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[Page 320]

HaRav R' Yechiel Yitzhak Rapaport

by M. S. Geshuri

Translated by Sara Mages

A

R' Yechiel Yitzhak Rapaport was born in Lodz in 5656 (1895) to poor parents. Already in his youth he became known as a genius and was ordained to the rabbinate. Everyone was in awe of his proficiency and sharpness in the six orders of the Mishnah and Poskim. He got married at the age of seventeen, and continued to study the Torah and general studies with great persistence. He joined the Mizrachi[1] movement and greatly helped to spread the Zionist-religious idea among the masses. He was an excellent speaker, and in his speeches, full of love for Zion, he charmed his listeners and gained a reputation as a talented preacher who knows how to conquer the hearts.

 

lut320.jpg
R' Yechiel Yitzhak Rapaport

 

His first term as a rabbi was in the town of Andrzejewo near Lodz. Later he was accepted as rabbi in the city of Żychlin. From there he traveled to cities and towns throughout Poland, preached of behalf of religious Zionism and founded associations for Mizrachi in many places. I remember well the evening when he arrived to my town near Sosnowiec, and lectured in Beit HaMidrash about the ambitions of Mizrachi and its roles. He was a young man at the peak of success with open eyes. And I, who had already experienced the Zionist organization activity, was also drawn to the magic of his words and helped Mizrachi which was founded in the town on the same occasion. I haven't seen him since, but his image always hovered before his eyes during my years of activity and also after my immigration to Israel. I followed his activities and travels in the cities of Poland in the weekly Hebrew magazine, HaMizrachi, that appeared in Warsaw at the time and to this day I consider myself a longtime student of HaRav Rapaport.

B

Also after he was appointed rabbi in the city of Lutsk and the region, at the beginning of 5682 (1921), he was not satisfied with the local activity. He continued to act as the representative of Mizrachi, published several articles in the movement's press and proved to be a very talented speaker. His speeches excelled in clarity of thought, beautiful and polished style and expressiveness. He was also active as an organizer. While flipping through issues of HaMizrachi of that year, we find a greeting notice for R' Yechiel Yitzhak Rapaport for the day of his ascension to the rabbinical chair in the city of Lutsk and the region, as president of the rabbinic court and general rabbi for the entire Lutsk district, and the signatories on behalf of the city of Lutsk are: chairman of the committee of Mizrachi- Yehusua Brezza, Yakov Sima, Arye Fish, Yisrael Weissenberg and Sheraga Levitt. Blessings also came from the Central Committee of the Mizrachi Organization in Poland and the main management of Tzeirei Mizrachi[2] Organization in Poland (“HaMizrachi”[3], 2 Heshvan 5682 - 2 November 1921). It turns out that Mizrachi decided on his election as Rabbi of Lutsk in order to gain support for Mizrachi throughout Wolyn. With his election as Rabbi of Lutsk, he established the main headquarters of the Zionist-religious activity in this city, and from there he traveled to all the cities of Wolyn and acquired supporters for the Mizrachi idea.

In the district of Jewish Wolyn Rabbi Rapaport found ancient settlements with rabbis whose financial situation was very bad, and there was no one to take care of them and try to improve their situation. Rabbi Rapaport was the only among the rabbis of Wolyn to actively participate in the Mizrachi work. His sermons, which he gave on matters of Mizrachi during his travels to the various cities in Wolyn, attracted the young and the elderly to him, and the opponents of Mizrachi also expressed their appreciation to him. While reading the issues of “HaMizrachi,” we see Rabbi Rapaport appearing in his speeches in synagogues and Batei Midrash in Kremenets, Dubno, Ludmir (Volodymyr-Volynskyi), Kowel and Ostroh. With his pleasant words he breathed life in the ranks of the elderly and young, and associations were founded for Mizrachi and Tzaire Mizrachi. He became known as a rabbi and social activist with a special mission and a great possibility to act, to influence and guide. He fulfilled this duty with great dedication, and devoted much energy to the educational work in the place.

