Hazzan Matthew Klein, “Elohai N’shama”
Rockville, MD
Age: 32
Song: “Elohai N’shama”
Hazzan Matthew Klein has been with Congregation Beth El since 2011. He is a graduate of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America (JTS), where he received a master’s degree in sacred music and investiture as a hazzan. He concentrated in pastoral care, and spent one summer as a chaplain at Weill-Cornell Medical Center in New York and another with the JBFCS as a chaplain for adults with mental illness. He earned his BA in music summa cum laude from the College of William and Mary in 2006.
At Beth El, Hazzan Klein has expanded the musical and spiritual life of the synagogue, introducing new melodies in services and online, and recently piloting the new alternative service, Minyan Olamim. He is a 2013 graduate of the Davennen Leaders Training Institute, a two-year training in creative Jewish worship.
Hazzan Klein remains an up-and-coming leader among American cantors. He currently serves as the Cantors Assembly (CA) representative to the Committee on Jewish Law & Standards and was recently named to the Cantors Assembly’s Executive Council for the 2014-2017 term. He is also a member of the cantorial band, “The Wizards of Ashkenaz” and will soon be featured on their new album, “Wizards Live.”
Hazzan Klein is married to the love of his life, Rabbi Elyssa Joy Auster.
The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Most Popular
- 1
Culture Trump wants to honor Hannah Arendt in a ‘Garden of American Heroes.’ Is this a joke?
- 2
Opinion The dangerous Nazi legend behind Trump’s ruthless grab for power
- 3
Opinion A Holocaust perpetrator was just celebrated on US soil. I think I know why no one objected.
- 4
Culture Did this Jewish literary titan have the right idea about Harry Potter and J.K. Rowling after all?
In Case You Missed It
-
Fast Forward Chicago mayor donned keffiyeh for Arab Heritage Month event, sparking outcry from Jewish groups
-
Fast Forward The invitation said, ‘No Jews.’ The response from campus officials, at least, was real.
-
Fast Forward Latvia again closes case against ‘Butcher of Riga,’ tied to mass murder of Jews
-
Fast Forward Protesters clash in Crown Heights as Ben-Gvir visits Chabad headquarters
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
Republish This Story
Please read before republishing
We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines.
You must comply with the following:
- Credit the Forward
- Retain our pixel
- Preserve our canonical link in Google search
- Add a noindex tag in Google search
See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.
To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.