09/29/2025
(TL;DR – a beautiful concert last night featuring Yuval Dayan, Narkis, and Shiri Maimon. Lots of (slightly out-of-focus) video in the comments.)
One of the most interesting things about living in Israel is witnessing the myriad ways Judaism is practiced here. Last night’s concert in Ashdod, entitled “Pitchi Li” (open for me, a reference to “opening” the gates of heaven) was a prime example.
Billed as an evening of song and prayer before Yom Kippur – to pray for the year ahead as well as for the return of our hostages – the concert featured three of my favorite female vocalists: Shiri Maimon - שירי מימון, נרקיס Narkis, and Yuval Dayan יובל דיין העמוד הרישמי. All seats were only 50 shekel (about $15 USD), so we decided it was well worth the 45 minute drive to attend.
As soon as we arrived, I wondered if I had missed some fine print in the advertisement. I saw hundreds of women walking into the amphitheater, but no men. Was this a women-only show?
Turned out, there was a very small handful of us…what felt like less than 50 in this 4,500-seat theater. A little awkward, to say the least.
Meanwhile, women of all religious persuasions streamed into the arena. A wide variety of head coverings (or none at all), skirt lengths, sleeve lengths, and ages poured in, ready to join together in prayer and song. All announcements from the stage were made in feminine Hebrew, reminding me often that I was certainly not the target audience for this show.
As the lights went down (40 minutes late!), an all-female choir sang a high-energy medley of songs from Selichot, the prayers that have been recited daily for the past several weeks in anticipation of the High Holiday season. After they left the stage, Yuval Dayan appeared – excited to perform in her hometown of Ashdod. She sang with her usual grace and humility, performing three songs – including “Libi Er” (My Heart Is Awake) and “She’rak Techayech” (Just Smile).
The lights dimmed after Yuval’s set, and a moving video was projected on the stage. Apparently, a similar music / prayer event took place last year in Jerusalem, attended by the families of five hostages.
Over the course of the past year, the video explained, ALL FIVE hostages were released.
Let’s storm the heavens and do it again, the video concluded.
The video screen then cut to a car waiting backstage, where Rabbi Yaakov Ades was ushered out. He couldn’t be in the arena so as not to hear women singing, but had waited in the car for his turn to inspire the crowd via video. And for more than 20 minutes, he did his best to do just that – starting with encouraging words in these days before Yom Kippur, followed by his leading the crowd in extremely impassioned prayer.
His voice, unfortunately, was extremely difficult to listen to – perhaps the result of severe laryngitis, years of smoking, or both. As a result, I found this part of the program far less inspiring than did many of the women around me – who appeared to be soaking in his every word. I did my best to try to feel the power of the moment, but alas, I couldn’t bring myself to experience the evening as it was intended.
Not a moment too soon, the soothing voice of Narkis replaced the grating voice of the rabbi. Having never seen her perform live, I was excited to hear her in person, and she did not disappoint. Her set included “Im Nin’alu” (her cover of Ofra Haza’s classic), “Holechet Itcha” (Walking With You), and her newest hit, “La’alot” (To Go Up).
She then invited Yuval Dayan back to the stage, where the two joined together in a beautiful rendition of Narkis’ early hit, “Aneni” (Answer Me).
Finally, Shiri Maimon – looking angelic in white, dressed much more modestly than perhaps I’ve ever seen her. Shiri sang several songs appropriate for the occasion, including “Achoti” (My Sister), “Ima” (Mother), Meir Banai’s “Sha’ar HaRachamim” (Gate of Mercy), and Ishay Ribo’s “Lachzor HaBayta” (To Return Home).
Finally, all three powerhouses shared the stage, performing Psalm 121 ("Shir lama’alot, esa einai el he’harim…”) – which morphed into the undisputed song of the year, Sasson Shaulov’s “Tamid Ohev Oti” ([God] Always Loves Me).
All in all, while I found the evening less inspirational than I had hoped, it was still a very special fusion of religion, culture, prayer, and some of the most gorgeous voices on the planet. All three women sounded incredible, as expected.
And despite being one of the only males in attendance, I still made it out unscathed.
