Traditionally,
Jewish law
''Halakha'' (; he, הֲלָכָה, ), also Romanization of Hebrew, transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Judaism, Jewish religious laws which is derived from the Torah, written and Oral Tora ...
has not allowed women to lead the prayer service in the synagogue. Even the
Reform movement did not train female
cantors
A cantor or chanter is a person who leads people in singing or sometimes in prayer. In formal Jewish worship, a cantor is a person who sings solo verses or passages to which the choir or congregation responds.
In Judaism, a cantor sings and lead ...
until the early 1970s.
[HUC-JIR celebrates the jubilee anniversary of the School of Sacred Music](_blank)
A chazante is a woman performing cantoral music outside the synagogue. The word is a
Yiddish
Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ver ...
declension of ''
chazan'' (Hebrew and Yiddish for cantor), to the feminine.
Chazantes generally performed cantorial music outside the synagogue. Famous chazantes in the mid 20th century include:
Betty Simonoff,
Liviya Taychil,
Sabina Kurtzweil,
Sophie Kurtzer,
Perele Feyg,
Jean Gornish and
Freydele Oysher. Most of the chazantes followed the tradition of their male counterparts and played up their European pedigrees by adopting nicknames like "Di Odesser chazante" (The Odessa chazante) or "Di Ungarishe chazante" (The Hungarian chazante).
The term chazaneet is a more recent one referring to a woman leading the
prayer services. In recent decades, both the reform and conservative communities have allowed women to lead services.
Betty Robbins
Betty Robbins (born Berta Abramson, April 9, 1924 – February 19, 2004) was a notable cantor. She was one of the first female cantors. She was the first woman appointed as a cantor in the 20th century.
Career
Robbins began singing while in 193 ...
was possibly the first female cantor in 1955
Betty Robbins First Woman Cantor in Jewish History
/ref> though Barbara Ostfeld-Horowitz is usually given that distinction since her investiture at the Hebrew Union College
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
in 1975.Orthodox
Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to:
Religion
* Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...
Partnership minyan
Partnership minyan (pl. partnership minyanim) is a religious Jewish prayer group that seeks to maximize women's participation in services within the confines of Jewish law as understood by Orthodox Judaism. This includes enabling women to lead par ...
im permit women to lead parts of the prayer services, though such minyanim remain controversial within the Orthodox community, with more traditional and centrist Orthodox rejecting their place in Orthodoxy.
See also
* Role of women in Judaism
The role of women in Judaism is determined by the Hebrew Bible, the Oral Law (the corpus of rabbinic literature), by custom, and by cultural factors. Although the Hebrew Bible and rabbinic literature mention various female role models, religio ...
* Jewish feminism
* Religious Jewish music
This article describes the principal types of religious Jewish music from the days of the Temple to modern times.
History of religious Jewish music
The history of religious Jewish music is about the cantorial, synagogal, and the Temple music f ...
External links
Article
on Sophie Kurtzer, known as "Sheindele di Chazante"
References
{{Women in Judaism
Jewish law and rituals
Jewish music
Judaism and women
Jewish services
*