The leaders of Mizrachi in Poland saw him as a rising and a flourishing force, and drew him to the movement's leadership. Very quickly he was elected to the central committee of Mizrachi in Poland, signed a public appeal on behalf of Mizrachi's rabbis for the sake of the Mizrachi. He was nominated as delegate to the 13th Zionist Congress, and in 5683 (1922) his candidacy was presented as a delegate to the Polish Sejm[4] on behalf of the “National Bloc.” He conducted a great campaign during the elections to the Sejm and was always fresh and lively in all of his activities for the movement. He then came into contact with the movement's international leaders, such as Rabbi Meir Berlin, Rabbi Ze'ev Gold and Rabbi Y.L. HaCohen Fishman who had a great personal influence on him. These meetings, and the encouragement he received from the movement's great personalities, encouraged him to increase his activities, especially among the youth who were ready to be in his company for countless hours. Being a lovable person, friendly and warm, he was very acceptable to the members of the movement, and was also their leader, teacher and guide. He didn't let them feel his superiority because he treated everyone as a friend. He bought the hearts of the young and became very likable to them, and educated wide circles within the movement for the love of Israel. Many of his friends and students immigrated to Israel and some of them occupy important positions in the country.

C

In Lutsk, as in the other places in Wolyn, Rabbi Rapaport he found that that the Jewish spirit encounters external and internal obstacles that undermine the fundamentals of religion. And there were those who took all kinds of measures to act against what has been and stood for generations, and in the heart of every Jew the question arose: what will happen to the Jewish people, who are surrounded at home and abroad by enemies who are lurking for their souls and the souls of their children. And as a result of this situation, Rabbi Rappaport began to work for religious education.

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The situation of the rabbis in the Wolyn district was very bad and their influence on the public was nil. Rabbi Rapaport decided to correct this matter by organizing a gathering of rabbis of the cities of Wolyn, and the election of an association that would take care of improving the situation in various respects. He also expressed his ambition in writing in his article “The repair of the Judaism in Wolyn” (HaMizrachi, issue 45 - 142) and it is appropriate to bring here a section of the article exactly the way it was written:

“The terrible war, which lasted six consecutive years, completely destroyed all parts of Judaism in Eastern Europe. The spiritual destruction is even greater than the material destruction that the war brought with it. But, I didn't see destruction in other regions of United Poland similar to the destruction of the Wolyn Jewry. During the last summer I visited a whole line of large and small cities in the Wolyn region and found a terrible spiritual emptiness there. Many communities don't have a Talmud Torah school and all the children of the poor grow up without an education. In other communities there are different elementary schools, but they are all of the type of our new guardians. They are different from each other in their curriculum, and the damage of one is not the same as the damage of the other. Here, regarding traditional Judaism - an equal side for all - a negative side. And as is the fate of the children, so is the fate of the young people. In almost all the Polish cities there are evening classes for young people, for the Bible and the Hebrew language, for the Gemara and legend. Not so in the cities of Wolyn, where is no trace of such evening classes. Also the supervision of kashrut and other religious needs is deficient in this region.”

In Lutsk, Rabbi Rapaport gained friends and admirers who stood by his side in all his deeds, and despite his activity in public need, his travels in matters of the movement and the improvement the situation of Judaism and the rabbinate in the Wolyn region, he still found the time to work diligently on his Torah studies and give lessons to the city's youth.

In 5681(1920), Rabbi Yechiel Yitzhak Rapaport was accepted as the Rabbi of Kremenets, and everyone respected him immediately after he began to fulfill the role of the city's rabbi.

But, before long, Rabbi Rapaport fell ill with a serious heart disease and in 5691 (1930) he passed away when he was only 35 years old.

