Chai

Chai: This symbol, commonly seen on necklaces and other jewellery and ornaments, is simply the Hebrew word Chai (living), with the two Hebrew letters Chet and Yod attached to each other. Some say it refers to the Living. Judaism as a religion is very focused on life, and the word chai has great significance.

The Chai Folk Ensemble has taken over my life for the next two weeks. When I agreed to take on this project I didn't understand what I was getting myself into. 3-8 hour practices, three times a week, run throughs, sound checks... This is a lot more playing than I expected! These people are hard core. I feel like I've gotten sucked into something so big and complicated nobody has the time to explain it all too me.

Each time I show up, new elements of the performance keep getting added. 90% of the time I don't know what's going on. None of the names are in English, the music is Jewish and rarely holds a steady tempo, key or time signature... Things keep changing!

That being said. Working with the Chai folk ensemble is amazing. The level of musicianship in the orchestra is very high and the people are very fun to work with. I also get an interesting window into the Winnipeg Jewish community. Jews are pretty cool! Community and culture is very important to them.