InKredible Kids
A podcast with Kosher content geared toward empowering Jewish kids of all ages. We interview kids from around the world and have many interactive segments for all kids to enjoy. While having fun and learning new skills, kids will hear about responsibility, empathy, confidence, and more!
InKredible Kids
Yaakov's Story: Keeping Their Stories Alive
Meet Yaakov Ray, an 11-year-old from Chicago with an extraordinary mission to interview Holocaust survivors and preserve their stories for future generations. What started as a chance encounter with one survivor has evolved into a profound journey of documenting history while forming meaningful friendships with these elderly witnesses to one of history's darkest chapters.
• Yaakov has interviewed 35 Holocaust survivors in just one year
• He meticulously documents each story through notes, recordings, and photographs
• Beyond collecting testimonies, he forms genuine friendships with survivors
• Many survivors are lonely and deeply appreciate his visits and regular calls
• Yakov organizes monthly Zoom calls for other kids to meet Holocaust survivors
• He's compiling all interviews into a book to be published in about a year and a half
• When faced with rejection from one survivor who thought he was too young, Yakov showed remarkable maturity in understanding
• His mission demonstrates that anyone, regardless of age, can make a meaningful difference
Don't forget to visit inkrediblekids.org/unmuted to get your tickets for "Unmuted: The Experience" - an immersive celebration for families featuring Benny Friedman, Joey Newcomb, Moshe Tischler, Ari Kunstler, the Mendy Hershkowitz Band, hosted by Simcha on Wheels on June 24th at the Ritz Theater, New Jersey.
Hey kids, welcome back to the next episode of the Incredible Kids Podcast. My name is Moritz Ciri and I will be your host. Through this incredible journey, we are going to meet many incredible kids. They are going to share with us their stories, some of them super cool and different like you've never heard before, and some you may say are just ordinary, but all of them incredible. If you have great ideas, email me today at ikidspodcasts at gmailcom. And now it's time for Incredible Kids. It's time for the joke of the day. Yay, today's joke is brought to you by Rosie P from Berlin, germany.
Speaker 2:Knock, knock. Who's there? Haps, haps there, hapsch, hapsch, who Bless you.
Speaker 1:Welcome back to another episode of Incredible Kids Podcast. This podcast was recorded over Pesach. I had the very unique opportunity to spend Pesach in Panama with a special program called Pesach Panama by Michael Schick, and I met so many incredible people adults, teens, children and everybody in between and one particular incredible kid who I met had been an incredible kid's listener and follower for quite some time and he was excited on day one that I was there with him to share his incredible kids story with me. And I was completely blown away. Um Yakov Ray from Chicago came up to me at breakfast on that first morning and said hi, moritz, siri, I, I am an incredible kid and I want to share something with you about what I do. And right away, of course, I'm interested. And he began to tell me about his very unique passion for speaking with, interviewing and becoming friends with Holocaust survivors. And I found that to be super interesting, because how many 11 year olds do I know who take such a deep interest in getting to know older people, let alone people who survived? You know one of the most horrible things that have happened in recent history the Holocaust? And then we spoke and he told me how he's interviewed so many people already how it started. In the span of just this one year he's already done so much to the point that he even shared with me that, now that he is so close with so many Holocaust survivors, he even puts together a monthly Zoom call with kids his age to get to know a Holocaust survivor. So he's, you know, acting on something that he's passionate about and he's getting so many other kids involved, maybe just to expose them to what it's like to converse with, talk with an older person and also broaching a really hard subject the Holocaust in such a special way.
Speaker 1:I also had the opportunity to watch him in action over Yontif. He was on a mission to find a Holocaust survivor at the hotel program that we were at and, lo and behold, he did find one, and I just watched from a distance as he took notes on everything he was telling him, took pictures with him, recorded the conversation and just gave him so much attention. And I was also noticing the way he was interviewing, like he was asking follow up questions. Like if the you know the man said something to him, he would say, so wow, that's interesting, so how did you handle that? Or like, wow, you were really young then that must've been really hard for you. Like, the things that they were talking about were just such a high level conversation. I was taking notes as an interviewer, literally. I hope you enjoy this conversation that we recorded in the lobby of the hotel. It's kind of raw. There was a lot of background noise, obviously because we were experimenting with these new mics that I brought along, but I was able to kind of blot out that background noise. So just bear with that. I think it will be okay. And then at the end, don't miss it when he actually goes ahead and makes some phone calls to his friends that weren't with him and I got to watch that as well, which was such a unique opportunity.
