Propis’s introduction, at the 3:08 point
in the Hallel video, to Hashem Zechoronu
(“God has been mindful of us and will
bless us,” Psalm 115:12-18), is a rousing
19th-century composition with a deep
Ukraine connection. That composition,
which ends with a stirring “Hallelujah,”
was the work of David Nowakowsky
(1848-1921).
UKRAINIAN BACKGROUND
Born in Kiev, Nowakowsky became
choir director of the Brody Synagogue
in Odessa, Ukraine, in 1869, at the
age of 21, and remained there until
his death in 1921. The story of the
Brody (Brodsky) Synagogue is itself
fascinating. On the shore of the Black
Sea, Brody was a center of shipping
and culture. Its merchants frequently
traveled to Berlin and experienced
Jewish enlightenment in cultural
tastes and religious thought. When
Brody merchants moved to nearby
Odessa because of its vast harbor,
they established their own synagogue
in Odessa and named it after Brody.
The Brody synagogue was led by a
prominent German rabbi and by the
legendary cantor Nissim Blumenthal.
After Nowakowsky became choir
director, the combination of magnificent
music, the cantor’s voice and the
modern sermons of the rabbi attracted
visitors from all over the world, Jews
and gentiles alike.
Cantor David Lefkowitz has written:
“More than any other synagogue
composer before him, Nowakowsky
was able to enhance the ancient
melodies in a modern European
harmonic and contrapuntal framework
without obscuring the traditional
character of these chants … The whole
atmosphere, which created a cultural
Zionism, is vividly alive in the music of
Nowakowsky; and that skillful blending
of two worlds to build and enhance
Jewish tradition is representative of
what we consider the modern ideal
today.”
In his introduction, Hazzan Propis
points out this is “one of the few Jewish
choral settings that has a prelude and a
fugue.”
For many decades, Soviet and
Ukrainian governments let the Brody
Synagogue deteriorate into ruins
before it was turned back to the Jewish
community. For too long, the cultural
achievements of the Ukrainian Jewish
community were ignored, as were
efforts to memorialize that community,
whose neighbors all too willingly
aided and abetted the Nazis in their
murderous plans.
But as Ukraine began its journey to
truth and democracy, still a relatively
new enterprise, and even elected a
Jewish president, there have been
remarkable efforts to right old wrongs
and to build a unified and just and
cosmopolitan nation. These efforts have,
of course, been threatened by vicious
Russian bombings and invasions, and
prayers and psalms are being recited
for Ukraine throughout the world,
including, of course, in every Jewish
community.
Jews in Israel and all over the globe
have joined Christians and others in
efforts to aid Ukrainians in their noble
struggle. Recalling Jewry’s cultural ties
to Ukraine is particularly important
at this time, and Hazzan Propis did so
with grace and with effectiveness.
Elliot B. Gertel is the Rabbi Emeritus of
Congregation Rodfei Zedek in Chicago. He has
been film and television reviewer for the “National
Jewish Post and Opinion” since 1979. His books
include What Jews Know About Salvation and Over
the Top Judaism: Precedents and Trends in the
Depiction of Jewish Beliefs and Observances in
Film and Television.
Watch
Hazzan Propis’
Eighth Day of
Passover
Hallel
Hazzan
David
Propis
Rabbi
Aaron Starr
Watch
Rabbi Starr’s
“To Remember
for a Blessing:
A Yizkor”
sermon.
JUNE 2 • 2022 | 45