CHAZEN ALBY CHAIT, WHO RUNS A MUSIC STREAMING SERVICE

● CHAZEN ALBY Chait’s musical streaming services have amassed over 500,000 views over the past year — but it was the one woman no longer tuning in who mattered most to him: his mother, who died five weeks ago.

Minutes into a conversation with him it’s impossible not to understand why masses turned to him for a dash of hope during the dark days of the pandemic.

His daily online offerings, which featured everything from a pianist to a full band, became a lockdown staple for Jews from around the world.

The senior minister at United Hebrew Congregation Leeds radiates positivity, enthusiasm and love for his community, who rallied together to feed the hungry, visit the lonely, and celebrate simchas while their shul was closed.

Mr Chait’s infectious outlook is all the more astonishing when one learns about his own heart-breaking year. “My mum [Helena] passed away five weeks ago,” he revealed. “She was my biggest support in the world, I can’t begin to tell you.

“My dad taught me everything I know, my mum was my biggest supporter.

I think that was the beauty of my parents.

“And every single service she’d always comment.” Chanukah was Mr Chait’s biggest highlight. Every night he would livestream a candle lighting from a different Leeds venue, from the Grand Theatre to a care home. Over 20,000 people tuned in.

The eighth night was the most memorable for the trained opera singer, who “can’t even tell you how important” sport is to him. Leeds United opened up their Elland Road stadium and allowed the native Liverpudlian to broadcast the bracha from the middle of the pitch. The club gave him the VIP treatment, putting on the floodlights and beaming Chanukah message “to Alby and all the community” on the LEDs. And his mother Helena couldn’t miss a chance to poke fun at the Reds diehard during the ceremony. He fondly recalled: “When I was at Leeds United I was wearing a Leeds United top and she was saying, ‘get that off you, you’re a Liverpool supporter!’ and everyone would engage with some of the funny things that she would say.”

When Helena passed away suddenly five weeks ago, aged 63, over 1,000 people tuned in to participate in the online shiva. “Tens of thousands” have now viewed it — a testament, Mr Chait said, to the “massive” number of lives she touched, not just in the north of England but globally, thanks to his newfound virtual Jewish community, from Australia to America.

Mr Chait, who also serves as a chaplain for the NHS, last saw Helena just in September. Staying apart was a conscious decision in order to protect his father, Henry, a former cantor himself, who is “very, very unwell” with Parkinson’s disease.

The father-of-three girls would ring his mum before and after every service. Arielle, 8, and Emily, 5, were a regular on-screen presence, and Helena delighted in watching her granddaughters help their dad.

He said: “When she passed away, it was extremely difficult. It is very difficult. I don’t like awards, but she’d be so proud. I know she would be.

“She was a massive part of what we do, because her wisdom, her advice… I’d like to dedicate this award to her.”

When asked why he’s devoted so much time to the Jewish community over the past year, his answer is simple.

“As cheesy as it sounds, I didn’t want faith to be furloughed,” he explained, adding, “I hope I’ve shown how beautiful Judaism is.

“What I wanted to do is show a whole different perspective on faith and service and practice.

“I really think during the pandemic people became closer to their faith than at any other time before.

“And to think that the synagogue was closed during that time is crazy. The synagogues closed and yet we’re closer to our faith. That’s unbelievable.”