Over the years, inroads have been made on the official Shabbat observance front in Jerusalem, with the city as a whole taking a gradually more liberal approach towards the Lord's Rest Day and the running of commercial and other enterprises. The First Station hustles and bustles on Saturdays and, in addition to the expected convenience stores, a number of cafes and other eateries have taken to opening their doors on Shabbat. Even so, the recent announcement that Beit Avi Chai is to run cultural offerings on Friday evenings and Saturday afternoons is definitely in the jaw-dropping bombshell league. Ask most Jerusalemites on the street, with any knowledge of the city's cultural-entertainment scene, and they'd probably say that the capital's esteemed bastion of Jewish culture would be the last institution they would expect to push the Shabbat activity boat out. Then again, if you take a closer look at the forthcoming Shabbat Babayit (Shabbat at Home) program, which opens on January 26-27, and the way it will be worked, you will note there is absolutely nothing at which any halachic whiz could point an accusatory finger. “The parking lot won't be open, everything will be on time switches and there won't be any musical instruments or amplification used,” clarifies Beit Avi Chai CEO and executive director Dr. David Rozenson. “There is absolutely nothing wrong with what we are doing.” Naturally, admission on Friday evening is free. It's not as if Rozenson, or series artistic director Hadas Wolff Yitzhak, were not exactly expecting some kind of backlash to the announcement, but they are a little nonplussed by some of the extraneous observations being bandied about. “In the last few days we've been doing all these interviews – radio, TV and other stuff – and everything is political,” says Wolff Yitzhak. “Unfortunately, everything is political. But if you let that dictate the content of the Shabbat events, it will all be devoid of value.” Judging by the standard of the slots Wolff Yitzhak has lined up for Jerusalemites over the next few months, it would be a great shame to let politics set the tone of the series. The Shabbat program opens on January 26 with a stellar lineup, featuring liturgical music scene stalwart Rabbi David Menachem, vocalist- percussionist and multidisciplinary artist Neta Elkayam and TV personality and educator Dov Elboim. If you want to come out with all quality guns blazing, that triad should do the trick. As far as Rozenson is concerned, Shabbat Babayit is a perfectly natural development. “Over the last couple of years we have received many requests to expand our programming to Shabbat. So we felt, instinctively, that there's a need, based on these requests.” The executive director says demand for Rest Day recreational opportunities is not the exclusive preserve of the observant. “I think one of the things we are most proud of here is, when we think about programming we think, maybe, of target audiences in terms of age, not in terms of their religious or non-religious profile.” Beit Avi Chai may be considered by some to focus on religious, or Jewish cultural- oriented, content, but Rozenson feels the center is about aiming for as diverse a consumer hinterland as possible. “What we offer should interest people across the board, who are living in this kind of city. When we receive these kinds of requests, we knew there were these Shabbat wars in this city, but I said from the very beginning that we are not interested in the Shabbat wars. Like we did on Shavuot, we are trying to do programs that try to engage the widest, the most diverse, Jewish Israelis that live here in Jerusalem.” Rozenson believes that despite its reputation for focusing on hardcore Jewish themes, which some equate with a purely religiously oriented agenda, Beit Avi Chai continues to appeal to the general populace, regardless of religious or secular stripe. He says he and the center are not looking to challenge established religious wisdom or practices. “The programs are not being done at beit knesset [synagogue] services times. Everyone should be able to go the beit knesset of their choice. We are not here to try to do things that are anti-Halacha. They won't be any hillul Shabbat [transgression of Shabbat laws].” But just steering clear of trouble on a religious observance score is not going to cut it. Rozenson and Wolff Yitzhak are both keenly aware that if they don't bring in the punters, they can pontificate about universality and shared values till the cows come home and Shabbat Babayit will go the way of other well-intentioned, but ultimately failed, initiatives. “Hadas and [head of musical programs] Ron Margalit and the rest of us have tried to put all of Beit Avi Chai's hits together because we understood that this is something that is going to have to appeal to a really wide audience.” The inaugural Shabbat Babayit episode is called Tish Bishvat, referencing the custom of the hassidic tish festive gathering custom, and the fact that it takes place just a few days before Tu Bishvat, the New Year for Trees. As such, much of the January 26 goings on, which start at 9 p.m. – well after synagogue services and Shabbat dinner – will address themes that touch on nature and personal renewal. The first Shabbat Babayit weekend routine will continue the following evening at 9:30 p.m., when celebrated kamanche and baglama player Mark Eliyahu is joined by his celebrated oud- and tar-playing dad, Piris, pianist Eldad Citrin, acoustic bass player Hagai Belitzky and percussionist Rony Ivrin, with Rabba Tamar Elad-Appelbaum as MC. Advance registration, from January 21 until 11 a.m. on January 26, at the Beit Avi Chai box office or on the website, is required for the Friday evening event, while ticket prices for the Saturday evening program range between NIS 30 and NIS 60. As we draw closer to spring and summer and daylight hours lengthen, there will also be activities, largely of a family-oriented ilk, on Saturday afternoons. It looks like the high standard of the curtain raiser will be maintained down the line, with the second installment, scheduled for February 23-24, featuring educationalist Noam David and singer Hanan Ben Ari, and with David Menachem once again in the fray. The sophomore offering will be Purim-themed, and the Saturday evening show will bring back the highly successful and entertaining Kalabbat Shabbat team, headed by stellar raconteur Jackie Levy, with globetrotting jazz saxophonist- clarinetist Daniel Zamir in tow. All the Shabbat Babayit slots will have some connection with an upcoming religious calendar event, with March feeding off Passover-related topics and sensibilities. The spiritual and cultural nourishment will be complemented by some edible sustenance, with refreshments being laid on. Most of all, Rozenson and Wolff Yitzhak want the people who partake in Shabbat Babayit to feel comfortable with the venture. “You know, Shabbat is when people are more available and have more leisure time,” Wolff Yitzhak observes. “We have time to take a breather and relax. We hope that comes across in our program, too.” One unique aspect of the initiative is that the entertainment will not be preceded by the habitual request for members of the audience to ensure their cell phones are on mute or turned off. “We do not dictate to people how to enjoy their Shabbat but we'd like them to be respectful of Shabbat,” says Rozenson. “We want them to feel comfortable. You have your home and your office – and then you have a place you can come to on Shabbat, especially in a country when there is no [weekend] Sunday. We want to create a sense of community here.” For registration, tickets and more information: (02) 621-5300 and www.bac.org.il
