is that we seem to have achieved what we wanted, but the dream come true did not bring any joy.

— Did returning to Ukraine bring you joy?

“Before, I was always fighting for something, running somewhere. Now all the fights and races are over, it’s as if I live outside of time. I have time to read, write music, and communicate a lot with my family.

A boyish smile appears on my interlocutor’s face.

“I just got wiser over the years, I’m already over forty, and this is largely thanks to my other half,” he turns to Rachel and takes her hand, “well, our beloved city, of course, matters.”

It cannot be said that after the move Maly had less work. He regularly gives concerts, updates the Tokyo repertoire, and develops the Machete project, which has already officially become Ukrainian. The Machete production center is about to open in Kyiv. In addition, Yaroslav and Rachel are busy with the new English-language project HAVAKKUK. The first compositions have already been recorded - in Brussels. In addition to Yaroslav, six more musicians from different countries Europe. One of them, Vladi Mind, first violin of the Royal Brussels Orchestra, performs his parts on the legendary Stradivari and Guarneri del Gesu instruments.

— Now there are three groups instead of two, you work simultaneously in Ukraine and Belgium, but you claim that you have more free time?

Yaroslav smiles condescendingly and says with the intonation of a mentor:
- When you do exactly what God wants from you, the world bends under you, and time stretches and contracts exactly as you need.

Call me Moishe-Pinhas

It was no coincidence that the musician spoke about God. Over the past few years, he has made not one, but two important returns: to Ukraine and to the faith of his ancestors. By origin Small Jew, and the name new group HAVAKKUK is associated with the name of the prophet Havakkuk (in Orthodox sources, Habakkuk). The name comes from the Hebrew word "hibuk" ("embrace") and literally means "one who is embraced twice."

It is believed that he died shortly after birth and was resurrected with the help of the prophet Elisha. "Hawakkuk" means that after the first embrace, the mother's, there was a second - the embrace of the prophet. Some Tanakh commentators see this as a hint of a second chance - an opportunity to start life anew. The musician liked this idea. Maly was born into a family of Soviet Jews, grew up in a secular environment, and recently discovered religious world and believes that from that moment his second life began.

The name Hawakkuk is now borne not only by the group, but also younger son its leader. And lately he himself introduces himself less and less as Yaroslav. In the middle of the conversation, my interlocutor suddenly announced that he had taken the Hebrew name Moishe-Pinchas. Then he admitted that he had never really been an atheist. Most of his songs are non-canonical prayers, desperate attempts to address God in his own words. Now Maly addresses himself every day in the form prescribed by the Jewish prayer canon.

It is impossible to be in Russia now. There are fewer thinking people. Many are leaving. The rest live under severe information pressure

It started back in Moscow, when Yaroslav, out of curiosity, went into a local synagogue and saw two religious men emotionally discussing some issue from the Talmud.

“I understood almost nothing from their discussion, but I was struck by the very tone of the dialogue.” They argued heatedly, but without the slightest hostility, with love and respect for each other. No one humiliated anyone or tried to assert themselves at the expense of their interlocutor. It seemed that even proving that they were right was not the main thing for them; it was more important to get to the bottom of the truth. How very different this debate was from those I had seen before. I even regretted that I couldn’t participate. I wanted to read some Jewish books, and the more I read, the more clearly I understood: they contain something important for me.

Gradually he learned to pray; on Saturdays and Jewish holidays does not use transport, electrical appliances, money and observes many other religious restrictions. He eats and drinks only what is permitted by kosher laws, which is why we met in a kosher cafe. Set aside at least an hour every day from your busy schedule to study Torah. And at the same time he claims that Judaism has made him much freer.

Doesn't sound very plausible. As well as the fact that time stretches and contracts at his will. I might consider it a fantasy creative person. I could have suspected Yaroslav of posing when he said that he did not at all regret the earnings that he lost by giving up concert activities in Russia, and money and fame do not matter to him.

But here’s the thing - as soon as Yaroslav starts talking about his two returns, that special smile appears on his face, which only happens to completely happy people. You certainly can't fake it.