GREAT LAKES & RIVERS REGION
of
The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism

FRIDAY NIGHT CHAI @ CONG. BETHAYNU
Pepper Pike, OH
www.bethaynu.org
Contact person: Cantor Ilana Wolpert
phone 216.292.2931
e-mail ilana@bethaynu.org

FRIDAY NIGHT CHAI

Cong. Bethanyu’s Friday Night Chai takes place once a month, on the first Friday night of every secular calendar month. The costs for this special musical Shabbat celebration are underwritten each month by members of the congregation, usually in honor of some milestone being marked by one or two member families.

Friday Night Chai music is provided by three paid musicians: a pianist, a guitarist, and a clarinetist. They are joined by a volunteer drummer, a Bethaynu teen (currently in 9th grade) who plays a jimbeh (African drum) to provide a lively beat for the instrumental music.

For the Friday Night Chai repertoire, Cantor Ilana has chosen upbeat, contemporary music that fits her own definition of what "sounds Jewish." She bases this on three main categories:

1. Her knowledge of traditional nusach – which means there is a good bit of the Friday night Magen Avot mode featured in Friday Night Chai
2. Her love for Eastern European melodies (her maternal grandparents and her father were all from Eastern Europe); and
3. Tunes that are either composed by Sephardic composers or have a “Sephardic” sound

Friday Night Chai music tends to feature lively tempos. From time to time, Cantor Ilana also includes a slower, lyrical piece, such as Meir Finkelstein's “Shalom Rav" or the Lipson "Mi Chamocha," which are “lovely, sweet, easy to sing, and capture a certain essence of Shabbat joy in the way the clarinetist adds obligatos either on his clarinet or on his flute.”

Another prominent element of Friday Night Chai is that Cantor Ilana always makes sure to include a number of melodies that the congregation knows and loves, such as the traditional "Shalom Aleichem" and the Goldfarb "V'shamru." Although they are familiar, these songs nevertheless seem fresh as part of Friday Night Chai because they are accompanied by the musicians and are sung at somewhat livelier tempo than on other Friday nights.

Cantor Ilana also uses Aaron Ben Soussan's "L'cha Dodi," a "Hariu L'Adonai" composed by a friend of hers, and Rabbi Joe Black's arrangement for "Yismechu." In the past she has also used Robbie Solomon's "Yismechu." Why does she include a “Yismechu” in a Friday night service? Because she loves the text and the tunes and feels it adds a beautiful spirit to Friday Night Chai. The service usually concludes with Ami Aloni's setting of "Adon Olam."

Another Friday Night Chai element is the use of a niggun (a wordless melody, usually of Hasidic origin) to introduce the service. Cantor Ilana begins the service with a niggun that starts slowly (la la la, no words) and accelerates into a fast tempo by the end. She reports that, “It's a good way to get people quieted down as they come into the sanctuary from the congregational dinner” (which takes place before the service).

Note: The Friday Night Chai dinners are prepared by a committee of congregants -- different people prepare the meal each month -- in the synagogue kitchen (for purposes of Kashrut).

FAQs about Friday Night Chai:

Is there much congregation participation in the singing?
YES! The whole congregation sings these songs. Recently Cantor Ilana organized a women's chorale at Bethaynu, which is proving to be very successful but has not yet been made an official part of Friday Night Chai.

Is the service 100% singing?
Almost but not quite. They pretty much move from one song to the other with little talking in-between, but the Rabbi usually tells a story halfway through the service and sometimes says a few words about a prayer here and there. The entire Friday Night Chai services runs for about one hour.

Who are the Friday Night Chai musicians?
First of all, Cantor Ilana works with her cousin, David Budin, who is a guitarist. His brother, Noah Budin, is also a musician and is currently working on his second CD, which David plays on. Noah’s first CD is "Halleluyaland," which Craig Taubman helped with in some way. Friday Night Chai’s clarinetist (and flutist - also plays sax but that hasn’t been incorporated into the service yet) is Norm Tischler, a local clarinetist. The pianist is an Israeli named Dror Biran who has just finished his doctorate at the Cleveland Institute of Music, has toured South Africa several times, and won a very prestigious piano competition here. Cantor Ilana says Dror “is in a league of his own, can play anything in any key on the spot, and only has to listen to a CD once to internalize a song.”

How long has Friday Night Chai been running, and does it go all year-round?
Cantor Ilana launched Friday Night Chai two years ago. At the present time, it does not run through the summer months, because the staff feels they need to give it a rest in the summer. The first FNC attracted 220 people (Bethaynu is a congregation of about 325 families); after a while, attendance dipped to around 60; more recently, attendance has stabilized at about 80 people per service, which is probably related to the introduction of the pre-FNC dinners in the fall of 2005 – 5766.

Has Friday Night Chai brought new members into Bethaynu?
There doesn’t appear to be a direct link between FNC and new members joining Bethaynu, but Cantor Ilana sees a definite positive impact, in that Friday Night Chai services has attracted already-affiliated members of the congregation who do not otherwise come to shul on a regular basis but have glommed onto FNC and seem to enjoy it very much. These folks come regularly once a month for FNC, and “we would not see [them] otherwise].”

Any summing-up thoughts about FNC?
Cantor Ilana writes, “Everyone who comes sings and enjoys themselves; I really do think the music is fine, accessible and very pleasant. Little kids are dancing in the aisles, people clap, and adults tell me consistently at the oneg how much they enjoyed the service.”

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Last updated on:
5-31-06