T

he members of the
Michigan Board of
Cantors want you to
know that they are more than
a collection of pretty voices.
Someone who simply leads
and interprets prayers is not
necessarily a cantor. The
equivalent would be calling
anyone who presents an inter-
pretation on a Jewish text a
rabbi, he said.
“Singing is just a little bit
of what we do,
” he said. Even
the English translation of the
Hebrew word hazzan to “can-
tor,
” a Latin word taken from
the Christian church, doesn’
t
do justice to the role. The
Hebrew word “hazzan” implies
“visionary” and includes not
only leading Jewish prayer
but also Jewish education and
pastoral care, said Gross of

Adat Shalom Synagogue in
Farmington Hills. He prefers
the title “hazzan” to “cantor.
”
Neil Michaels of Temple
Israel in West Bloomfield
and current president of the
Michigan Board
of Cantors, says
cantors have tra-
ditionally been
responsible for
leading prayer,
chanting Torah,
working with
choirs, train-
ing b’
nai mitzvah students
and teaching Hebrew in reli-
gious schools. Now, he said,
“their role has expanded to
include giving eulogies and
sermons, counseling and even
preparing an individual for
conversion.
”
The hazzan is known as the

shaliach tzibor, the emissary
of the congregation; the word
has visionary overtones. In
ages past, the hazzan led the
community in
public prayer while
the rabbi’
s job was
mainly to teach,
counsel and answer
questions of law,
said Hazzan Steve
Klaper, a found-
er of Song & Spirit Institute
for Peace in Royal Oak. New
Jewish communities would
often hire a hazzan before hir-
ing a rabbi, and cantors were
recognized by the civil author-
ities as clergy with authority to
solemnize marriages.
“Hazzanim are more than
singers or performers,
” he said.
“The shul is not a theatrical
stage and davening is not a
concert. We teach and lead
worship through an alternate
carrier wave, creating an effect
at once emotional, intellectual
and spiritual. We change the
vibration of the room and the
state of mind of the congre-
gants in ways that most rabbis
cannot. We are the spiritual
caretakers of the congregation.
”
The training for hazzanim is
similar to that of rabbis, Gross
said. In the major American
cantorial schools at the
Jewish Theological Seminary
(Conservative) and Hebrew
Union College/Jewish Institute
of Religion (Reform), cantorial
study takes five years, including
one in Israel. At the end of the
program, the hazzanim are
ordained or invested and are
considered to be clergy.
“Cantors in this community
are truly respected” on a level
similar to rabbis. That’
s not
true in every community, he
added.

MARTY ABRIN

Cantor Neil
Michaels

22 | JANUARY 16 • 2020

Jews in the D

More Than
Pretty Voices

Local cantors explain the breadth and
responsibility of their roles.

BARBARA LEWIS CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Hazzan
Steve Klaper

LEFT: Hazzan Daniel Gross at the
ark at Adat Shalom Synagogue in
Farmington Hills

Rabbi Shneur Silberberg of Bais
Chabad of West Bloomfield is
leading a class at 11 a.m. Sunday,
Jan. 19, at the synagogue called
“The Great Impeachment.”
Did you know that one of the
greatest leaders of the Talmudic
era was impeached? Join
Silberberg as he relives the story
of the great Rabban Gamliel, his
removal from leadership and the
aftermath — and lessons — of
that remarkable episode.
“You’

ll gain an understand-
ing of one of the most tenuous
periods in Jewish history as well
as some very important lessons
in Jewish leadership,” Silberberg
said. “This class is entirely non-
political as far as current U.S.
politics — even if the title is
somewhat provocative.”
A complimentary break-
fast will be served. There is no
charge to attend, but RSVP to
RabbiShneur@baischabad.com.

‘
The Great Impeachment’

The Jewish Women’
s
Foundation of Metropolitan
Detroit is now accepting
requests for funding in 2020.
Letters of Intent are due
no later than noon on Friday,
Jan. 31. For a grant applica-
tion timeline, guidelines and
instructions, visit jwfdetroit.org
and click on grants; or contact
director Susan Cassels Kamin at
kamin@jfmd.org or (248) 203-
1524.
The Jewish Women’
s
Foundation of Metropolitan
Detroit is a grantmaking orga-
nization that advances social
change by expanding opportu-
nities for Jewish women, their
families and community.

Jewish Women’
s
Foundation Grant
Cycle Open