Yosef Karduner
| Yosef Karduner | |
|---|---|
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| Background information | |
| Native name | יוסף קרדונר |
| Birth name | Gilad Kardunos |
| Born | 1969 (age 47–48) Petah Tikva, Israel |
| Genres | Contemporary Jewish religious music |
| Instruments | Guitar |
| Years active | 2000–present |
Yosef Karduner (Hebrew: יוסף קרדונר, born 1969) is an Israeli Hasidic singer, songwriter, and composer. His biggest hit,Shir LaMaalot (Psalm 121), appeared on his debut album, Road Marks (2000).
Born Gilad Kardunos, he was raised in a traditionalist Jewish family in Petah Tikva, Israel. As a youth, he excelled in swimming and football. He placed second in a national competition in the 50-meter breaststroke, and competed with the Po'el Petah Tikva football team until he suffered a sprain to his ankle.
In his early teens, he studied music and in particular the bass guitar. In 1987, at the age of 18, he was conscripted into the Israel Defense Forces, where he played in a military musical troupe run by the Northern Command.
Following his army service, Karduner formed his own rock band and was the backup guitarist for the Israeli singer Uzi Hitman. Influenced by discussions with Hitman and his father, the scion of an Orthodox Jewish, Hasidic Lubavitcher family, Karduner put his career on hold and began studying in a yeshiva run by the Breslov Hasidic group for Jews who had turned to embrace Orthodox Judaism ("baalei teshuva"). In the mid-1990s, during his religious conversion, he changed his name from Gilad Kardunos to Yosef Karduner.
During one session of secluded prayer ("hitbodedut"), the tune for Shir LaMaalot ("Song to the Ascents"—Psalm 121) popped into Karduner's head and one of his teachers urged him to resume his music career, this time in a vein related to Judaism.Shir LaMaalot became a hit in the Israeli religious world, inspiring other religious songwriters such as Aharon Razel to begin composing songs with lyrics from the Hebrew Bible.Shir LaMaalot has been covered by numerous Israeli artists, including Sheva, and is a staple among synagogue youth groups in Israel and Canada.
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