Speaker 1:Before we get to the next segment of the podcast, I have to announce the winners from Pesach Trivia 2025. Here goes Five lucky families won the Kichelit game the Goodmans, or rather the Grape Juice Goodmans. The Burians, aka the Matzah Baking Burians. The Shermans, aka Team Vivi Sherman. The Schwertzes Team Schwertz Kids. The Elkines Team Elkine Pesach. And the winner of the Pop Insanity Delicious Popcorn Package is the Watson family, the Matzah Pizzas. And the winner of the $100 Amazon gift card is the Hager family, aka Hagada Hagers. We will reach out to each of you to claim your prizes. Congratulations, and can't wait to play with everyone again next time. We asked our listeners how do you feel when you are around elderly people?
Speaker 2:Here's what they had to say, and I feel a little bit uncomfortable around elderly people. Hi, my name is Benyamin and I'm nine years old, and I like to be near elderly people because my grandparents are elderly and they give me a lot of stuff and take care of me. Bye, hi, my name is Rahalia and I love being around elderly people. I feel like they have so much to say and they're so wise and they always have such good advice and I also feel like they're like the sweetest people ever. Hi, my name is Rahal. I am six years old and I feel around elderly people very special special.
Speaker 1:What do you get when you mix Incredible Kids with Benny Friedman, joey Newcomb, moshe Tischler, ari Kuntzler, the Mendy Hershkowitz Band, and it's all hosted by the one and only Simcha on Wheels? What do you get? Unmuted the experience. This is not just a concert. It's an immersive next level celebration for families. It's hype, it's heart, it's energy like you've never seen before. Mark your calendars june 24th, ritz theater, new jersey. Tickets are officially live and the good ones are going fast. What do you have to do? Visit wwwincrediblekidsorg. Slash unmuted and grab your seats before they're gone. If this is the kind of thing your kids will remember forever, it's worth traveling in for Incredible Kids. Unmuted the experience. Let your family feel the power of being part of something big. Sponsorship opportunities available. Reach out to IK events at incrediblekidsorg. Please enjoy my unbelievable, incredible conversation with Yakov Ray. We're at Pesach in Panama with Michael Schick and it's always fun to get to know incredible kids when I'm at new places. I heard some really awesome things that you've been up to. I'm from Chicago.
Speaker 2:I am now 11 years old. I have a man named Ivan Gluck Mr Ivan Gluck For Pesach. I went to Florida and then I would go to Shul and there was always a man by the door Happy, happy, just to be a kid and he was an old man, went over to my grandfather and I said he's giving a drusher right now on the Holocaust. It couldn't be. He said yeah, so I went over to him. I could talk to him. I don't get that many kids. Did you hear his speech already? I didn't really pay. Okay, ever since then I it was a, it was wasn't such a big thing like the holocaust, okay, you hear it every story, like every story in the book you meant not so much.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you weren't, didn't know much about it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, okay I mean I would hear stories about like revier phil spiro. He would write these books and I'll be like okay, but then it just literally hit me that it was time, so I went over to him and the next day he told me his apartment number and I went. When I got there he started telling me his story. He started giving me books, he started showing me that he was, that someone wrote about him. He started he gave me all this information and it was just well, why did I think of this before? There's all those people that are old now and when you have a chance you might as well meet them and he was just like offering all the information to you.
Speaker 1:you didn't have to like pull it out of him and ask him a lot of questions, very few questions.
Speaker 2:I just heard the story that what was? My cousin and I would go every day just to meet him back and say, hello, how are you? And he would come to me and we would, and my grandmother would make us, we would have Pesach apples and all this. I like she made homemade apples and everything. We would just sit together, whether it was in his apartment, my apartment, meeting his family or meeting my family, and so it wasn't only about learning about his story, it was also like becoming a friend.
