Cantor Manny

Quite often people come up to me in the temple and ask all sorts of questions, so I thought it might be fun to answer some questions about laws, customs, and ceremonies in the Jewish tradition. Here are a few that I thought might be interesting for everyone:

What exactly is the Haftarah that we read on Shabbat and holidays after the Torah reading?
A commonly asked question, especially by parents of our Bar and Bat Mitzvah students.First of all, in America it is commonly pronounced as HAF-TORAH, leading many to believe that it's part of the Torah, when it is nothing of the sort. Simply put, the Haftarah is a reading from the Prophets that supplements and follows the Torah reading.

The custom of reading the Haftarah dates back to the 2nd Century B.C.E. when King Antiochus forbade the Jews to read the Torah in public. In fact, it was this very struggle, and the defeat of the Syrian-Greeks and their attempt to spiritually annihilate the Jews, that we celebrate at Chanukkah.

Since the writings from the Prophets (like Jeremiah, Isaiah and Hosea) were not banned, it became the custom to read them in public, and in time the rabbis assigned particular passages from The Prophets to each Torah portion, finding some meaningful connection between the two each Shabbat.

You might be surprised to learn that The New Testament tells of Jesus reading a Haftarah from The Book of Isaiah during a Shabbat service in Nazareth.

Why is the word "Amen" used during worship services?
The Talmud states that the word "Amen" is an acrostic formed from the first letters of the three Hebrew words El Melech Ne'eman, meaning "The Lord is a trustworthy King." Amen is also said to mean "truly" or "so be it."

When the Jews worshiped in The Holy Temple in Jerusalem, the response to the blessings of the High Priests was "Blessed be His glorious name forever and ever." But after the destruction of The Second Temple in 70 A.D., "Amen" was used instead.

What is the Talmud? The comments and interpretations of the Jewish Bible made by rabbis in Israel and Babylonia during the first five centuries of The Common Era. Since the Babylonian Talmud was completed after the Jerusalem Talmud, its decisions are the more accepted ones.

Why must a synagogue have windows?
This requirement is stated in the Talmud, where it is stated that the sky inspires reverence.

Why aren't there any statues or sculptures in synagogues?
Because the second of The Ten Commandments decrees that no graven images be made and that "thou shalt not bow down to them nor serve them." Only decorations and art that are not three-dimensional are allowed in a temple.

Why is kneeling rarely seen in Jewish worship services?
When Christianity adopted kneeling as a posture of prayer, the rabbis forbade it for Jews. But bowing and kneeling were an integral part of the rituals and ceremonies in the Temples in Jerusalem. Still today in Orthodox and Conservative synagogues, the cantor kneels and prostrates himself on the floor when an account of the ancient Temple service is read on Yom Kippur.

Cantor Manny's Classes

INTERMEDIATE HEBREW
TUESDAYS, 7:00-7:45 PM

INTRODUCTION TO JUDAISM
WEDNESDAYS, 7:30-8:15 PM

About Cantor Manny
Manny Silver has been the cantor at Temple Beth El since 2000. A native of Philadelphia, he is a graduate of Temple University’s School of Communication and Theater. He also studied in Israel and lived on Kibbutz Sdot Yam in Caesarea.

Cantor Manny’s journey to Temple Beth El has been an unusual one, filling him with deep gratitude for the blessings he enjoys as our Cantor. He grew up in a very traditional home, son of David and Miriam Silver, respected Hebrew teachers who raised their four children with a love of God and Judaism. As a 10-year-old boy, he was enthralled by the chazzan at his synagogue, and even asked his dad if he could some day send him to Cantorial school.

But there were a few detours along the way. Before becoming a cantor, he had a colorful career as a journalist and a nightclub entertainer. It was at the urging of his future wife, Ginger, and mother-in-law, Miriam Olivier, that he rediscovered his life’s true calling and pursued a Cantorial career.

There is an old saying, “When the student is ready, the teacher appears.” For Manny, that teacher was Cantor Moshe Schulhof, considered one of the greatest cantors in the world and a master teacher of “chazzanut” – the art of Cantorial prayer.

Busy with his own career and international concert schedule, Cantor Schulhof was initially not interested in taking on a new student. But he was persuaded by a friend of Manny’s just to meet him once and hear him sing.

Manny soon became a prize protégé of Cantor Schulhof. He served as Cantor at Congregation Beth Tefilah in Tamarac and Temple Judea in Hollywood before coming to Temple Beth El.

Cantor Manny’s wife, Ginger, is a teacher and playwright who has had her shows performed by professional theater companies throughout the United States. His stepdaughter, Sheba Mason, is a comedienne appearing at the top comedy clubs in New York City.

Cantor Manny is especially appreciative for the support and guidance of Rabbi Tuffs, and for the Rabbi’s kind and steady encouragement to grow spiritually and professionally. And he is very thankful for our Temple’s lay leadership and the wonderful friends he has made here in the past nine years.