These days, there are a ton of hot, Gen Z up-and-coming it-boy singers. Benson Boone, Conan Gray, Role Model, Alex Warren… the list goes on. But for Jewish music fans, one stands out from the rest. Yep, we’re talking Sombr. The 20-year-old Grammy nominated singer-songwriter is famous for his floppy dark curls. Combine that with a recent TikTok which claimed that he went to Jewish summer camp and it seems pretty fair to be asking: So… is Sombr actually Jewish?
@abbpaz I think we have mutuals @sombr
Let’s investigate!
If you’ve been following along with our previous investigations of this nature, you know that we’re looking to check at least one of two boxes. Does Sombr identify as culturally or religiously Jewish? And/or, does Sombr have Jewish ancestry? If the answer to either of those questions is a resounding yes, he’s a member of the tribe!
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Let’s begin with the question of his ancestry. Sombr is the moniker of Shane Michael Boose, son of event producer Andy Boose and communications professional Bennah Serfaty. On his father’s side, there doesn’t appear to be evidence of Jewish ancestry. Per ethniceleb.com — which we should, as always, take with a massive grain of salt — Sombr’s paternal line consists of “German, smaller amounts of Swiss-German, English, Scots-Irish/Northern Irish, Scottish, Dutch, French, and Irish, remote Swedish” ancestry.
Meanwhile, Sombr’s matrilineal line is a different story. Per his parents wedding announcement, his maternal grandparents are Dr. Sheilah R. Wilson-Serfaty and Marc Serfaty. Serfaty is a Sephardic Jewish surname meaning “French” and comes from the Biblical place name “Tzarfat.” (It can also be spelled: Sarfati, Sarfatti, Sarphati, Sarfate, Sarfaty, Sarfity, Zarfati, Tsarfati, Tsarfaty, Tzarfati or Serfati.) According to ethniceleb.com, Marc Mordechai Serfaty was born in Morocco to Jewish parents and descended from a line of rabbis through his own father, Rabbi Menahem Serfaty/Ha-Sarfati.
Through his maternal grandmother, Sombr also comes by Lithuanian and Polish Jewish heritage. This makes him both Sephardi and Ashkenazi.
But how does Sombr identify? That is still a mystery. So far, Sombr has not posted online anything to suggest his level of observance or connection to Jewish culture. Nor has he spoken in interviews about religion.
Verdict: Yes, Sombr has Sephardic and Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry through his mother! However, we don’t know definitively how he identifies.
