THE TWINS FROM FRANCE

The two acrobats, Yaakov and Yisroel Gurion, are a set of twins who are quite popular in the frum world. * With frequent performances and a series of successful videos for children, the “Twins from France” is one of the most popular shows. * We spoke with the twins and between bursts of laughter we managed to hear from them what goes on behind the scenes.

By Elad Yitzchaki

It wasn’t easy getting Yaakov and Yisroel Gurion to sit down for a joint interview, and not only because sitting is not their strong point.

Yisroel and Yaakov have been living in Crown Heights for years. They used to be guests themselves, and when they married, they decided to do the same for others and host people. During Tishrei, they turn their office into a big kitchen and invite dozens of guests there every day for complete meals.

“During the month of Elul, we have less work,” they explained, “the camps are ending, the children and bachurim are returning to school, and there is a more serious atmosphere. Any shows that we do are mostly in the evenings, at weddings. So we use this time to prepare everything. There are a lot of logistics involved, to bring food, kitchen supplies, and tables and chairs for the guests. We prepare everything in Elul, so that when Tishrei comes along, the only things left to do are to cook and serve.”

By the way, they prepare the food themselves. They actually encouraged me to publish this fact. “Write that all the Tishrei guests are invited to us for the meals; let them all come.” I immediately asked if they were not concerned about being flooded, and the response was, “The more the merrier, we accept everyone happily.”

It would seem that there is no frum child in the United States who is not familiar with the twin team of Yaakov and Yisroel Gurion, or “The Twins from France” as they bill themselves. To sit with them when they are in the mood is a laughter-filled experience. They appear identical, with the first signs of beards on their thin faces, and they don’t sit still for a minute. It might be a sharp line, a trick, or ordinary objects that suddenly fly through the air and pass from hand to hand with amazing speed.

“We are from France,” they both say in their charming French accent. They quickly realize that they cannot both speak simultaneously, so each one gives the floor to the other. Silence. For a moment there, it seems like a scene from one of their videos. Eventually, I suggest that one of them speak for both and if the other has an objection he can interject, which did not happen even once.

“We grew up in Marseilles, the large port city in the south of France,” they say (in Yisroel’s voice). “The Chabad community there is not large like in Paris, so each Chabad Chassid that lives there feels to some degree like a shliach. At home, we absorbed the values of giving and helping others.

“We are identical twins, and from the age of nine months below zero we have been together. As we got to know ourselves we each also got to know our twin as well, and since then we have been so close and rarely apart. When we were kids, we were pretty mischievous. We loved to run, jump, dance, and be wild. We did everything together.

“When we finished elementary school in Marseilles, we continued on to the yeshiva in Brunoy, the only Chabad yeshiva then in France. There were some bachurim there who had some juggling equipment and we began to practice. During every break, we would practice together and do all sorts of tricks and drills. We were very particular about limiting our practice only to free times, and we dedicated ourselves to learning during the hours of the yeshiva schedule. After we completed three years of mesivta, we had reached a level of proficiency that allowed for doing small shows, but only for friends and family.

“We finished mesivta in Brunoy and went to learn in beis midrash in B’nei Brak. There in B’nei Brak, we discovered a new brand of rejoicing for chassanim and kallos, which would begin at night after the yeshiva study sessions. People would call the yeshiva and ask if they could send over some boys to help liven up their wedding. After the learning we would go to the halls where we were invited. We would show up and do a few of our maneuvers and contribute our part to the general joy of the wedding.”

Word spread in B’nei Brak of the two yeshiva student jugglers, and slowly but surely, the twins began getting requests for bookings from families who wanted them to perform at their events. “We saw that there was a big demand for this, so we printed up business cards and handed them out at weddings. Slowly, we began to get more and more bookings to appear in other places as well, such as children’s events, bar mitzvas and other small events. However, we always ware particular to leave all the work for hours outside of the learning schedule.

“After three years in yeshiva in Eretz Yisroel, it came time to fly off for k’vutza. We left everything that we had built up behind us. We knew that we were going to learn in 770, but as far as what would be with our work we had no idea. We asked ourselves if there even were any weddings held in Crown Heights. This was to be our first time in New York and we had no idea what goes on there. We didn’t know the first thing about anything.”

The twins landed in New York without knowing the language and with no information, but with a lot of talent and quite a bit of professionalism. Here too, they started small, outside of the learning schedule, with free appearances at weddings. They dressed up in identical outfits, which included silly hats with long peios hanging from them. That look is still used in most of their appearances to date.

Their enormous talent and the professionalism they acquired over the years brought success in their wake. Their performances began to reach outside of Crown Heights. They were invited to sleep-away camps, day camps, children’s rallies and various events including appearances on the tables of Admurim and leaders of large religious communities. The brand name of “The Twins from France” began to become fixed in the collective consciousness of religious communities in the United States.