Translator's footnotes:

  1. Mizrachi, an acronym for merkaz ruchani (spiritual center), is a religious Zionist organization founded in 1902 in Vilna [Vilnius]. Return
  2. Tzaire Mizrachi was an organization of young members of Mizrahi founded in Poland in 1918. Return
  3. HaMizrachi was a Hebrew periodical published in Poland between December 10, 1918 and May 29, 1924 in the format of a weekly, on behalf of the Mizrahi movement in Poland. Return
  4. Sejm - is the lower house of the national legislature of Poland. Return


The history of hazzanut[1] and cantors in Lutsk

M. S. Geshuri

Translated by Sara Mages

A

With the destruction of the Temple and the dispersion of the Jews in the Diaspora, a new period began in the development of religious music. The synagogue, which became the center of Jewish spiritual life in the Diaspora, also became the center of religious musical creation. Piyyut[2] and religious singing were added in the synagogue. It served as a meeting place for prayer and public gatherings, so large and magnificent buildings which were decorated inside with great splendor, were built. Jewish communities, in the east and west, nurtured religious music in its various styles within the synagogues. Over time, fixed formulas were established for all prayers and they have been preserved according to their traditional structure to this day. For the cantor, who led the order of prayers, they chose a man with a pleasant voice who sang well. Initially, he was assigned various roles, but over time the hazzanut became a profession. The cantor was free from all other work and his duty was to prepare and invent new melodies for prayers and songs. In this manner the cantor became a central figure among the public and was called “the community cantor” or “the city cantor.” Among the cantors were excellent singers who excelled in the beauty of their voices and musical culture. Among them were also significant creators who created many new melodies that spread and were sung by the masses of the people throughout the Jewish Diaspora. In the 18th century, the status and artistry of cantors in European countries began to rise. They began to organize choirs whose role was to help them with accompaniment and also in self-singing. The beginnings were small, but gradually the number of singers increased and reached a full composition of a choir of four voices with the participation of boys and adults. The art of hazzanut flourished in the 19th century.

The cities neighboring the city of Chicago became famous thanks to the well-known cantors who served in their synagogues. The city of Rowne [Rivne] became famous thanks to the cantor, Zeidel Maragowsk or “Zeidel Rovner” (1857-1942), who moved heaven and earth with his singing in most Jewish settlements in Europe and America. The city of Dubno was known for its famous cantor, Shlomo Kashtan -Weintraub (1781-1829), who in his voice, the way he sang and his enthusiasm in prayer was the only one of his generation, and the Maggid of Kosnitz said of him that he could bring the Messiah with the grace of his singing. Lutsk was not blessed with “world-class” cantors, but, there is no doubt that since the establishment of first synagogue in the city, the fortress synagogue in the old city of Lutsk, cantors, who sang in a pleasant voice, led the prayers according to the accepted wording in all the Jewish Diaspora. Other than that, guest cantors, who during their vacation traveled across the cities of the country together with choirs and sang on the Sabbath and holidays, also came to Lutsk.

It can be assumed, that the community's attitude to its cantors, rabbis and leaders, was no different in Lutsk than in its neighboring cities. And that's why we can bring here a few sections from Pinkas Hakehillot Dubno[3] which was printed in the book “Dubno Rabbati” [“Dubno the Great”] by H.Z. Margaliot, Rabbi of the community of Dubno (Warsaw 5670 [1909]). On page 45, column b: came the regulation: “not to allow any cantor from any community in the State of Poland to lead the prayers in the synagogue even if he will come with someone in authority and his helper will come alone, not on the Sabbath nor on a holiday, and it is clear that he's not allowed to stay with one of the heads of the community, and the shamash[4] will not let him come to the house of one of the heads of the community.” On page 57 column b: the pinkas discusses the meals on which more than a fifth of money is spent, and

