Circus Owner: "I Started Putting on Tefillin, So Automatically I Closed on Shabbat"

Yaniv Swisa is the owner of Circus Y, operating in the 'Chapiteau' cultural complex in Ramat Gan. He is considered very active and in high demand. If you had asked him a few years ago if there was a chance his circus would be closed on Shabbat, he would have looked at you as if you were out of your mind. "Maybe you don't know," he would say, "but the entire business model of circuses is based on Shabbat. After all, when do people go to the circus? On Shabbat. Everything here is based on Shabbat."

If you had told him that there would come a day when the performance he would offer at his circus would be tailored for observant audiences, with full separation, music approved by rabbis, and all necessary observance, he wouldn't have understood what you were talking about. These are concepts that were completely foreign to him until recently. As a child who grew up all his life in a kibbutz and during his professional years was involved in organizing shows, performances, and circuses worldwide, he had no exposure to these things.

For years, he represented Israel as an acrobat in artistic festivals in the country and abroad: in Moscow, Ukraine, France, and more. He also produced amazing shows every year with Circus Y, including the well-known show Alice-Circus Y in Wonderland. What connection does he have to observing Shabbat and catering to the Haredi sector?

The circus tent set up in Ramat Gan

"I Can't Lie to Hashem"

We addressed this question exactly to Swisa this week, following his circus's announcements about performances intended for the religious-Haredi public to take place during Passover, with the bottom of the ad prominently stating: "The place observes Shabbat."

Tell us, what led to the decision to observe Shabbat?

"Do you want to know what happened?" he asks, and it is clear that there is indeed deep thought behind this special step. "Well, then I will tell you the truth," he consents, then reveals the secret: "I recently started putting on tefillin."

He says this naturally, but immediately afterwards admits that it wasn't an easy decision to make. "I previously appeared in several religious youth events. Rabbi Grossman from Migdal HaEmek invited me to them. He has groups of youth who are drawing closer, and he asked me to perform for them. Those were the first times I was exposed to religion. A little while after, I decided to put on tefillin, and after two weeks of putting on tefillin I felt it wasn't possible for me to say the passage every morning where Moses told Israel to wear tzitzit and not wear tzitzit myself, so I started wearing tzitzit as well. Then naturally I came to the decision that if I am truly a believing person, putting on tefillin and wearing tzitzit, it doesn't make sense to open my business on Shabbat. After all, it's like deceiving Hashem—on one hand putting on tefillin, and on the other hand working on Shabbat, so I decided not to work on Shabbats."

That's certainly not an easy decision...

"Correct," he agrees, "my whole life revolves around circus and entertainment. I have been working in the entertainment field for over 25 years and am very well known in the field. I manage a group, I won a reality talent TV show called 'The Next Big Thing', I have everything it takes to succeed, and this step of closing the place on Shabbat seemed ostensibly suicidal."

And yet you did it...

"Yes, I made this move because there were a few things that changed my thinking. The first, like I said, is putting on tefillin and wearing tzitzit, but I must mention that there was also an economic motivation—a good friend of mine who owns the Festigal told me that this year for the first time in 33 years, the Festigal was not open on Shabbat, by the way, this is thanks to the singer Omer Adam who decided that he doesn't work on Shabbats. The Festigal manager told me that even though they didn't open on Shabbat and it was clear to them that the losses would be tremendous, in the end, they had over 30% profits. I asked him 'How?' and he also said he has no explanation for it. But that's simply the reality. His words definitely influenced me too, and this is the first year I am closing my business on Shabbat and adapting it for the religious and Haredi public."

And you're not afraid of losses?

"Of course there's fear, I also take into account that there is a high likelihood of losses, but even if we lose, I will accept it with understanding and continue planning things better moving forward. I also believe that there's a side of mission here—to provide good and quality performances for the religious and Haredi audience. We are located in Ramat Gan, just walking distance from Bnei Brak, and there's no reason why the Haredi public shouldn't come and enjoy our shows."

Tailored for the Haredi Public

Swisa notes that when they decided to hold special performances for the observant public, they had no idea how demanding it would be. "Our activities are accompanied by rabbinical supervision, and they went over all our content and supervised everything completely. They demanded we make a complete separation between men and women, and we did it, we even built a separate entrance especially for women and added separate stairs. Afterwards, the rabbis showed us what kind of music to play. To be honest, we were quite shocked, since we had some disks of religious singers that we thought might be suitable, but the rabbis asked for specific music. And that's what we did. They call it 'Hasidic songs' and they are actually very successful. I find myself riding my motorcycle and can't stop humming them..."

In fact, Swisa notes that the performances for the religious and Haredi public are set to occur on the 16th and 17th of Nissan, at one and four in the afternoon. There might also be a performance at six, according to demand. "Our performances will be professional, as we know how to do, and they will include the best circus artists in amazing acrobatic acts. Eight circus artists will participate, and we have made sure that the entire place is well enclosed, ensuring the highest level of safety for children. "We're excited to meet everyone," he concludes, "and the main thing is that we have a kosher and happy holiday."