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How long have there been rabbis leading the synagogues?by Rabbi Moshe Miller
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RE: "How long have there been rabbis leading the synagogues?"
Posted by: Hazzan Alan Smolen, Cong. Shirat Shalom, Elgin, IL on Sep 13, 2005
The first synagogue official was the hazzan. Not in the same role as we think of hazzanim (cantors) today per se. But the first synagogue official was known as the "hazzan ha'k'neset." This person would lead the service, chant scripture, teach children and sweep up as well. It is later in the Middle Ages in the West where the professional hazzan we know today begins to crystalize, and develop through people like 19th C. S. Sulzer.
The first Jewish religious leaders in Colonial America were hazzanim. Rabbis do not arrive in America until the 1840's.
The Shulhan Arukh (Yoreh Dei'ah, Hil. Ts'dakah 253:13, I believe), the Code of Jew Law, supports the primacy of the hazzan over that of the rabbi for a synagogue. Rabbis have their role, vital to Jewish living and learning, but the primary functionary of the synagogue is the hazzan.
Editor's Comment
reply to comment
Posted by: Hazzan Alan Smolen, Cong. Shirat Shalom, Elgin, IL on Dec 15, 2005
While it is true that a layperson can lead the service, one still needs to be a qualified candidate to do so, e.g. have a pleasant voice, be fluent in prayer and know the correct nusah (musical motif) for a given occasion. Unfortunately, the Orthodox world, which professes to preserve Jewish tradition, has all but eliminated hazzanut and abandoned its commitment to nusah in many of its congregations, in great part by allowing unqualified laypeople to stand before the Ark. While there may be those who claim to be hazzanim or less than desirable candidates, that does not justify the diminished quality of prayer in such lay-led congregations.
Let us remember: The majority of the service is prayer, best left in the hands of those who are qualified to lead it. People often go home humming a melody from shul, not parts of the sermon. What makes Kol Nidrei the moment it is in the soul of the Jewish people? The music.