Speaker 2:It's like you were making a friendship with him, yeah, and then when I left his house, his apartment, I said we'll keep in touch and gave me his card. And I came back to Chicago after pay session I couldn't stop thinking. I showed it to my class. I'm like, look at this and I can't believe other kids were a little bit interested, Not as much as I was starting to get Right.
Speaker 1:They also didn't get to meet him, so for them it wasn't as a real experience.
Speaker 2:I also photocopied a picture of his story for them to look at. Maybe it's not only me, right, it's them, but it wasn't the same. Okay, fine, I get back to Chicago and I remember me and my father talking about there was one lady on the block and she was a Holocaust survivor and she was in Shanghai and I knew her son a little bit. We went to the same show so I went over to him I said maybe I could go to your mother's house later today you went over to her son, who's quite an adult already.
Speaker 1:Yeah, okay, just want to put that out there. You have a lot of confidence. Yeah, continue, and so.
Speaker 2:I went, I said you could try. I went, she opened up the door, then we she opened up the door and we started talking. So that Shabbos I was there for about an hour and a half and then the next week I came back and I was there for another hour and a half and then Shabbos I go there and come like 20 minutes before minchon. So then I walk to minchon, so I sit there, I go, and then she had a friend. She didn't introduce me, but my grandmother introduced me and she took me, and then I found another one, and then I found another one, and then it got to Full survivors of the Holocaust, yeah. And then it just built up to. I decided you know how can I share? I was at my cousin's bar mitzvah and I would still keep in touch with these people. Every Shabbos I would call and I said I'm going to make a book.
Speaker 1:A book. That's a big undertaking, yeah.
Speaker 2:And then I had a lot of people. You're making a book, were they like throwing money at you? No, instead they threw their stories at me. I went to someone and I didn't give her a notice. I usually give everyone a notice Because son was in Israel and people were telling me you could go. And then once I went, I brought a camera. I brought a little notebook, because I bring now I'm going to get upgraded like every half a year, so I bring like a recorder, a microphone, and by that time I didn't have a notepad and a camera. So I went and I said can I interview you? And she told me. She said why are you doing this? I said I interviewed 15 survivors. She's like you're too young to know this stuff. I said she wanted to protect you and she's like you can't hear my story. You have to be way older. Come back when you're older.
Speaker 1:Okay fine, you have to be way older. Come back when you're older, okay, fine. So I said okay. And also, how did you feel?
Speaker 2:when she was like so, like saying all those things, yeah, and they didn't really know what it was. I have a friend that doesn't even know what the holocaust was and I brought him with. I didn't even know that until after. And I'll tell you why Because after I felt like how could she do this to me? I do this, I'm trying to make these people feel good. And then I just thought about it. I said wait, I did with 15 survivors. They told me to do this, they went through this, they went through that. You have to feel that, like, not everyone wants to share it.
Speaker 1:It's not rude and that's about everything in life Also. Any struggle, hardship, not everyone wants to share. Yeah, and it's okay. It's a very mature perspective that you're able to.
Speaker 2:I understand her, okay, fine. So going back to circus, I really wanted a survivor and we started contacting people, started going to people and finally someone said you have an eight minute drive to somewhere and I went. She was the first person I ever saw, a hundred years old, with numbers on the arm, and I had the camera with me. She said she'll talk and then we talked. I have pictures with a lot of people picture with her. I went back home and then I went.
Speaker 2:I figured out that someone told me that his father is a Holocaust survivor and so he's a very bad. He's like maybe 40. My son's like 88. So his father? So I went to go see his father. I walked with him. I said maybe I could walk with you. No one was walking him, so I went down, I snuck in that baby. I had an interview and he was known not to talk and I wanted to interview his brother. But his brother, I know, was like very. I put him when he, when I watched his interview, very like strict, you know, and in europe, so if it's a different site, exactly america and israel, and right wherever. So I'm not right. This guy's brother was very strict, but he was like more like he got. He was like very young when he came to America, but his brother was older so he stayed like that and I went over to him. He said I'll give you a bracha, but no, I can't do it.
Speaker 1:The guy who you're talking about, the one that everyone said no, he's not going to talk.
