The Jerusalem Great Synagogue

I was asked to write a bit about my experience here in Israel and the Jerusalem Great Synagogue topic immediatly came to my mind. As a young kollel guy who's in Israel just for a year, I faced a common dilemma – living in a city that has a shul in every corner, what's the best place to daven in Jerusalem? Very good question. When I thought about the Jerusalem Great Synagogue I was repeatedly told that it's impossible to go there every week, "no one can stand a three hour davening every week" or "it's a concert, not a place to daven".

I grew up attending a middle-sized shul, davening alongside with 20 or so people and I therefore had very little contact with the Chazzanus world. As I wrote before, I started to like Helfgot but I still had no patience for Chazzanut per say. So going to the Great Synagogue in a regular basis was quite a change for me - it's a huge place, with a very diverse crowd and the davening is long indeed. But there's something unique there and I now get to my point.

There is a culture clash between the big shuls like the Great Synagogue and the overall shtiblachs. The big shuls were the community centers in old Europe and Chazzanus became a central part in the communal life of that generation. However as the Jewish World became more "frum", people started branch out of the big shuls, and the shtiblachs mushroomed. Big temples and Chazzanus were linked to the secular world and deemed too liberal.

Today, we want shuls that suit our personal davening style and davening speed. Two months ago I was in the Ramada to hear Rabbi Frand's speech on Tefillah and one Rosh Yeshiva introduced the topic by saying that the Shtiblachs represent how we view Tefillah – we don't want to be pressured to be on time, we want a shul that fits in our daily schedule. If I need an extra hour of sleep I just wait for the 10:30 minyan in the Shtiblach.

But coming back to the Chazzanus topic, I must say that many of the great Chazzanim were and are indeed liberal. One of the greatest Chazzanim of all time, Moshe Koussovitzky, reportedly used to drink before Neila of Yom Kippur to keep his voice sharp. The religious crowd saw a contradiction in attending services led by a non-pious Chazzan, regardless of how good he was.

I do agree with this premise. I would feel very unconfortable to know that the person leading my prayers to Hashm is not even religious. But the big shuls and Chazzanus are not limited to liberal Chazzanim - there are many great religious Chazzanim who really add a special taste to a Tefillah.

In the Jerusalem Great Synagogue, no one talks when the Chazzan sings. The Chazzan is the main player and is in charge of inspiring the Kahal to pray to Hashm. There's also a large choir led by Eli Jaffe, who's extremely talented. A few months ago I heard Yaakov Motzen's Av Harachamim in the Great Synagogue, a piece he composed for his brother who perished in the first Lebanon War. Motzen simply brings the Kahal to a different world and really teaches us what this Tefillah is all about. Motzen is fantastic and probably better than Helfgot at the present day. Chazzan Chaim Adler, a Ger Chassid from Tel Aviv, was a guest Chazzan a few times and he is also very good.

So I can now say to you that yes, it is possible to hear Chazzanus every Shabbos but more than that, it's so much better than going to your late Shtiblach minyan. You just can't compare and more and more people are realizing this in the past few years. The Great Synagogue is full every Shabbos, with Baalei Batim, Chassidim, American Bochrim who walk all the way from the Mir, Mizrachim and even large groups of curious tourists wearing paper kippas. This is what a Shul is really meant to be - a place for everyone.