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