‘Passover Pavarotti’ Performs at CBT

In a special pre-Passover cultural event, Congregation Beth Tefillah and The Torah Center featured Yudi Cohen in concert on April 6 for “Exodus 2025.”

Cohen, who is a classically trained tenor and professional cantor, performed a diverse musical repertoire spanning classical opera, Passover songs, and Broadway favorites. Cohen announced that he, with his wife and five children, had recently permanently relocated to Atlanta to serve as a resource and entertainer available to perform at weddings and mitzvahs. Cohen is a brother in-law of Rabbi Ari Sollish, founder and director of the Torah Center of Atlanta, through their wives.

Cohen was born into a musical family in London in 1974. His journey began in Stamford Hill where he was introduced to Chassidic music at an early age. Cohen said, “I was raised in the Chabad Yeshiva system all the way and received my Semicha (rabbinic ordination) in Melbourne.”

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“Who Knows One” was led by Yudi Cohen with audience members.

Considered a prodigy, Cohen made recordings in New York as a child soloist. At one point, he was sent to Sydney as a Chabad emissary (shluhim). His musical career took flight and soared with his performance as Alfredo in “La Traviata” at the Johannesburg Theatre in 2019.

His service of 16 years as Chief Cantor at the iconic Sydenham Highlands North Hebrew Congregation in Johannesburg brought several Atlanta South African fans that Sunday night. In one number, Cohen had a cadre of mostly South Africans on stage with each taking a part in “Who Knows One Echad Mi Yodeah?”, in which Rabbi Yossi New, director of Chabad of Georgia, head rabbi of CBT, was also “a number.”

Addie and Mark Blumberg were familiar with Yudi Cohen from South Africa.

Cohen, who had also lived in London, stated that in his eyes, Atlanta’s lifestyle was most similar to life in South Africa. South African fans Mark and Addie Blumberg, who had seen Cohen perform 10 years ago, were delighted to also be on stage taking a spot as a number of the “Thirteen Attributes of G-d.”

The theme of the night’s performance was “I am a Jew -Ani Yehudi,” where Cohen continuously emphasized that “now especially post-Oct. 7” is the time to be a loud and proud Jew. “This is the essence of my soul. Jews cannot have a ‘victim mentality.’ This only evokes more hate.”

In line with Passover, Cohen performed a rousing “Order of the Passover Seder” and a cyclical spinning nine verse “Dayenu.”

Levi Chitrik served wine while Jonathan and Caryn Berzack sampled the offerings.

Musically fluent in Yiddish, Italian, German, French and Russian in addition to Hebrew and English, Cohen’s range, depth and projection was dramatic. Fan Berta Mebel said, “I would really like to see him in an acoustically sophisticated concert hall like the Cobb Energy Center, to get his full range.”

“If I Were a Rich Man” from “Fiddler on the Roof” was familiar and lively, while opera aficionados could get chills from his performance of Carmen in which he supplants the female seduction theme with that of affinity for G-d. Then the Italian “Nessun Dorma” (None Shall Sleep!)” by Giacomo Puccini, which was the signature piece of Luciano Pavarotti, filled the room.

Pre-performance, local resident Levi Chitrik provided several varieties of wine from the out-of-state Narrow Bridge Winery. Earlier in the evening, Rabbi Sollish dealt with a power outage that delayed the concert by an hour. He said, “Luckily we solved it vs. looking for an optional date.”

Later, Rabbi Sollish spoke about the miracles in the month of Nisan allowing the seas to split for us. He explained the various groups: those who wanted to jump into the sea, those who prayed, those who wanted to fight the advancing army — with the insight being like the traditional matzo/morror/choroset sandwich eaten during the seder.

“It’s like tasting it all … G-d rejected all of that ‘Let the journey go forth.’ Even with roadblocks, miracles can happen,” said Rabbi Sollish.

Known as the “Soulful Tenor,” Cohen closed with “Eliyahu Ha Navi, L’Shana Haba” (Next Year in Jerusalem), V’Hi Sheamda,” and the very special priestly blessing, “Ye Varachecha Hashem.”