One of the outstanding characteristics of the Gurion brothers is how they maintain a Chassidishe atmosphere. You can see this in their videos, where all their routines and humorous bits are infused with Chassidic charm and flavor. Whether in scenes in which the brothers appear learning Chassidus or Nigleh together, saying the bedtime Shma, washing hands in the morning near the bed, davening in 770 or portraying Chassidic life in the community. The Chassidishe ambiance is a strong component of their personal and professional lives.

“We treat our positions very seriously,” they say. “We have a big influence on children. We hear about it from teachers and rabbanim. Being influential is a big privilege and also a heavy responsibility. We feel that Hashem gave us our talent as a gift so that we can influence others and reach people, mainly young ones, in places and ways that others cannot. We must use this in order to have a positive influence on the next generation. Our field of endeavor sometimes appears like acrobatic exercises in the best of cases or just plain silliness in the not so best of cases, but we relate to it as a holy calling because of the great impact it has on children.”

Speaking of influence, the Gurion brothers’ influence extends beyond religious children in America. “We perform before many and varied Jewish audiences, from Satmar Chassidim to Jews who are not yet religious. We also perform for a lot for shluchim around the world. Speaking of working with shluchim, we try to be more flexible about the costs to make it easier on them.

“We see this as a shlichus of the Rebbe. We reach so many people and wherever we go we try to incorporate an added spiritual message into the professional show. When we perform for children we often begin the show with p’sukim or sometimes incorporate them into the program. If it’s an audience of adults, we start the show by talking about Moshiach coming through simcha and we are now going to increase the simcha in order to hasten the Geula. When an audience hears this from a performer that he came to see, sometimes this is more readily accepted than hearing it in a drasha from a rabbi. We see this as our shlichus.”

What feedback do you get?

“Boruch Hashem, to this point the responses have been very warm and special, whether it is from the devoutly religious or Jews for whom our appearance shattered their preconceived notions about yeshiva students.”

The thing that really stands out in their work is the amazing connection between the brothers. It starts with the physical similarities, which are emphasized all the more through various identical costume accessories.

Here is a personal question. Is the connection between the two of you only on stage or does it carry over to everyday life?

“What people see at a show or on the videos is only the tip of the iceberg. We are each other’s best friend. We really feel connected heart and soul, and this absolutely expresses itself in our personal lives.”

What is the secret of your deep connection?

“I don’t think that there is a secret,” says Yisroel. “First of all, we are twins. Twins have a unique bond that is stronger than that of ordinary brothers. We spent nine months together in the womb and this has an impact on the rest of life. There are instances of twins who can’t stand each other, but that is something out of whack. In such a case, something is wrong; maybe something occurred in childhood. But in a normal situation, twins should be connected to each other with a special bond.

“Beyond that, it is our connection that makes our shows into what they are. We once tried to bring in a third person, but it did not work. We both think in the same way, and when we argue we know immediately how the other will respond. When I do or say something I can already know what he will do or say. This bond is key in our field and it saves us many hours of practice and training in teamwork.”

It is no secret that not all brothers feel like best friends, even among twins. What message do you have to offer about this connection that you have?

“The message is clear. Achdus is a powerful thing. If each one can lift one hundred pounds, together they can lift three hundred. We communicate this message all the time. Our whole act is built on teamwork and the many things that we do together, things that the most talented expert could not do alone.”

How about something from behind the scenes? You are always stretching the limits of your flexibility and acrobatic skills. Have you ever tripped up during a show?

“Certainly! It happens many times during a show that we are doing a routine and something goes wrong and we suddenly take a fall. And when someone falls in our line of work, it can be very painful. The trick is to keep the show going as if nothing happened, or to take it with a smile and to laugh together with the audience. People love the authenticity. There is also an educational message in all of this, namely that not everything we try to do has to succeed one hundred percent of the time. Sometimes we fail and fall, but we can’t give up and stop trying. And in the end we will succeed.”

You are constantly doing things that appear to be very dangerous. Truthfully, aren’t you afraid?

“Truthfully, yes; everything is scary in the beginning. We play with real knives, with live fire and more. So when we first start out, we proceed with extreme caution and follow all safety rules. Then we practice over and over until we feel secure in the routine, and only then do we take it public. We would never do anything to endanger our audience.”

What would you like to do in the future?

“As long as Hashem gives us the strength and the opportunity, we will continue to bring joy to the Jewish nation.”

Can I ask what you think is the secret of your success?

“I think that the secret of our success is the desire to give to others. We have a great privilege in being able to bring joy to our fellow Jews. We love doing it, and this is a privilege and a gift that we received from Hashem, that we can be involved in this and make a living from it. When we get up on stage, our goal is to provide the audience with a full dose of joy and enjoyment. The desire to give our maximum in order to provide enjoyment to another is, in my opinion, what causes so many people to love what we do.”