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corrected that those who have large sum of money can have two minyanim[5] besides the rabbi, the community leader, a cantor and a shamash by lot. On page 47 column b: the cantor and the cantor's wife are exempt from paying tax (ritual tax) to the community. On page 93 column a: whoever makes a wedding for his daughter outside the city is obliged to give money to the rabbi, cantor and the shamash. On page 70 second column b: it is told about a cantor who was fired from his position for behaving inappropriately and drinking a lot of liquor (12 Nisan 5518 - 29 April 1758). After the cantor admitted that he behaved inappropriately in his holy service as the prayer leader, he vowed to avoid wine and any drink that can cause intoxication such as vodka or honey, he was allowed to lead the prayers again and receive his salary as before. Also page 11 column b: on the eve of Rosh Chodesh Nissan 5527 (30 March 1767), it was agreed to cancel all the minyanim in the city for a certain period of time, and they decreed a boycott on the cantors who led the prayers during the aforementioned period. On page 85 column a: the community committee expanded the payment of the salt tax, and salted fish, to the community workers: trustees, shamashim and cantors. On page 12 column b and page 13 column a: came regulations in matters of meals, and, among others, those who pay two zloty or more are allowed to invite two cantors. And if he paid less than one zloty, he is not allowed to invite more than ten people and Torah learners, including the cantor who the Shacharit prayer in the synagogue. Some of these regulations are signed by “Avraham son of our master and rabbi R' M.M z”l of Lutsk.” On page 12 column a: came a regulation for the benefit of the local synagogue that few people came to pray there. Therefore, they came and forbade praying in any fixed minyanim except for in a few exceptional places, among them also at the “Rabbi of Lutsk” who was allowed to hold a minyan in his home.

B

 

lut322a.jpg
The cantor R' David Gak

 

In the Yizkor Book for Ostrog I found among the tombstones in the cemetery several cantors whose names have been immortalized in the book. It is possible, that if Lutsk's historians had published the inscriptions on the tombstones in the old cemetery in the book, it would have been possible to find among them the cantors' names and their title. But, we accept the rule that one should not cry over the past, and despite all our efforts we are unable to provide the names of the first cantors. Max Sternfeld, who is knowledgeable in the treasures of Lutsk despite being far from there, in Canada for about thirty years, did us a favor when he mentioned the names of several cantors and saved them from oblivion. The first of them is Moishele Soroka who served in Lutsk as the city's cantor in the synagogue. We don't know in which years, and how many years, he served in Lutsk, and we also have no details about his life and education. We have more detailed information about a good cantor who arrived in Lutsk in 1893 and served as cantor at the Trisker Hasidim Synagogue in the forshtot [suburb]. He was a learned Jew with an imposing figure and a dramatic tenor. A good musician, who also composed his own music and for a long time prayed accompanied by a choir until the orthodox leaders opposed it and he was forced to disperse the choir, was R' David Gak who was called “R' Dudel Hazan” [cantor] by the townspeople. After he dispersed the choir he prayed with his three sons who all had a musical talent. His eldest son, Shmuel Gak, was sixteen years old when he conducted the choir of the city's cantor, Aharon Rozmarin, at the Great Synagogue. Shmuel learned music from his father. At the age of seventeen, he already appeared as a conductor in Simferopol in Russia for the cantor R' Bendig. He received his last job as a cantor in Volodymyr-Volynskyi. Only the youngest son, Yehezkel Gak, was saved by miracle from the German Nazis slaughter and now lives with his family, as a dentist, in Montreal, Canada. The cantor David Gak passed away in Lutsk on 12 Shevat 5680(1 February 1920).

 

lut322b.jpg
Aharon Rozmarin

 

Aharon Rozmarin started to serve as the city's cantor in Lutsk in 1896. I will not write a lot about him because this work was done by others in this book. However, I must point out that the family of this cantor made a great contribution to the glorification the hazzanut in Montreal. Canada. Aharon Rozmarin arrived in Canada in 1924 after he responded to his sons call who arrived there several years ahead of him and two of them - Yakov and Eliezer - were already active in the field of playing music in Montreal. The eldest son could already claim special rights in the field of Jewish music. With his former singers in Lutsk were: Lipa Bas - an opera singer who later became known as Sibiryakov, and Maurice Schwartz - the future director of the Jewish Art Theater in America. For eight years Aaron Rozmarin engaged in liturgical creative work in Canada, and with honor represented the amud[6] in “Beit Yehudah” synagogue in Montreal (then, the most magnificent synagogue in the Jewish Quarter) to the end of his life. He passed away in 1932. He managed to compose a long line of various melodies and also many recitatives for young and advanced cantors.

