As a singer and motivator, I’m usually hired to elevate the dancing and ruach of an event

AS a singer and dance motivator, AVRAHAM YESHAYA NAKDIMEN of AY Nakdimen Productions brings a special energy to bar mitzvahs, keeping the boys engaged and making sure they dance up a storm on their friend’s special night. The native New Yorker and Cleveland-based performer is also a sushi chef, a barber, and head counselor of Day Camp Ruach Cleveland.

THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE OF MY JOB

As a singer and motivator, I’m usually hired to elevate the dancing and ruach of an event. The simchah is usually a once in a lifetime event for the baalei simchah, so no matter what was going on before the event in my personal life, I have to step into the frame of mind that right now there is nothing else going on in the world other than this simchah, and believe that this night is going to be the most amazing night ever.

I went through a challenge a few years ago when, for a short time, I developed a condition where for a few seconds I’d lose control over my speech and couldn’t talk or sing, or even walk. Before every job I’d panic that it would happen in middle of singing or while dancing with the boys. Right before each job I would close my eyes, take a deep breath, say a tefillah, then put a huge smile on my face and go. It wasn’t easy, but with Hashem’s help I got through it.

A SONG I NEVER GET BORED OF

The classic “Mah Ashiv” from Hallel, written four decades ago by Rabbi Aviezer Wolfson. I’m assuming if I haven’t gotten bored of it yet, I never will.

A SONG THAT HAS AMAZING, ORIGINAL VOCAL ARRANGEMENTS

Any song with Yoely Polatseck and the Zemiros Choir. Yoeli is extremely talented and the vocals he arranges stand out for their creativity and beauty. His choir arrangements for “Shaarei Dema’os” from Avraham Fried’s album Bring the House Down are an excellent example.

THE JEWISH MUSIC ARTIST I MOST CONNECT TO

It’s gotta be Joey Newcomb! I always say that potentially anyone can perform, because everyone has something to offer the world. You just have to be yourself in front of a lot of people, and the king of that is Joey Newcomb. I’ve worked with him a few times and I’ve found that everyone walks away feeling like they’ve known him for forever. He’s so real that when he’s on stage it’s like you’re joining him in his dining room for a Shabbos seudah.

WHERE I’VE SEEN THE TRUE POWER OF A SONG

I also work as a barber, so one time I went to the hospital to give a haircut to someone who had had surgery on his face. As I started cutting his hair, I found it was hard to look at him. Then I started singing and we just sat and sang for a while, and slowly, I stopped noticing what he looked like and it didn’t bother me anymore. We had a great time. Baruch Hashem he recovered and I continued to visit him.

MY FAVORITE ENGLISH SONG

As a kid, I didn’t own a ton of music, and didn’t even know who Abie Rotenberg was. My brother once told me that he’d be giving me an album as a present, and said I would love Abie Rotenberg. He gave me Journeys 3, which I listened to over and over again, and until today it’s my favorite album. People even mention to me sometimes that I sing like Abie.  “Joe DiMaggio’s Card” is my favorite song, and I know every single word. My second favorite English song is Eli Nathan’s “King of Tony’s” on Destiny IV — because you never have to give up on anyone.

THE BEST ADVICE I EVER RECEIVED

No matter how many people you’re performing in front of, always perform as if there are 10,000. That helps mostly in front of small crowds, because believe it or not, it’s harder for me to perform for someone who says “Hey, can you sing us something,” with just a few people around, than for a big crowd.

A SONG THAT GETS ME INTO THE SHABBOS MOOD

The slow “Shomrei,” a Belz niggun you can hear on L’Chaim Tish 3 (the one some sing to “Lev Tahor”), leading into a fast “Zeh Ha’os (Heiliger Shabbos),” composed by Yossi Green and sung by Mendy Werdyger on Chaveirim I. I don’t know whose idea it was to put these two together, but I’ve heard it over the years and it really gets the oilem in the Shabbos mood. And by the way, it’s a great shalom zachar song starter.

THE SONG I CAN’T STOP SINGING THESE DAYS

Zanvil Weinberger’s “Shaarei Shamayim,” that Naftali Kempeh sings on his Zman Elul album. The words are from Ne’ilah, which is a time of special connection to Hashem, and they bring me back to a moment I’d love to hang onto all year long.

MY MOST MEMORABLE PERFORMANCE

It was in a special needs camp. As I was getting into the show, I started introducing some of the campers by their names. The reaction to this was incredible, so with the help of the staff, throughout the night, all the campers got their own introduction, together with a song or a story. For example, I’d say, “Let’s give a round of applause to Moshe Goldberg. Here’s a special song for Moshe, ‘Moshe Emes…’ ” and he would beam as everyone would applaud. It was a great show and a real team effort.

MY FAVORITE YIDDISH SONG

“Kadeish,” by composer Hershy Rottenberg. It’s been sung by Avrum Mordche Schwartz (Seder Night Live), Motty Vizel, and Levy Falkowitz, who all sing it so beautifully. It really speaks to me. After the children learn all about the Seder in school, they finally get to that moment when the father comes home from shul and puts on his kittel and begins Kadeish. But it’s also a song of hope and longing for true Geulah.

MY BEST FEEDBACK

After a recent bar mitzvah, I received an email from the grandfather of the bar mitzvah boy: “Thanks so much for making a regular evening into a real kiddush Hashem.” After thinking about this, I realized how true it is. For us Yidden, a bar mitzvah or wedding is not just a party. It’s an opportunity for us to make a kiddush Hashem by how we behave. And that’s what life is about.

(Originally featured in Mishpacha, Issue 944)