Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
The Schmooze

Passover, "Les Mis" Style

“Les Miserables” is an epic tale of suffering, oppression, and one man’s quest to find himself. Is it just me, or have we heard that story before?

No, sadly, Victor Hugo was not a secret Jew. But Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil, who wrote the lyrics of the famous musical, are. Schönberg was born in Vannes, France, the son of Hungarian Jewish immigrants, in 1944. Boublil, a Sephardic Jew, was born in Tunisia in 1941.

So perhaps it’s fair to say they picked up the similarities between Jean Valjean, a ex-convict on the run from the law who seeks to reinvent himself once he hears God’s call, and Moses — not to mention the living conditions for the poor in 19th century France, akin to Egyptian slavery.

The Maccabeats —the all-male a cappella group out of Yeshiva University — took notice of the parallels and the opportunity was too good to pass up. From “Look Down” to “Do You Hear The People Sing,” it’s a sight to behold.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.