Many have been fortunate to walk through the Madison Square Garden plaza on Seventh Avenue in New York City for a Rangers game, Knicks game or perhaps a Billy Joel concert. On Sunday night, September 3, it was for Ishay Ribo, the first Israeli Orthodox artist to headline and sell out MSG, “the world’s most famous arena.”
The excitement from the plaza spilled onto the main stage. As the crowd was settling in, and eager with anticipation, a moving video from Bnei Akiva of the United States and Canada, one of the main sponsors of the concert, presented a wide variety of benefits to those in attendance who make aliyah this year. To name a few: a free private concert by Ribo, one year of free groceries and a $500 seforim store gift card. It certainly set the mood for what was to be an amazing two hours of unity and Jewish pride.
Shortly after the video ended, the roughly 15,000 in attendance roared as the spotlight turned on to Ribo, tzitzit hanging on his sides, as he began with his famous “Ochila,” an excerpt from the High Holiday davening. A fitting way to start, as the word “Elul” flashed behind him on the large screens.
The night moved on with Ribo playing several of his most popular songs, such as “Sibat Hasibo,” “Halev Sheli,” “Seder Haavoda,” “Nafshi” and more. Each one delighted the crowd, and many people sang along with him. He would pause to let the crowd sing and fill the Garden with his music, one of the more powerful parts of the night. Hearing the crowd sing “Baruch Shem Kvod Malchuto L’Olam Va’Ed” together was especially empowering.
Ribo called upon guest artists who traveled with him to New York to share the stage, including Akiva, a popular Orthodox Israeli singer, and Amir Dadon, a secular Israeli pop star. But to the surprise of everyone, Ribo called the world-renowned chasidic singer Avraham Fried to the stage. Ribo called him a mentor and a teacher. The crowd was overwhelmingly Orthodox, and Fried’s appearance brought a loud ovation when Ribo called him up. Fried appeared to be surprised himself at the invitation but agreed to come on stage from his seat located in the first few rows. The two shared the spotlight and sang the well-known Lubavitch rendition of “Avinu Malkeinu,” highlighted by Ribo telling the audience that it was the date of “Chai Elul”—also known as the 18th of Elul—the birthdays of the Baal Shem Tov, the founder of chasidic Judaism, and the Baal Hatanya, the founder of Chabad. Ribo had posted earlier that morning on his Instagram page that he had visited the Ohel of the Lubavitcher Rebbe during his stay in New York to pray and give thanks that the night should be “with the help of Heaven”—in Aramic “B’siyata D’shmaya.”
Throughout the concert, Ribo would pause between songs and share words of Torah. While mostly in Hebrew, he did attempt to address the crowd in English and acknowledged it was a work in progress. The words of Torah he shared were lessons learned in his time in yeshiva or from his family. These moments of sharing words of Torah to a packed Madison Square Garden made the night surreal. It was a vision some might never believe could happen.
Towards the latter part of the night, each time the lights darkened after his song ended, the crowd would egg Ribo on to ensure the show would go on, and it did. Ribo disappeared from the main stage, only to reappear in a much smaller stage located in the middle of the Garden, closer to where most of the crowd was located. He changed from his all-blue outfit into an all-white one, symbolic of the purity associated with the High Holidays. He sang a niggun, which the crowd lovingly sang along with him. He then rushed back to the main stage where he finished with more of his popular hits.
As my wife put it, the scenes leaving the concert were ones we could envision of “Aliyah L’Regel,” the pilgrimage of the Jewish people traveling towards the Beit Hamikdash on Pesach, Shavuot and Sukkot. Thousands of Jews were all together to create a “Kiddush Hashem” and serve Hashem. And for those wondering, all the concert goers were respectful and gracious to the hundreds of MSG staff who made the night possible.
The evening can only be described as moving, inspirational, uniting and uplifting. Just what we needed to prepare for the Yamim Tovim.
Sam Schwartz is a financial analyst and freelance writer.
