Exclusive Interview with the Ein Prat Fountainheads

The Ein Prat Fountainheads (or The Fountainheads) as they also like to be referred as, are one of Israel’s hottest new groups. In a few short months, the group’s YouTube videos I Gotta Feeling Hanukkah, Raise Your Mask Purim, and Dayenu, Coming Home have gone viral reaching hundreds of thousands of people. Despite their hectic schedule, the Fountainheads were able to answer Shalom Life’s questions.

Q:How did the Ein Prat Fountainheads come into existence?

A:The Fountainheads are graduates and students of The Ein Prat Academy for Leadership in Israel who enjoy celebrating and expressing their Jewish identity in fun and creative ways. The Ein Prat Academy brings together young Israelis of all Jewish backgrounds, men and women, secular and religious, native Israelis and Olim, to intensively study a broad range of topics and together build a renewed Israeli-Jewish identity.

"About 20 of us began this year at Chanukkah with a cute video intended for internal viewing at our Chanukkah party. We had so much fun doing it that we decided to do another video for Purim, this time with about 100 people. We put the video up on YouTube, and received a heartwarming wave of support from all over the world. We got everybody together again for Pesach, and so far the response has been overwhelming," said Racheli Gur, a student at Ein Prat and one of the lead dancers in the group.

Q: Currently how many are in the group?

A: 9 in the performing group. Many more take part in the videos.

Q: Why did you want to become part of the Fountainheads?

A: “Our goal is to produce fun and meaningful music videos that put smiles on people's faces and help them connect with their Jewishness in new ways. We also want to showcase the diverse, vibrant and highly-engaged Israeli-Jewish identity that is emerging in our generation of Israelis today," said Shani Lachmish, graduate of Ein Prat and one of the lead singers of the group.

Q: What is the creative process for writing a song?

A: We think about which songs might fit which holidays and then try to write fun words that express some of the ideas of the holiday.

"We prefer not to limit ourselves to any one style. We try to mix things up and do what's appropriate for each song. For example, we felt the songs for Pesach sounded better with musical accompaniment," explained Yoav Hoze, a soldier in the IDF, graduate of Ein Prat, and one of the lead singers of the group.

Q: Did you ever anticipate the viral success of your videos?

A: "When we started we thought the videos might interest our friends and maybe some other folks here in Israel. The worldwide response in such a short amount of time is truly inspiring. It shows something really special about the Jewish world that people from so many different places can feel connected to a small group of students here in Israel," said Edeete Suher, student at the Academy and choreographer of the group.

Q: You're on a Canadian tour from May 24-30, what cities will the Fountainheads be visiting?

A: We'll be performing two shows in Toronto and then we'll be performing at the March To Jerusalem in Montreal.

Q: What's next for the group?

A:We're a bit surprised by the momentum that has built up over the past few months, so we're trying to enjoy it and make the most of it.

For more information about the Ein Prat Fountainheads, visit

www.einprat.org/thefountainheads.php.