While it is true that some congregations have become smaller and can no longer afford both a rabbi and a cantor, it is also true that congregations that have never had an ordained ACC cantor are now actively looking to recruit one for their professional team. Over the past three years, the ACC has seen an increasing number of congregations in placement\u00a0as well as a 7\u00a0percent\u00a0net gain of\u00a0congregations new to the ACC. In fact, of the nearly 900 Union for Reform Judaism congregations across North America that have more than 400 member units, two-thirds employ an ACC cantor. (URJ congregations with fewer than 400 member units often turn to the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion for student cantors\u00a0when they are needed.)<\/p>\n
I\u2019ll be the first to admit that we\u2019re living in changing times. And in today\u2019s postmodern world, Judaism \u2013 like pretty much everything else \u2013 is also changing. And as our Jewish needs shift, so, too, does the role of the clergy leading our communities in living Jewish lives.<\/p>\n
But during these changing times, cantors continue to provide an essential and vital role.<\/p>\n
If you look at the websites of nearly all the congregations across the country that employ ordained or certified cantors, you will notice that rabbis and cantors are listed together under the \u201cmeet the clergy\u201d tab. Together, cantors and rabbis provide the necessary pastoral, life-cycle and\u00a0educational needs that our communities require.<\/p>\n
On their own, cantors add a unique and spiritual dimension to the worship service that cannot be replicated. Like King David and his harp, the Song of the Sea and the\u00a0\u201csongs\u00a0\u2026 harps,\u00a0lyres,\u00a0tambourines, cymbals\u00a0and\u00a0trumpets\u201d marching band that accompanied the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem, cantors,\u00a0in addition to all their other duties, lead us in praising God through song and music.<\/p>\n
As Rabbi Janet Marder of Congregation Beth Am of Los Altos Hills, California, told us: \u201cHaving an ACC cantor has made an enormous difference in the life of Congregation Beth Am. Our cantor is a full clergy partner in all respects — deeply grounded in Jewish texts, thoroughly trained to a high professional standard, able to teach, counsel, officiate at life-cycle events, provide pastoral care, work with a range of committees, and engage in strategic planning with colleagues and lay leaders. She not only offers us a beautiful voice and inspiring music; she enriches the life of our community at every level.\u201d<\/p>\n
Certainly there are cantors who go on to acquire a rabbinic\u00a0smicha\u00a0(ordination), but the prevalence of those who have acquired rabbinic ordination online has been greatly exaggerated.\u00a0For the ACC, in fact, the numbers are almost negligible. When our cantors do seek out rabbinic ordination, we encourage them to pursue ordination that is recognized by our partner organization, the Central Conference of American Rabbis.<\/p>\n
But none of this changes the reality we see all around us: the continuation of the important legacy of the cantorate.<\/p>\n
Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch, senior rabbi at Stephen Wise Free Synagogue in New York City, elevated the role of cantors even higher when he said:\u00a0\u201cThe code of Jewish law asks this question: If a community only has the resources for a cantor or a rabbi, which should they select? The answer is that the community should select the cantor because the\u00a0chazan\u00a0opens the gates of heaven to prayer.”<\/p>\n
(Cantor Steven Weiss, president of the American Conference of Cantors,\u00a0is the cantor and director of education at Congregation Sha\u2019aray Shalom in Hingham, Massachusetts.)<\/em><\/p>\n![\"Share](\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/share-medium.png\")