Speaker 2:And so he didn't even talk to his children. So finally he gives me a braha Names Not Numbers comes. It's an organization that interviews different Holocaust survivors and they do something similar. Like me, name, not numbers. The famous organization. You probably have it in Florida, new York, new Jersey, chicago and wherever.
Speaker 2:So this man got interviewed and he was very and I was talking with him, maybe I could interview him. He was very like, yes, no, yes, no, yes, no. And then I went back to his house after I said I'm making a book, he's like, yeah, I know, I know. I said maybe I could take her story and then we could go it over. And by that time he realized he could do it. He did it before and he's like, yeah, we'll do it. And he was actually happy and I have pictures of him. We were laughing, we were joking around and then we got his whole story done. I asked him if I could interview his brother and I interviewed his brother. His brother is older than him and he said, sure, I'm friends with the strict one, his brother's grandson, also a Chicago person. Also a Chicago person A lot of mine are Chicago, since I lived there. Yeah, and it's a very big community.
Speaker 2:And so I went over and I memorized his phone number and so I'm like, okay, is there a phone number? So I called him and someone picked up and they're like he's not available. I'm like, okay, I'll call him next week. This is no persistent. Yeah, next week I call. They're like, okay, let me get back to. Comes on the phone, says hello. I'm like hello, hello. I introduce myself. My name is Yakov Ray, I do this, I do that. And he was like, okay, maybe we can do it today. I'm like sure, I was like happy and I was prepared when I got there. It had to be a two-day interview, because the whole time he was laughing, no way, and he was making different jokes and like switching words into this and to that. We did it for an hour. He is just sitting there joking. I'm like oh, wow he's, he's.
Speaker 1:So you take notes on everything he's saying.
Speaker 2:Notes on everything he's saying and then I added it wow, wow. And so you're typing it all. No, I write it all and then type it. Go through your written notes. I do it three times Wow Once, write it Two, type it up and edit. I have a proofreader, uh-huh.
Speaker 1:And then all of that you're going to compile into one book Book. When do you think this book is going to come out? It's time for my book. I have a year and a half, okay, okay, that will be your, like, official release. Yeah, what a goal. Yeah.
Speaker 1:And so far, how many survivors have you met and interviewed? Well, 35. And we're coming up. It's really, really, really impressive that you've been able to follow this evolving dream that you have, like you said in the beginning, like the first Holocaust survivor you met one year ago. You didn't even relate to, but then, once we took interest in his story, you're, like you said in the beginning, like the first holocaust survivor you met one year ago. You didn't even relate to, but then, once we took interest in his story, you're like on this mission to just meet as many as you can. It's so important. I mean, I'm sure you know like they're getting older. Most of them are in their 90s or 100s plus and we don't know how much longer we'll have with these special people, so we have to grab on to them while we have them.
Speaker 2:yeah, and I have kids. They're my friends and I would like to go to them for shabbos and I would visit this one you're like visiting your friends, but really you're visiting their grandparents, yeah, and their great-grandparents. They think they have a grandfather who's a holocaust survivor. He died. I have one friend that took him. His great-grandfather died 102. He had an amazing story. He's at y'all golden.
Speaker 1:I know he knows a few stories but like when I went with him, yeah, a lot of kids don't have that appreciation, so you're spreading that to your friends.
Speaker 2:He told me that like before, when we met he, he, when we were in class, he showed me a story that he can't sit still, he has adhd, but he sat there for and going to this one, going to that one, going on that one, we went to three different ones. We went to izzy stark, who we just called yeah, and then we went to someone else, um, near ifko is ditzer, and then we went to Izzy Stark, who we just called yeah, and then we went to someone else near Riffko Wiesnitzer, and then we went to another one in the same apartment of Riffko Wiesnitzer and they kept on to us. There was one that was literally about to cry because we were leaving.
Speaker 1:A lot of them are so lonely, yeah, because I said the family visit?
Speaker 2:No, I didn't see anyone. She's like? No, no, and she wanted to hug us, she wanted to this. She made us sit, she kept on talking. She didn't care what she talked about. She loved the kids probably.
