"It was an interesting kind of disaster, or maybe it was a brachah — that number of people coming together?"

Even in the days before COVID, cancellations and disasters still happened.

“Concerts and events, even when well-organized and fine-tuned, encounter challenges that are often only known at the back end, but they can spill over too,” says veteran producer SHEYA MENDLOWITZ. “And when you advertise an event, you never know what kind of response you’ll get.”

One example was the MBD concert held in the early 1990s on Chol Hamoed Succos in Shaalvim. Normally in those years, concerts in Israel, held in places like Binyanei Ha’umah or Heichal Hatarbut, sold out a crowd of about 3,000. Shaalvim was an outdoor venue. The organizers put up a sound system that was good for up to 3,000 people, and they waited, not exactly knowing how many to expect.

“On that day,” says Shea, “a huge sea of people, probably well over 10, 000, showed up. The road was clogged and backed up for miles with cars, and people took buses to the general area, figuring that as it was outdoor, they would be able to hear and enjoy the concert.

“At first, MBD himself could not get near the stage because of the crowds. Later, he got up there, and whoever was close to the stage could hear. The rest, thousands of people, could not hear a thing. I remember that he called me with the story when he came home at 5 a.m. It was an interesting kind of disaster, or maybe it was a brachah — that number of people coming together? I don’t think we’ll ever know."

(Originally featured in Mishpacha, Issue 844)