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Drawing inspiration from Shabbat Shirah
Join us in welcoming the week of Shabbat Shira, Shabbat of Song, with Wellspring, a participatory Havdalah Concert, featuring Interim Cantorial Soloist Molly Bajgot and musical guests Anat HaLevy Hochberg, Batya Levine, Yoni Battat, and Richie Barshay. Like a wellspring—song, music, and communal singing is a place that we can continuously return to to reinvigorate our spirits, to reenergize our senses, and to fortify our hearts for confronting a deeply challenging and broken world. Together, our song leaders will lead us in original compositions designed to ground us, uplift us, and generate joy.
The concert will be followed by light snacks and beverages.
This event is open to all and can be attended in person or virtually via Zoom. Everyone is welcome; no one is turned away for lack of funds.
Payment: Donations $18-72+, NOTAFLOF (no one turned away for lack of funds)
Accessibility: Kerem Shalom is fully wheelchair accessible. Police detail may be present in the synagogue parking lot and inside the building. There are no single-stall bathrooms in the building; bathrooms are marked as usable for all gender identities. ASL is available upon request.
MEET THE ARTISTS:
Molly Bajgot
Molly Bajgot (she/her) is a queer Jewish musician, prayer leader, and educator living on Nipmuc and Pocumtuc land in Easthampton, Massachusetts. A songwriter and vocalist, Molly crafts songs of hope and original melodies for Jewish liturgy, using song as a tool for personal and collective transformation. She leads musical prayer services both locally and nationally, and her music has travelled to synagogues, song circles, and communities across the country. Her debut album, Revelry, was released in February 2024. Learn more about Molly at mollybajgot.com.
Anat Hochberg
Anat Halevy Hochberg (she/her) is a musician, teacher, and ritual leader based in Boston. Her passions include leading song, empowering others to raise their voices, and working to reclaim the Yemenite melodies of her heritage. She has taught and led ritual at Let My People Sing!, Eden Village Camp, Hadar’s Rising Song Intensive, and Linke Fligl. She co-produced Tishrei: the end is the beginning and Elul: Songs for Turning, and her debut album How can I keep (from) singing? was released in 2020. Learn more about her work at anathalevyhochberg.com.
Batya Levine
Batya Levine uses song as a tool for cultivating healing and resilience in their work as a communal song leader, shaliach tzibur (Jewish prayer leader) and cultural organizer. Batya is a Co-Founder and Co-Director at Let My People Sing!, and they compose original music made of Ashkenazi yearning, queer heart-medicine, and emunah (faith). Batya has released two albums, Karov and Yivarechecha, with Rising Song Records. You can learn more about Batya at batyalevine.com.
Richie Barshay
Richie Barshay began drumming inside kitchen cabinets at an early age, and continues banging on things worldwide to this day. From his multi-percussion work with Herbie Hancock in the 2000s, to tours and recordings with Chick Corea, Esperanza Spalding, The Klezmatics, Fred Hersch, and Kenny Werner, he’s been dubbed “a major rhythm voice on the rise” by Downbeat magazine, and “a major innovator who also knows how to have fun” by The Guardian (UK). Based in Northampton, Massachusetts and New York City, he is an AmSAT certified Alexander Technique teacher helping performing artists and others regain more body-mind coordination and ease of movement. You can learn more about Richie at richiebarshay.com.
Yoni Battat
Yoni Avi Battat (he/him) brings Arab music into the soundscape of American Jewish life through composition, education, prayer, and performance on viola, violin, oud, and vocals. Described as “an education for the ear and the soul,” his debut album Fragments seeks to find new pathways to connect with ancestry and find healing around our fragmented identities, and especially his Iraqi-Jewish heritage. Yoni’s newest project is Kedmah: The Rising Song Piyyut Project. Their first album Simu Lev came out in April 2024 on Rising Song Records. From 2021-2022 Yoni toured nationally as an actor and violinist with the Tony Award-winning musical, “The Band’s Visit.” Learn more: yonibattat.com.