Hazzan Abraham “Abe” Lubin (born 1937) is a

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

-born American

Conservative Jewish Conservative Judaism, known as Masorti Judaism outside North America, is a Jewish religious movement which regards the authority of ''halakha'' (Jewish law) and traditions as coming primarily from its people and community through the generatio ...

Hazzan A ''hazzan'' (; , lit. Hazan) or ''chazzan'' ( he, חַזָּן , plural ; Yiddish ''khazn''; Ladino ''Hasan'') is a Jewish musician or precentor trained in the vocal arts who helps lead the congregation in songful prayer. In English, this pr ...

and former President of the Cantors Assembly, who is the cantor emeritus at Congregation Beth El in

Bethesda, Maryland Bethesda () is an unincorporated, census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland. It is located just northwest of Washington, D.C. It takes its name from a local church, the Bethesda Meeting House (1820, rebuilt 1849), which in ...

Biography

Personal life

Abraham Lubin was born in London in 1937. As a child, he returned with his parents to

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

, their birthplace. In 1950, his family returned to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, where he continued his education at the Etz Chaim Yeshivah in London and then the

London School of Jewish Studies The London School of Jewish Studies (commonly known as LSJS, originally founded as Jews' College) is a London-based organisation providing adult educational courses and training to the wider Jewish community. Since 2012 LSJS also offers rabbinic ...

(then called Jews' College) Cantorial School, where he graduated as a Hazzan. He also received the Associate of the London College of Music Diploma (A.L.C.M.) from the

London College of Music London College of Music (LCM) is a music school in London, England. It is one of eight separate schools that make up the University of West London. History LCM was founded in 1887 and existed as an independent music conservatoire based at Gr ...

, a Bachelor of Music degree from the College Conservatory of Music of the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati) is a public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1819 as Cincinnati College, it is the oldest institution of higher education in Cincinnati and has an annual enrollment of over 44,00 ...

, a Master of Music degree from

DePaul University DePaul University is a private university, private, Catholic higher education, Catholic research university in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by the Congregation of the Mission, Vincentians in 1898, the university takes its name from the 17th-centu ...

, and a Doctor of Music degree from the

Jewish Theological Seminary of America The Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS) is a Conservative Jewish education organization in New York City, New York. It is one of the academic and spiritual centers of Conservative Judaism and a major center for academic scholarship in Jewish studie ...

. Hazzan Lubin and his wife, Sandy, now live in Bethesda, Maryland. They are the parents of Dr. Harlan Lubin, Stephanie Lubin, and Sharyn Lubin Levitt, and the grandparents of eight grandchildren.

Career

At age eight he sang solo with the Rivlin Choir in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

. During his school years, Hazzan Lubin sang in many leading synagogues in England and

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. At age thirteen, he conducted the services at leading synagogues in the area, and at age fifteen, he sang his first

High Holy Day The High Holidays also known as the High Holy Days, or Days of Awe in Judaism, more properly known as the Yamim Noraim ( he, יָמִים נוֹרָאִים, ''Yāmīm Nōrāʾīm''; "Days of Awe") #strictly, the holidays of Rosh HaShanah ("Jew ...

service. At seventeen he was Hazzan at the Jubilee Street Zionist Synagogue in London, and at nineteen he became Hazzan at the Bayswater Synagogue in London, where he was inducted into office by the

Chief Rabbi Chief Rabbi ( he, רב ראשי ''Rav Rashi'') is a title given in several countries to the recognized religious leader of that country's Jewish community, or to a rabbinic leader appointed by the local secular authorities. Since 1911, through a ...

Israel Brodie Sir Israel Brodie (10 May 1895 – 13 February 1979) was the Chief Rabbi of Great Britain and the Commonwealth 1948–1965. Biography He was educated at Balliol College, Oxford. He served as a Rabbi of Melbourne Hebrew Congregation in Australi ...

. Lubin came to the United States in 1958, and served for ten years with the Beth Abraham Synagogue in

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Day ...

. Then, beginning in 1968, he served as Hazzan at Congregation Rodfei Zedek and Anshe Amet Synagogue in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. And since 1990, Lubin has served at Congregation Beth El in Bethesda, Maryland. At the end of June 2011, he retired as Hazzan and became Hazzan Emeritus at Beth El. In 1987, Hazan Lubin served on a special ten-member fact-finding committee appointed by Cantors Assembly President Saul Hammerman to explore the ramifications of allowing women to become cantors, a decision that the Assembly reached shortly thereafter. From 1995 to 1997, Lubin served as President of the Cantors Assembly. Lubin served as editor of the ''Journal of Synagogue Music'' and contributed articles on Jewish music in various periodicals, among them “The Influence of Jewish Music and Thought in Certain Works of

Leonard Bernstein Leonard Bernstein ( ; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was the first America ...

.” He contributed to

Mark Slobin Mark Slobin is an American scholar and ethnomusicologist who has written extensively on the subject of East European Jewish music and klezmer music, as well as the music of Afghanistan, where he conducted research beginning in 1967. He is Winslow ...

’s 1989 book ''Chosen Voices: The Story of the American Cantorate''. And he served on the five-member editorial committee for the 2002 edition of ''

Siddur Sim Shalom Siddur Sim Shalom ( he, סדור שים שלום) refers to any siddur in a family of ''siddurim'', Jewish prayerbooks, and related commentaries, published by the Rabbinical Assembly and the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism. There are fou ...

for Weekdays''. In 1989, Lubin was one of the first two Cantors to participate in a joint project by the Cantors Assembly and the National Coalition Supporting Soviet Jewry to encourage missions of Hazzanim to travel to the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

to teach, conduct services, and to hold discussions on musical and liturgical subjects. And Lubin was one of 70 Cantors who participated in a 2009 Cantors Assembly mission, "

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

to Israel: A Journey Through Time," which included a chance meeting at a concentration camp with a group of Israeli soldiers. In 2001 Lubin was featured on the

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

television program ''

Religion & Ethics Newsweekly ''Religion & Ethics Newsweekly'' was an American weekly television news-magazine program which aired on PBS. History and content Premiering in 1997, ''Religion & Ethics Newsweekly'' was devoted to news of religion and spirituality, along with ...

''.

Bob Abernethy Robert Gordon Abernethy (November 5, 1927 – May 2, 2021) was an American journalist, best known for serving various roles during a 42-year career with NBC News. He later co-created, and was executive editor and host of ''Religion & Ethics News ...

and

Betty Rollin Betty Rollin (born January 3, 1936, in New York City) has been an NBC News correspondent and author. Rollin's reports have won both the DuPont and Emmy awards. She now contributes reports for PBS's Religion and Ethics News Weekly. Rollin is a gr ...

"Belief & Practice: High Holidays: Prayer with Cantor Abraham Lubin."
''Religion & Ethics Newsweekly''. (Sept. 21, 2001).

References

External links

Hazzan Abe Lubin page at Congregation Beth El
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lubin, Abraham Hazzans 1937 births Musicians from London American Conservative Jews American people of English-Jewish descent Alumni of the London School of Jewish Studies English emigrants to the United States English Jews English people of Israeli descent University of Cincinnati – College-Conservatory of Music alumni DePaul University alumni Jewish Theological Seminary of America alumni People from Bethesda, Maryland Living people