Amid rabbi shortage, some shuls opt for cantors + Roseanne Barr says ‘nobody died in the Holocaust’ in strange rant

Amid a rabbi shortage, a handful of synagogues rely on cantors as their sole spiritual leaders

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With enrollment down at Conservative and Reform rabbinical schools, our contributor Stewart Ain found a small but growing number of shuls hiring cantors for leadership roles once reserved for rabbis. The Conservative movement counts 24 such synagogues, up from 10 a decade ago, among its roster of 600 across North America; of the Reform movement’s 650 congregations, 10 are helmed by cantors.

Curriculum changes: Seminaries have recently broadened their training programs for cantors in ways that make it easier for them to step into shoes formerly worn only by rabbis. They’re taking  classes in pastoral care and analysis of Jewish text that previously were the province of rabbinical students.

Shul seeks … someone: Some congregations, particularly those that prioritize music, set out to find a cantor as their sole clergy. Others are agnostic about whether they get a cantor or rabbi, and advertise that they are looking for either.

Two for one: Experts say an increasing number of cantors are also returning to school for rabbinical ordination. This follows the path of Rabbi Angela Buchdahl, who leads Manhattan’s Central Synagogue and is one of the nation’s most prominent Jewish leaders — she was ordained as a cantor in 1999, and then as a rabbi two years later.

Related…

• Hey kid, wanna be a rabbi? Facing a shortage, Conservative movement looks to teens.
  
  
• Hadar, a yeshiva that embraces Jewish observance and egalitarianism, ordained its first seven rabbis on Monday. 

ALSO IN THE FORWARD

Barr said that Jews ’cause all the problems in the world’ in a podcast interview aired this weekend. (Getty)

Roseanne Barr goes on bizarre rant, saying  ‘nobody died in the Holocaust’ but ‘they should have’: Barr, whose grandmother lost family in the Holocaust, espoused several conspiracy theories during a wide-ranging two-and-a-half hour podcast interview. She also said that Jews run Hollywood like “an organized crime network.” Her son insisted she was being sarcastic, but ADL chief Jonathan Greenblatt said the comments were “reprehensible and irresponsible” either way. Read the story ➤

(DenBerg/Getty)

Portraits of the Tree of Life victims: As a jury decides whether the shooter deserves the death penalty, our resident illustrator, Dennis Eisenberg, drew portraits of his 11 victims. Among them are two brothers who were synagogue mainstays, a doctor who treated HIV patients, and a couple who were gunned down in the same shul they got married in 62 years earlier. “When future historians write of the American Jewish experience, their narrative will be divided in two parts,” our Nora Berman wrote in an introduction: “Everything leading up to the Tree of Life massacre, and everything that came after.” Peruse the portraits ➤

Related…

• Doctors gave mixed testimony on Tuesday on whether tests showed the shooter suffered brain damage, a key element of the defense case for a sentence of life imprisonment rather than execution.
  
  
• A rabbi affiliated with the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh argued on Tuesday that Jewish law unambiguously permits the death penalty, though he stopped short of saying whether he believes it should apply in this case.

WHAT ELSE YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY

Tens of thousands protesting in March in Tel Aviv against the government’s judicial overhaul bill. (Getty)

??  More than 100 reservists in Israel’s air force said in a letter Wednesday they would refuse to report for duty if any part of the government’s proposed overhaul of the independence of the country’s courts is passed. “We will not serve in the army of a country that is not democratic,” the letter said. (Haaretz)

? The GOP-led House passed the first draft of the annual defense-policy bill, with an amendment that limits diversity training, trans rights and COVID vaccines. A Jewish war vet who runs an advocacy group called the Military Religious Freedom Foundation says it will also impede his efforts to prevent discrimination against non-Christian service members. The Senate version of the bill does not include these elements. (Military Times)

⚖️  Two sisters spoke of the sexual abuse they suffered at the hands of a Jewish school principal in Australia during the penalty phase in her trial. The principal,  Malka Leifer, was convicted of rape and other crimes in April. (AP)

?  A team of artistic swimmers from Israel won the gold medal on Friday at the 2023 European Games, which took place about 37 miles from the former Auschwitz concentration camp. (Times of Israel)

?  Shira Haas, who rose to fame in Shtisel and Unorthodox, has joined the cast of an Israeli psychological drama in production, Night Therapy. She is also in the next Captain America movie, which is slated for release next summer, and as a young Golda Meir in a forthcoming TV series produced by Barbra Streisand. (Deadline)

Mazel tov ➤  To TC Jewfolk, a Minnesota-based Jewish news site, which launched a new outpost in Ohio this week: Cincy Jewfolk is now live.

Shiva calls ➤  Reuben Baron, the co-author of the most widely cited paper in the history of psychology, died at 86 … Stan Savran, a Pittsburgh sports broadcaster known for his encyclopedic knowledge and fan-friendly tone, died at 76.

What else we’re reading ➤  Jews at U.S. colleges face rising antisemitism from left and right … German parliament approves a memorial to Jehovah’s Witnesses persecuted by the Nazis … Some trans Americans say their search for gender identity brought them closer to God.

ON THE CALENDAR

Mel Brooks in 1976. (Getty)

On this day in history (1926): Mel Brooks was born. He has been shaping Jewish and American culture since his first forays into comedy in the 1950s. Our contributing culture critic Dan Epstein ranked Brooks’ films from 11 to 1. Was Blazing Saddles better than Young Frankenstein? Find out here.

In honor of National Alaska Day, check out these eight facts about the so-called Frozen Chosen. 

VIDEO OF THE DAY

Tovah Feldshuh has played iconic Jewish women including Golda Meir, Rosie Brice and Dr. Ruth Westheimer. Feldshuh, lyricist Bruce Sussman (Harmony) and playwright Alfred Uhry (Parade) spoke recently about the Broadway shows tackling antisemitism. “I believe, like Anne Frank did, that everybody is good at heart,” Feldshuh said. “Even people who are misguided.” Their conversation was recorded last month at the Museum of Jewish Heritage in Manhattan, and aired on PBS Thirteen this week. 

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Thanks to Tani Levitt and Talya Zax for contributing to today’s newsletter. You can reach the “Forwarding” team at [email protected].