Helfgot sings Puccini

A few weeks ago I saw this video and I was very surprised to see Helfgot doing such move. He is revered as one of the most inspiring singers in JM today and to see him performing a classical opera piece is amusing and to some, maybe a bit offensive. Shwekey, Fried and MBD would never go for it - they stick to the rigid JM behavior standards, but it seems that Helfgot is rather comfortable singing a song that is not in his usual repertoire. That's great, in my humble opinion.

This Puccini song is a classic opera piece and many Chazzanim have singing lessons using these classical opera works since they demand maximum concentration and voice control. That explains why Helfgot has no problem singing it and I'm sure he knows many more opera songs by heart. Maybe Gladitore next time?

Who's the New Chazzan?

Naftali Hershtik left his post post as the Chief Chazzan of the Jerusalem Great Synagogue two weeks ago and the rumor season has begun regarding who will be taking his place. Hershitk was there for 30+ years, with striking success, and I will for sure miss him (the BEST falsetto) but now is the time for a new face and no one knows who will be the chosen one. The Gabbaim have announced that in the next two months there will be numerous guest Chazzanim - maybe some sort of trials, I don't know. This blog is not really focused in Chazzanut, but Chazzanut is becoming a genre of interest for so many JM fans, including me, and I decided to put together a list of possibilties.


Chazzan Adler
Chances: [Very High] UPDATE: High
Why: Adler, the Chief Chazzan of the Tel Aviv Great Synagogue, comes very often to daven in the Jerusalem Great Synagogue and the public loves him. He is an easy-going guy, charismatic and different - he's a Ger Chassid, although he davens in Baruch. He has a great voice, power and range. You can hear one of his many youtube videos here.

Chazzan Motzen
Chances: [High] UPDATE: Very High
Why: Motzen is considered the best Chazzan today and although he currently lives in Bal Harbor, FL, he is Israeli and I guess he wouldn't mind to come back for such a chashuv post. He comes to the Great Synagogue at least twice a year as a guest Chazzan and the house is always absolutely packed - he was the guest Chazzan just last Shabbos. Motzen composed many Chazzanut pieces, like his famous Av Harachamim, and he is simply the most complete Chazzan out there. It would be amazing to have him as the Chief Chazzan!

Chazzan Schwartz
Chances: Medium
Why: Azi Schwartz is a former member of the Great Synagogue choir and he is an insider. Despite his relatively young age he has been around and held the post of second Chazzan of the Park East Synagogue, NY, for quite some time. The first Chazzan of Park East, as you probably know, is none other than Helfgott, so Azi is well-rated. Azi moved back to Israel just a few months ago and is "available", so if the board decides to bet in a rising star, Azi will be the guy. He has lots of potential, charisma and already is a great Chazzan. Additionally, he would probably maintain the Shul's nusach, which is always a plus.

Chazzan Helfgott
Chances: Very Low
Why: Helfgott never actually davened in front of the Great Synagogue's amud so I think is quite impossible for him to be the chosen one.

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.

HASC 20 - Review

Here are my thoughts on Hasc's 20 album. It's much more difficult to review a concert than to write about a regular album - HASC is a live concert and, as such, there are always mistakes and tuning issues here and there, so I can't be very critical. But I do have some things to say.

This concert starts with a Dveykus-style instrumental overture. I think Dveykus always has an overture so people can play it in dinners and other occasions when you need something in the background, but if I would be in a concert I would be bored to hear this intro. But that's just me, I'm sure some of you liked it.

Shalsheles Junior was without any doubt the sensation in HASC 20. Unlike MBC or YBC, Shalsheles Junior is a group of just four kids, like the original Shalsheles. That's much more appealing for a concert, because you can see who's singing and who's doing harmony - I like that. In the HASC 18 there was YBC and although they did well, I was much more impressed with the musical talent of these four kids - they sing, they do great harmonies and they even play instruments. It's extremely hard to sing Modeh Ani live - the harmonies are complex and there are three parts to this song - but they nailed it. I still remember saying to a friend I wasn't planning to buy SJ, because I was tired of kids choirs. But I can't get tired of SJ. They do better harmonies than many leading JM singers out there - listen to 4:16 and you will surely agree. Hisoreri is a good song but it's not very energetic, so it gets stale towards the end.

Vezakeini was easily the hit of the year to me. Boruch Levine usually composes remarkable slow songs to Yehuda! (i.e. Haleluka) and Dveykus (i.e. Yehi Shalom), but this time he did everything by himself. He no-doubt deserved to be in this concert.

After that we have the "wild-card" - Dedi, which made me happy and sad at the same time. I love Dedi's energy and stage performance, but to hear him in this HASC makes me remember the good old times when he was THE man in JM. In this concert I see a Dedi that was left behind in time and that is fading away - that makes me sad. Without any hits in the past many years, Dedi had no choice but to sing oldies and Carlebach's Neshomole Niggun. I really hope he comes out with something new soon, he's has got the talent (perhaps partnering with Yossi Green again at last?).

Gabay and specially "Lipa's Diet Song" further took away the concerts' energetic start.

But then came Ohad, the sensation. I don't know why he sang Shalom - one of his weakest songs - but he proved to be a master of the languages in the International Medley, singing even Arabic.

The best part of this night was surely the Fried/ Helfgot duet. That was probably A. Fried's biggest dream - we all know he has a thing for Chazzanut. And Helfgot is not a typical Chazzan, he's more "pop". This combination was perfect, and there are some unforgettable moments of the two, like Helfgot’s “messianic” V’hu Rachum and Fried truly magnificent falsetto in 5:48 (you can’t miss this one). It was comic to hear Fried melodically ask, “Who will sponsor (the seudas hamashiach)? I think it will be J & I” and after that Helfgot sings, “And I also sing like thaaat”. Ha!

I think Sameach arranged a great line-up for this concert, probably the best of the past five years or so. In my opinion, this album is better than HASC 18 and United We Stand, two other HASC albums I own.

Well done!