Speaker 1:Wow we were there, sitting there for an hour. Encourage more kids to look out for elderly people in general, and especially those who are so holy because they survived so much and they have so much wisdom to share.
Speaker 2:And amuna, teach us you have a chance that you might have a great grandparent, you have a neighbor, you have a someone in your neighborhood that might be, whether old or or a holocaust survivor. You have the chance to meet them and before I mean in the 30 years, you might have a kid saying you remember we're doing research on someone and we're doing a biography and do you know anything about, maybe, his concentration camp? Oh, yeah, I know about Auschwitz. Yeah, I know this. I could tell you a few things to help your children or maybe share, because what obviously happened, we could not. We could not lose it and that's why I told a lot of these survivors that made them so happy that we got to keep these stories alive. We got to keep these stories alive.
Speaker 1:Yeah, they're getting alive through Yakov Yep, through Yakov Ray, an 11 old boy with big dreams from Chicago. It is so remarkable and I also think that your own personal story is. It's for me. I'm blown away, but I think that it's inspiring to other people to realize that you can accomplish so much Whenever you're ready. You don't have to to wait, you don't have to say when I get older I'm gonna dot that. That like why not? Now is just as good of a time. And I noticed, like how you, like that's how we met, like you sought me out and said, hey, I'm over at syria. I know that you know I'm, you know, part of incredible kids. I joined the hell of army sometimes and I'm super passionate about meeting holocaust survivors. And so you connected to watching the watching the Holocaust survivor video that we put out. And then you said I want to share with you what I'm working on. Right, we understand the importance of continuing Jewish pride and the connection.
Speaker 2:I did have a friend and he wanted to do the same thing as me. He really didn't want to copy me, and what I do is I wanted to do miracles and he tried so hard but it wasn't able to happen.
Speaker 1:I take this friend every other week I think I told him my favorite part about this that you include, you make it cool and the second Holocaust survivor I met.
Speaker 2:who's the one who I talked about in the beginning of this podcast. The rummy cub in a game whatever she. The Rummy Cub In the e-game whatever she wants, she gets chocolate.
Speaker 1:I love it. All right, yakub, why don't you look at the camera and tell kids out there? Yakub's going to share a message to all the kids out there. What do you like to say to all the incredible kids watching?
Speaker 2:I would like to say that if you have an old person or you have a Holocaust survivor, you have a grandfather, you have a great-grandfather, anyone, you can just help them in any way that you could. It doesn't matter what I'm doing. You could do the same thing, and it's a big experience. And if you have a Holocaust survivor, you can ask them for a bracha.
Speaker 1:They're true people. It's a bracha from a tzadik gomor they have. You know, there's a lot of people who were unfortunately killed, al-kiddish Hashem, during the Holocaust. But it is such a high level to continue living that way. And for those people who, like you, said that you're learning from, who continue to choose to be positive, do you imagine what kind of level they're on? Yeah, because they didn't get the privilege of just not having to deal with it, or whatever you want to say they. They look, but they could make a conscious choice. It's such a crazy high level.
Speaker 2:It's like they're so lucky you got to be connected with them you have people who even lost their aunts, uncles, but some of their family, um, and they smile when they say that, not meaning to be like, oh, we don't care about them, but they, they still know that hashem, it obviously took them for a reason it's very unbelievable.
Speaker 1:So cool that you got the first hand experience of hearing that again and again in different ways.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I always talk to them about it. I don't talk to them once, I don't talk to them twice, I don't as many times.
Speaker 1:As they want to talk, they talk yako, I know that you connect with so many halifax survivors and what I find to be amazing is that, besides for interviewing them and giving your time to hear their stories and you know, of course, what you're planning to do with their stories you also keep up with them, you told me, which I love, so I just want to sit here while you make some of your regular Arab Shabbos, arab Yom Tov, phone calls. Tonight is going to be, you know, arab Pesach. It's going into Shabbos this year and they're looking forward to hearing from you, and I'm just going to like peek at your conversation because I want to see how excited they are to see you, okay, so who are we calling first? Izzy Stark, okay, well, tell me something about him before we get him on the line.
