Tree of Life’s Rabbi Hazzan Jeffrey Myers named Cantors Assembly president
'I've got one foot in the past — in the tradition of the cantor of Eastern Europe — and I'd like to think that I have one foot straddling the line between present and future'
A man best known as “Rabbi” is leading the Cantors Assembly. Tree of Life’s Rabbi Hazzan Jeffrey Myers was installed as head of the 600-member association during the Cantors Assembly’s annual convention on May 21 in Jersey Shore, New Jersey.
Myers said while the appointment was unexpected, he is excited to guide the group.
“I was surprised with the call,” he said. “I thought at this stage in my Jewish communal service, I was beginning to think more about gearing down and not additional ways to be engaged.”
After receiving the request to become president, Myers said he spent a week considering the offer. He talked with colleagues, leaders of the association and family before reaching a conclusion: “They needed me. And I said, ‘OK, you need me. I’m here.’”
The Cantors Assembly dates to 1947. At the time, hazzanim (cantors) sought a path to professionalize their services. By establishing themselves as “bona fide” clergy, creating a cantorial school, establishing “ethical standards” and managing other responsibilities such as improving job security, members of the group, according to the Cantors Assembly, helped formalize a task routinely performed for nearly 2,000 years.
Synagogue-based services, and the need of a leader to pray on others’ behalf, followed the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 C.E.
Though traces of cantor-led services date to the sixth century, conceptions of hazzanut (cantorship), and the role of a musically trained professional to lead prayers, began around the 18th century in Europe, according to My Jewish Learning.
Today’s cantors have multiple responsibilities beyond chanting familiar liturgy, Myers explained.
“The role of cantor is not merely to lead the congregation in worship, and it’s not merely to prepare bar or bat mitzvah students,” he said. “I can’t say that there’s a specific list [of duties], because each cantor brings to his or her pulpit a unique set of skills. Some may be incredible Torah readers and can build up a vast cadre of Torah readers. Some can be incredible conductors and have wonderful choirs. Some can really dig deep into pastoral care and frequent hospitals, nursing homes and senior citizen facilities. There can be many ways that a cantor serves the community off the pulpit.”
Myers hopes people appreciate that, like rabbis, cantors are working even when splendid vestments aren’t noticeable: “If you think about it, just mathematically, a cantor is on the bimah (pulpit) proper Friday night for an hour and Shabbat morning for three hours. That’s four hours. Well, what about the remaining? And it’s not a 40-hour week. The average cantor, without question, works easily a 50-to-60-hour week at the minimum.”
As a profession, cantors face an uphill battle, according to Myers.
The biggest challenge is “shrinkage in synagogue membership, because as that plays out there are fewer synagogues,” he said. “Synagogues that decline in membership will frequently reach a point where they can no longer afford to have two clergy; and in many of those cases the choice will be made to let go of the cantor.”
Another challenge, he continued, are “mergers and potential mergers — we see that happening right here in Pittsburgh — so when congregations merge, if congregations have two rabbis and two cantors, how do they work that out? Are they going to maintain four clergy? Can they sustain themselves? Do they have that need? So we see the changing landscape of synagogue membership impacting the life of every synagogue in the United States.”
Since completing cantorial school at the Jewish Theological Seminary in 1984, Myers has witnessed changing realities.
“Fewer people are going into pulpit life in general, in all faiths,” he said.
Practitioners and those entering the field must recognize the trends, he continued.
Myers pointed to his own career when describing his ability to shepherd the flock: “I’ve got one foot in the past — in the tradition of the cantor of Eastern Europe — and I’d like to think that I have one foot straddling the line between present and future to be able to acknowledge and share the evolution of the cantor during my lifetime.”
Twelve years after graduating as a hazzan, Myers became a rabbi.
The ordination was conferred by a “private rabbinical school,” he said.
The school, Myers added, was located in New York. He declined to share other details.
What’s important, he said, is that historically many cantors have also held rabbinic ordination.
Within the Cantors Assembly are “70 members who have, also over the course of their lifetime, gotten rabbinic ordination. And I think what it reflects is the changing landscape in the United States, where small congregations cannot afford two clergy.”
Myers, who served as senior vice president of the Cantors Assembly before becoming president, said it won’t work for everyone but holding dual roles may be one path forward.
“In the case of people who are ordained both as rabbi and as cantor, they bring the double skill set of being able to chant a beautiful service and deliver a wonderful dvar Torah. I’d like to think that Tree of Life Congregation appreciates the fact that I can do both, and I’m one person who can do both,” he said. “I think that this model is one effective way to help serve smaller congregations in the United States.”
Myers said that to the extent possible, as president, he will visit other congregations in the U.S.
But the dates circled on his calendar only have him traveling a few miles.
“Between June 7 to 11, 2026, the Cantors Assembly will hold its first-ever convention in Pittsburgh,” he said.
More details will be shared in the coming year, but for now, Myers hopes people look forward to learning more about the profession, what it means “for not just the Jewish community, but for Pittsburgh and for all those who are interested in this type of culture; what is it that we bring to a community; and how an entire community can benefit from a Cantors Assembly convention in Pittsburgh.” PJC
Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.
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