26 | AUGUST 24 • 2023 

OUR COMMUNITY

A

s a child, Temple Emanu-El’s new 
cantor, Rosalie Toubes, loved 
going to Hebrew school. “I want-
ed to be there all the time,
” she recalls.
At some point, the synagogue where 
her family belonged in her hometown 
of Kansas City, Missouri, began experi-
menting with holding Hebrew school on 
Saturday instead of Sunday.
For Toubes, who grew up in a 
Conservative Jewish household, it was a 
welcome change. “I liked being there for 
services on Saturday mornings,
” she says.
Toubes was particularly drawn to the 
singing of the cantor, a man named Chaim, 
who she recalls as having a “glorious” voice.
“I remember as a young person just sit-
ting there and being absolutely enthralled 
with his voice and the music he provided,
” 
she remembers. “He wasn’t just singing; he 
was praying.
”
Chaim’s voice served as an inspiration for 
young Toubes, who many years later decid-
ed to pursue cantorial school and follow in 
his footsteps.
She first studied psychology and vocal 
performance, beginning her career as a 
soloist in Boston, then went on to attend 
Hebrew Union College in New York City, 
where she was ordained and received a 
master’s in sacred music.
“I realized that was a good fit for me,
” 
she says of attending Hebrew Union 
College. “I wanted to pursue a career as a 
cantor.
”
Toubes’ first pulpit was a congregation in 
Peabody, Massachusetts. She then moved 
on to a congregation in Brookline. While 
working in Massachusetts, Toubes decided 
to also get a certification in teaching so she 
could teach music to students as well.
Following her certification, Toubes 
worked as Shabbat educator at a congrega-
tion in Needham, Massachusetts, managing 
Shabbat education for children and teens.

RETURNING TO THE MIDWEST
Now, Toubes is excited to continue her 
cantorial journey at Temple Emanu-El, 
where she began her new role on July 1.
“I’m excited to be back in the Midwest,
” 
she says. Toubes was selected by Temple 
Emanu-El’s clergy selection committee, 
which conducted a nationwide search 
for the perfect fit for their open cantor 
position.
“One of the things I really wanted at 
this point in my life was to move to a 
congregation that felt really comfortable 
and like home,
” Toubes says. “Rabbi 
Matthew Zerwekh and President David 
Gubow were so welcoming and interested 
in making my interview experience 
positive.
“I really felt that they wanted me to 
succeed,
” she adds, “and that made a big 
difference for me.
”
Toubes calls the Metro Detroit Jewish 
community reception “wonderful” and has 
enjoyed getting to know the congregation. 
“The congregation turned up and they 

were smiling and singing along that 
first day [I began my role], which was 
wonderful,
” she says.
She’s particularly drawn to the temple’s 
focus on tikkun olam, or the Jewish concept 
of repairing the world. “I really admire and 
can relate to that,
” Toubes says.

VERSATILE APPROACH
As the Oak Park-based Reform synagogue 
continues to get to know its new cantor, 
Toubes says the congregation can expect a 
versatile approach to song and prayer.
“My training is classical with opera,
” she 
says of her unique singing style.
Yet working with the Reform movement, 
in particular, has taught Toubes a mix of 
Orthodox and Conservative traditional 
song and prayer, but also contemporary 
Jewish music with instruments. “I like 
doing all of it,
” she says of the different 
Jewish genres.
While Temple Emanu-El is planning a 
congregation-wide picnic in August where 
Toubes will continue to get to know the 
community-at-large, she’s enjoying the day-
to-day process of ramping up in her new 
role and learning the ins-and-outs of the 
synagogue.
“Generally speaking, I’m really looking 
forward to what I can contribute to Temple 
Emanu-El in a new way,
” she says. 
Her plans include starting an adult and 
junior choir, bringing guest artists to the 
community and working with the b’nai 
mitzvah program.
“That’s such an important point of a 
Jewish person’s life,
” she says.
Other goals that Toubes has set include 
bringing more music to the religious school 
and preschool programs and, of course, 
meeting her colleagues in the Metro 
Detroit area.
“It’s exciting,
” she says of the future. “It’s 
been great so far.
” 

Rosalie Toubes joins the temple family from Boston.

Temple Emanu-El’s New 
Cantor Savors the Role

ASHLEY ZLATOPOLSKY CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Cantor 
Rosalie 
Toubes

JAMIE FELDMAN

