Sukkot Harvest Moon Happy Hour and Concert

Celebrate Sukkot at Third Space with a food, ritual, and music pre-party and a concert in the sanctuary. Shake the lulav, enjoy harvest treats, and add decorations to the sukkah before we head upstairs for an evening of storytelling and song in the sanctuary with Kedmah, an ensemble that celebrates Middle Eastern Jewish expression through liturgical poems and songs.

These ancient poems and songs have infused spirit and meaning into both sacred and ordinary moments of human experience for generations. Led by Rabbi Yosef Ya’ish Goldman and Yoni Avi Battat, Kedmah interprets these Arab, North African, and Ottoman melodies with deep reverence for tradition and bold adaptations with an ear towards our modern musical world.

Throughout the concert, Yosef and Yoni share stories of their ancestries and musical journeys, while inviting audiences to join their voices with the echoes of past generations. The six-piece band features vocalists Rabbi Jessica Kate Meyer and Anat Halevy Hochberg, alongside percussionist Fabio Pirozzolo and bassist James Heazlewood-Dale. Together with Goldman (lead vocalist) and Battat (violin, oud, and vocals) the ensemble turns sacred song into an evening of encounter — music that moves from quiet devotion to full-throated celebration, holding memory, longing, and joy.

Kedmah preserves and reimagines Jewish piyyutim (devotional songs) from Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Turkey, Morocco, Jerusalem, and beyond. The ensemble is co-led by vocalist R’ Yosef Goldman and multi-instrumentalist Yoni Avi Battat, and joined by vocalists R’ Jessica Kate Meyer and Anat Halevy Hochberg, percussionist Fabio Pirozzolo, and bassist James Heazlewood Dale. Incubated by Hadar’s Rising Song Institute, and co-producer Joey Weisenberg, Kedmah’s first album Simu Lev was released in April of 2024, launching the ensemble into the American Jewish musical landscape. Since then, they have performed across the country including venues such as the Kennedy Center, The Weitzman Museum of American Jewish History, the Philadelphia Jewish Music Festival, and many more. With a strong commitment to education alongside performance, Kedmah offers a range of workshops and classes as well as regional song circles in Boston, Brooklyn, and Philadelphia, where participants join in the transmission of Mizrahi music to future generations.