WATCH: Hasidic cantors, standing on cars, serenade medical workers with national anthem
Two cantors sing the national anthem outside of NYU Langone Medical Center. Image by Molly Boigon
By Molly Boigon May 13, 2020
Two Hasidic cantors sang the Star-Spangled Banner for medical workers outside NYU Langone Medical Center on 33rd Street on Tuesday, according to a video posted on Twitter by a Chabad spokesman.
Aron Gerstel and Yaakov Lemmer, the two cantors, can be seen standing on top of Gerstel’s car and singing as medical workers and spectators watch. At the end of the performance, the spectators applaud and cars and trucks honk their horns.
Chassidic cantors sing The Star Spangled Banner honoring frontline medical providers outside NYU hospital in NYC with @FDNY firefighters and other first responders cheering on. pic.twitter.com/yCE0ECKGQT
— Motti Seligson (@mottiseligson) May 13, 2020
Gerstel said on Twitter that he visits a different hospital to sing every night.
Molly Boigon is an investigative reporter at the Forward. Contact her at [[email protected](opens in new tab)](mailto:[email protected](opens in new tab)) or follow her on Twitter @MollyBoigon
Why I became the Forward’s editor-in-chief
You are surely a friend of the Forward if you’re reading this. And so it’s with excitement and awe — of all that the Forward is, was, and will be — that I introduce myself to you as the Forward’s newest editor-in-chief.
And what a time to step into the leadership of this storied Jewish institution! For 129 years, the Forward has shaped and told the American Jewish story. I’m stepping in at an intense time for Jews the world over. We urgently need the Forward’s courageous, unflinching journalism — not only as a source of reliable information, but to provide inspiration, healing and hope.
— Alyssa Katz, editor-in-chief
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