Professor Yakov Rozmarin was born in Sadlikow in 1892. He received his first musical education from his father. At the age of fourteen he was already conducting the choir in the municipal synagogue in Voznesensk (Kherson Oblast). In 1912 he arrived in Canada, and received a position at the Academy of Music in Montreal. He continued to take piano lessons from Alfred La Liberté (Scriabin's student) and organ with George Brewer. At the same time, Yakov directed the musical department of the Jewish theater and also conducted a number of city choirs of different nations. He was invited as music director in all Hebrew and Yiddish schools in Montreal. Later, they added to him the conduction of the choirs in the synagogues: Benei Yakov, Chevra Kadisha, Adat Yeshurun, Beit Yehudah and Beit David. Today, he is the permanent conductor of the choir in Shaarei Hashamayim synagogue, and also conducts on a weekly religious radio broadcast in Portland, Main, USA).

Shimshon Rozmarin is a graduate of the Conservatory of Music in NacNiel, and received a graduate degree in music. He is an excellent violinist, pianist and organist. For years he has been overseeing the choir and playing the organ at the “Shaarei Zion” Synagogue. He is also an expert in playing music in universities.

Lazar Rozmarin, Aharon's youngest son, was born in Lutsk, He started singing in his father's choir even before he was six years old and

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since his voice was still weak he needed help to fulfill his role in alto. He sang alto to the age of fifteen and at the age of sixteen he already had to manage the bass section. In 1922 he arrived in Montreal and continued his activity in the field of music. Now he conducts at “Beit David” synagogue with the cantor Yehoshua Delin. Mr. Max Sternfeld points out that the people of Lutsk in Montreal have great satisfaction when they come to these synagogues and to hear, from time to time, an echo from the synagogue in Lutsk with the pleasant melodies of their father, Aharon. Quite often they hear Adon Olam with alto's solo at “Beit David” synagogue, and they were immersed in the feeling that they are sitting in the synagogue in Lutsk and hearing an alto solo of Krasner and Krintziki who, at the time, was an excellent singer and was called “Zipor” [bird].

The municipal synagogue went through a period of crisis after R' Aharon Rozmarin left the synagogue and responded to his sons' call to come to them to Canada. In his place was invited a modern cantor, dressed in short clothes, R' Yechiel Taikhtel, who passed the test when he led the prayers on one of the Sabbaths. He was a cantor with a lot of musical education, had an excellent voice and Shmulik Gak served as the conductor of his choir. But peace did not prevail between the cantor and the conductor and there were always quarrels between them. The cantor lived in Lutsk on 6 Czizevszki Street. He knew Hebrew and in general had good virtues. But it seems that it was difficult for him to live in peace with those close to him and therefore he wandered from place to place. The cantor also felt this situation and began looking for a position elsewhere. A copy of a letter he wrote on 24 Tevet 5688 (17 January 1928) to the Great Synagogue committee in Vilna [Vilnius] remained in these words:

“I am honored to inform the honorable committee that I have heard that there is now a position of head cantor in the city of Vilna and, as you know, I have great talents as an expert head cantor. I prayed several years ago in Taharat Ha-Kodesh Synagogue in Vilna, from Parshat Shekalim until after the holiday of Shavuot, and I also passed the test at the Great Synagogue of Warsaw (Tłomackie Street). I have first class musical certificates from the Professor of the Budapest Conservatory. My voice is a lyrical-dramatic tenor voice, pleasant and ringing. I am thirty-six years old and I have been serving as head cantor for fifteen years. Now, I serve at the Great Synagogue in the city of Lutsk with a large choir for three years, and all the residents of the city of Lutsk, without exception, are satisfied with me, and I am honored to ask the honorable committee of the Great Synagogue to invite me to a test for any Sabbath day to pray, and I hope that all those who pray will derive a desire from me. And as for the expenses - I hope, and I am almost certain, that they will be returned to me. I am free for now on Sabbath Parashat Bo or Parashat Yitro. With great respect Yechiel Taikhtel, head cantor of the Great Synagogue in the city of Lutsk.”

