Father, we are holding this conversation as part of a special Haredi holiday project 10. I will ask you, as I ask all the guests - first tell us a little about yourself: where you grew up, your family, where you studied.
I am 39 years old, I live in the Ganei Ayalon neighborhood in Lod. My parents are re-converting. I am also half-half, my father is Ukrainian-Polish and my mother is from a family of Egyptian immigrants. I grew up in Tel Aviv, initially in the community of Rabbi Mordechai Auerbach, the son of the late Rabbi Auerbach. Later my father went to pray in Gur and integrated there.
I studied at a small yeshiva in Gur in Rishon LeZion for two years, a small yeshiva in Rozhin, a Hasidic school in Bnei Brak for six months,
Again in Gur in Bnei Brak, Yeshiva Amrei Emet on Tarfon Street for six months. Then in the Noar Nosher yeshiva - the Nativ HaTorah yeshiva which was then in Rosh HaAyin - for three years, the Derech Hashem yeshiva in Jerusalem for a year, and the Rabbanu Chaim Ozer yeshiva in Bnei Brak until the wedding.
After the wedding, I worked, among other things, in civil engineering.
How did you get into the world of animated films? When did that happen? What, in fact, made you get into this field?
I was bored, I started with cartoons, I sent them to groups of friends - and they liked them. I saw another option and another option - and I wanted to be a stand-up comedian, as if I like to be funny. On the other hand, I have a fear of crowds - so I channeled the humor through these videos.
When did this happen?
About a year ago.
Your videos are mostly humorous. Who writes the script?
I write everything, I also record the voices, because artificial intelligence can't produce authentic voices. It does the rest of the things beautifully... When there's a character that looks good and the voice is right - the imagination completes the rest. But if it doesn't sound good, it loses its magic.
How long does it take to create a video like this?
The main thing is the idea. Once I have an idea, I can put out a video within a few hours, sometimes even within an hour. If I want it to be immersive, then I work on it for a day, adding a melody and animations that are more than just a talking face.
Introduce me to the characters. Are they based on real people?
The characters are not based on real people, but they are based on types… very, very undefined types. One type who has notes in his pocket and is very busy and organizes a lot of things, and is overall a good person; there is one type who is strict and strict - 'Brisker Frommer'; and there is a type who is just curious, he just wants to know 'what's going on'; and there is a type who questions in a way of doubt, not in a way of defiance, maybe this is the character I am most in...
The Maggid-Shiur videos, which seem to look like a page of Gemara, like a section of Gemara, or rather a baraita, are written by a talented guy. I came across something he wrote and we formed a connection - and he writes it. I'm involved there, but in a minor way. I mean, I do the performance, but in the writing I throw in ideas here and there, but by and large - it's him. He doesn't want his name to be known, of course.
Sometimes people send me jokes, I collect what I hear, but most of the time I write alone.
Songs Usually people send me an idea for a song. I'm not musical. Sometimes I come up with it myself, but usually it's ready-made stuff that they send me and I work on it to make it sound pronounced correctly and of course I make the music video.
Now I want to do something that will expose your works to the surfers. For the benefit of those who still, through their own sins, don't know. Give me your 'top 10'. The 10 most successful.
And these are the chosen ones:
Rumors about Yankee Weiss:
Bibi asks for pardon from the president:
The Cantor - Public Messenger:
Complaints and protests about the advertising style:
Demonstrations between times:
Kosher line:
Opening to 'Sacrifices':
Combining Torah and the Army:
Call the father to the meeting:
Taking off tefillin on Rosh Chodesh:
Did you quit your job in civil engineering?
Yes. I had the opportunity to do something I love to do… and I also went back to studying at the kollel in the morning.
That is, artificial intelligence "saved" you. You found a place to let go...
More precisely, artificial intelligence gave me a tool to express myself.
How do you define this job? What do your children answer when you ask them what their father does?
I don't define it, but you could call it a satirist or a clown. I prefer "clown"...
Have you always made cartoons? A talent since childhood?
My father, Yoram Lukov, was a great painter. I loved to paint, but at a low level, better than others perhaps, but not professionally.
How do you actually create a character? Do you draw first? How does the process happen physically?.
I'm constantly creating characters until I stumble upon a good one. But the main thing is the content.
If you left civil engineering, and that's not a lot of money, then I understand that you're making a living from videos these days. How exactly? Do you create commercials?
Yes, advertisements and private works that by their nature are not disclosed to the public.
Do you also address politics in your videos?
Sometimes when there's a burning issue that everyone knows about and not just someone involved in politics - then I do something, but from an ultra-Orthodox perspective that makes me laugh. For example, when yeshiva students and avrechims couldn't fly to Uman, I created a mashgih in the yeshiva who fears that the atmosphere of joy of the Breslavs, who are staying in Israel this year, will permeate the beit midrash.
Or about the MPG and the cell phone, or about closing down Galei Tzahal. But generally I don't like the political sphere, everything there is already chewed up and it's hard to innovate.
Social criticism? You know the characters can say anything. It's 'him' not you...
I criticize in this way, really. The character poses the question and is sad that she doesn't understand, but not as a defiance.
How often do you release videos? Every day?
I used to go out every day, recently I've been less prolific.
Is there anyone who is a 'model' for you in this profession?
I don't have any model. It's a bit of a reinvention of my style, of dialogues.
I'm still trying to understand: how does someone who was in other worlds altogether - civil engineering, general education - suddenly "take over" animated videos with such professionalism?
It's practice, experimentation and wondering, I'm improving all the time.
Give me a comment you received on a video that moved you, "made" your day.
They write to me that I am a genius and that it is successful and that I am happy - and sometimes also criticize that I disdain 'seriousness' and things sacred to the people of Israel. Most of the time, I accept the criticism and try to correct and present things from a different angle.
How does it feel to make the people of Israel happy?
It feels good to create and do. Everyone my age wants to feel accomplished.
Have you ever sat somewhere, without being recognized, and heard people talking about the videos?
I haven't had the chance yet, but sometimes people are really excited to meet me.
Do you intend to perhaps develop in the direction of films? I mean, a 10-minute video with a plot? Children's videos about the righteous?
Yes, that's my dream... but you need a team or a sponsor for that, because it's a lot of investment.
And finally, a bonus of 'hardware':
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