Shalom!
Since the ancient times of the Great Temples thousands of years ago, music has been a very integral part of the service. Things have not changed much today! Music is a way of expressing the prayers in an aesthetic mood that surpasses merely reading the them. In ancient days, there were Levitical choirs, many assorted instruments, and congregational singing.
Temple Beth El is a very diverse congregation with varying likes and dislikes. I have tried to give a varied style of music for the different Friday nights of the month. We have choir sing once a month, we have a very upbeat service on the 3rd Friday of the month with many instruments and we often have guitar or piano instrumentation.
- On the first Friday of the month, we have guitar accompaniment and use a more folk style of music.
- On the second Friday of the month, we have choir sing and piano accompaniment, and use 2-3 choir pieces that may be more classically oriented dispersed between congregational singing.
- On the third Friday of the month, we have a Midor Lador service and have many instruments playing very lively, new pieces of music.
- On the final Friday(s) of the month, we have piano accompaniment, and often do more traditional music.
Other things that have changed since ancient days are the fact that women are now allowed to be Cantors or Chazanot. The roles of the Cantor have also changed throughout the ages. Now a Cantor is a Clergy person just like the Rabbi and can perform most of the duties a Rabbi does, except making Jewish legal decisions. Things that are typically part of my job are: Singing the music of the prayers in services, at Holidays, and in programs; officiate or co-officiate at life cycle events, such as, Weddings, Funerals, B’nai Mitzvah, Baby Namings, etc.; tutoring and supervising the tutoring of all the B’nai Mitzvah students; directing the Adult and Youth Choirs; teaching Hebrew or Cantillations; and staffing committees. You will be able to browse on the web to find more details about these things.
You can download many of the prayers and cantillations that are used at Temple Beth El, so that you can familiarize yourself with them. During Holidays, I hope to put on melodies of the traditional songs for you to learn. Please see below.
I hope you will find things at Temple Beth El that will help you get involved and that will help you feel like you are part of the community. We welcome you with open arms and would love to get to know you better! Please feel free to contact me with any questions about choir or anything related to my various duties here. My e-mail address is: cantor@templebethelmadison.org.
Cantor Deborah Martin