Speaker 2:He was in the concentration camp and he actually, when he went, he went to three different ones. And the fact that he says Hashem saved me, hashem made me sing this, hashem made me sing that, hashem made me do this After the war. We know that a lot of people died because of eating so much. We know that a lot of people died because of eating so much. He was a big person before the war in sinking and he fought throughout the war and that's what helped him get saved. And now he still thinks. But after the war he didn't eat that much. He told his friends let's not eat that much. And some friends, a lot of his friends that he had, which weren't that many, they did get saved just because of him telling them that don't worry, we'll have just wait a little. And that's how they are saved.
Speaker 1:Wow. Even after the war was over, he continued to look out for other people. Okay, let's call him. I mean, you call him, I'll listen. You don't even remember me.
Speaker 2:How are you? Yeah, I'm good. Baruch Hashem, you getting ready for Pesah? Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, definitely That'll work. That'll work. Are you ready? Ready for the same day? Yeah, I'm very ready. Do you have a lot of questions? Yeah, I'm getting ready for my Vartara and all that stuff. Do you have a lot of questions? Yep, I'll call you when you have questions and if not, I'll come to you after the order and we'll answer you some questions. Okay, okay, yeah.
Speaker 1:I will answer you. The main answer is that's the main answer. That's why we have.
Speaker 2:That's why we have to say that, because, okay, I'll say it over in the name of you. Okay, thank you. So that's the answer to all the questions is Okay, okay, okay, okay, you have a good Yom Tiv. Okay, the lady I'm about to call she's a Holocaust survivor. That, the lady I'm about to call she's a Holocaust survivor, that the way she, the positivity that she has about how she only looks at the positive, nothing else. And her and her parents tried to save people from different things, just to help everyone in the pain that they had and to help them. Just give them the physics.
Speaker 2:Wow, where does she live? She lives in Chicago. Okay, let's call her. Okay, how are you? I don't have a chance. It's so nice to see Chicago. Okay, let's call her. Okay, how are you? I don't have time. It's so nice to see you. Okay, it's so nice of you to call me. Yeah, are you in town or you're away? I'm away in Panama for PESA. You're in Panama. Yeah, you know that. I used to live there. Really, uh-huh, okay, you know that I used to live there Really Uh-huh.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 1:Yes, I lived there. And I learned Spanish. That's how I learned Spanish.
Speaker 2:Oh, yeah, okay, how was your trip back? Yeah, it was good, wonderful Good. Yeah, it was so good. Even you say what's up with you when I so what did you say? What did you do when I lived there? They didn't do anything kosher. They brought in a lot of food to help us, but we're at a hotel On a program. We're on a program. That's wonderful.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I remember wonderful, yeah, I'm a teacher. Okay, say, good yon-thi Say good yon-thi, Good yon-thi.
Speaker 2:Okay, you have a good yon-thi okay.
Speaker 1:Thank you so much.
Speaker 2:So nice of you. Okay, have a good yon-thi. Thank you, you're the best. I'm on his. Okay, you too, okay, bye-bye.
Speaker 1:And that is the story of Yaakov Ray, which continues in so many possible ways.
Speaker 1:I cannot wait to see in what way he is going to continue to use his talents, which abound between the confidence and his curiosity and his note-taking skills and his people skills and all of the things that he has discovered about himself that he can use to be able to make a difference.
Speaker 1:I can't wait to see where he goes with this mission and with whatever mission he takes on in his life and hopefully, for everyone listening at home, we can all think about what we can do with our unique capabilities and talents and figure out what we feel passionate about, what makes us excited, what makes others excited when we're around them, and then we can figure out different ways that we can make a mark in this world. Thank you so much for being part of Yaakov's story and Yaakov's sharing a story with me and now to all of you, and I hope that everybody takes a moment to like and subscribe and to follow Incredible Kids wherever you can watch or listen. That one extra second makes such a big difference in getting Incredible Kids into the homes of every single Jewish boy and girl alike, and I wish all of you a wonderful day and remember, no matter what's going on in your life, you are all Incredible Kids. Don't forget to head to incrediblekidsorg. Slash unmuted to get your unmuted the Experience tickets today. Are you an?
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Speaker 1:Kids Podcast. Thanks for listening and remember you are all Incredible Kids.