The cantor Taikhtel served in Lutsk for about three years. Later he served as a cantor in several locations and in the end left Poland and moved to England. He was a cantor in Manchester for a long time and continues to serve as a cantor in England.

Yakov Koussevitzky was accepted as his replacement. He was one of the well-known and accepted cantor brothers and served at the time in Lwow [Lviv]. Yakov Koussevitzky started singing at the age of seven in the choir of the cantor Efraim Shlipak in Smarhon. His brother, Moshe, already sang in his choir. Later, he sang in the choir of the synagogue in Vilna for cantor A. Bernstein, the renowned musician and composer. During the First World War he was in Russia, studied in Rostov-on-Don and later was appointed cantor in Kremenets. He served there for about two years until he was invited to serve as a cantor in Lwow in 1926 in place of the cantor Katzman at the Staroyevreiska Synagogue. Later, he brought his brother, David Koussevitzky, to him to conduct the choir. From there he moved to Gal-Ed synagogue in Lwow and later was invited to Lutsk. He stood the test on one of the Sabbaths and succeeded, but he also did not last more than three years in Lutsk. He moved from Lutsk to London to which he was invited as a cantor in one of the largest synagogues and served there until 1951. He was invited to Canada to take up the position of cantor at Rosh Pina synagogue in the city of Winnipeg, but he was drawn to the great hazanot center in New York where his two brothers, Moshe and David, were at that time. In 1953 was accepted as a cantor in a synagogue in Long Island, New York. He passed away a few years ago and his absence is greatly felt in the cantors' world.

The last cantor of the Great Synagogue in Lutsk was Shlomo Schulman who had a brilliant tenor voice. He moved to Lutsk from Kremenets in 5695 (1934), and was a

 

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The cantor Taikhtel during the swearing in of the Jewish soldiers in the Polish army

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member of the National Organization of Cantors in Warsaw. With the outbreak of the last world war he fled from Lutsk and today he is somewhere in Russia.

The cantor, Yakov Vapniasky, served at the Olyker Hasidim synagogue. He was a young man with a beautiful lyrical tenor who knew not only solfege. He participated in telling jokes in the cantors' newspaper in Warsaw, and here is one of his jokes (Tevet 5694 - 1933): A cantor led the rain prayer and sang loudly and with great noise until a heavy rain poured down. After the prayer, the cantor approached the gabbai[7] and said to him: you see, gabbai, how my prayer for rain worked and immediately caused rain to fall… You are right - answered the gabbai - cantors like you once brought the flood to the world…

Vapniarsky knew fluent Hebrew and also tried to write poetry. His name is mentioned on various occasions in the “Cantors Newspaper” in Warsaw, and was probably active in the professional organization. Vapniarsky also printed a congratulatory poem[8] for the fiftieth anniversary of Pinchas Sherman, the cantor of Tlomackie Synagogue [Warsaw's Great Synagogue], and for its commemoration I bring here:

You are the splendor of the cantors and musicians of our generation,
You are a pleasant singer and also a thinker within us,
You are gifted with scientific talent and a spirit of nobility surrounds you,
You paved a way for us and filled Olameno (the newspaper's name) with light.

Peace and all the best will accompany you all the days of your life,
May God satisfy your desire and fulfill all your wishes,
From the bottom of my heart, I congratulate you on your jubilee,
Your crown of glory will always fly with pride and success.

Vapniarsky served in Lutsk until the outbreak of the war. On July 1941, the Nazis took him out of his house and he perished in the fields of Ukraine together with the Jews of Lutsk and the Admor of Olyka.

The cantor, R' Yakov Spector, served in the synagogue in the forshtot [suburb]. He arrived in Lutsk in the years 1885-1890. He was educated and undoubtedly fulfilled “Know Before Whom You Stand[9].” In addition of being a cantor and a good prayer leader, he was also a talented Torah scriber and a great musician. He himself conducted the choir. His eldest son was a conductor and he disappeared somewhere in Russia.

The aforementioned young Jewish man, M. Krintziki, who sang in Rozmarin's choir in Lutsk in a lyrical tenor, attracted the attention of the mayor of Lutsk, General Winoshock, and was given a suitable scholarship from the Lutsk City Council. Previously he studied with the conductor David Eisenstaedt in Warsaw. He also studied to sing opera in Warsaw. Later, he studied with the Italian professor Megnes in Warsaw. Later, he returned to Lutsk and studied hazzanut from the cantor and musician Yakov Vapniarsky. On 1 March 1937, he sang in front of the microphone of Radio Poland in Warsaw and his program was composed of Italian songs: a) Manuella (Stolz), b) Mandoligeta (Pagliaperi), c) Mol de Amor (Buzzi Pizia).

 

lut324.jpg
The cantor R' Yakov Spector

 

The cantor Gershon Sirota conducted the first El Malei Rachamim prayer in Lutsk for the soul of the martyr, Shlomo Ben-Yosef hy”d (a native of Lutsk), who was hung in Eretz Yisrael. The cantor Sirota happened to be in Lutsk on the day of his hanging by the British and prayed the Ma'ariv prayer at the Great Synagogue. Before the Ma'ariv prayer he conducted the first memorial service for the martyr at the same Great Synagogue in which Shlomo Ben-Yosef (Tabacznik) used to come to pray.

The name, Ephraim Lutsker (Kaliger), is mentioned in various places in the hazzanut literature. As a great cantor he also served a teacher and instructor to cantors who studied with him. Shmuel Weinman, who was a well-known cantor in Soroca, Ternopol and other cities, prayed beautifully and in a great tone. Many cantors refer to Ephraim Lutsker as their rabbi and instructor and praise him as a cantor, and no less than that, as a student instructor. They also mentioned in praise the famous American cantor, Yehoshua Weiser, in his biography.

The cantor, Aharon Rozman, was a cantor in Lutsk for many years. He excelled in his great knowledge in music and was also an instructor for cantors and opera singers.

There were also cantors natives of Lutsk, who did not engage in the profession in their hometown and were known in other cities as excellent cantors. Among them was Moshe Loitsker, one of the well known cantors in Hungary. The famous American cantor, Alter Yechiel Karniol, learned hazzanut from him.

Smaller cantors, who can be called by name and noted as good cantors, were: R' Yehusua Kliger, R' Motel Kliniski, R' David Kigel and others. Also the son of the judge Aderman from Lutsk was known as one of the great cantors in America.

Translator's footnotes:

  1. Hazzanut - cantorial singing or chanting. Return
  2. Piyyut is a Jewish liturgical poem, usually designated to be sung, chanted, or recited during religious services. Return
  3. The Record Book of the community of Dubno. Return
  4. Shamash (pl. shamashim) is the Hebrew word for an attendant, servant, caretaker, custodian, or synagogue janitor. Return
  5. Minyan (pl. minyanim) a quorum of ten men over the age of 13 required for traditional Jewish public worship. Return
  6. Amud (lit. Pillar) refers to the lectern in the front of the synagogue from which the prayers are read. Return
  7. Gabbai is a minor official of a synagogue, having limited ceremonial or administrative functions. Return
  8. Acrostic poem spelling the cantor's name, Pinchas Sherman. Return
  9. The saying: “Know Before Whom You Stand,” often appears above the Ark in synagogue sanctuaries. It is based on a phrase found in the Babylonian Talmud (Berakhot 28a) reminding us of the significance and the power of that place in which we find ourselves praying or existing. Return

 

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