Ask the
Clergy
What should be the role of a
modern Chazzan?
by
Chazzan Aníbal Mass
Published in the J ewish P
ost on
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
The word "Chazzan" comes from "Chazon", meaning vision,
since he used to watch over the services and had the privilege
of having access to and read from the Siddur in front of the
congregation.
The Chazzan assumed a unique responsibility: watching and
observing the needs of the congregation. And from the same
origins of these obligations, the Chazzan has the honour of
being a prayer leader.
Then we could say that his function has always been to represent
and to help the congregation to pray to God, to be sure that the
prayers contain the kavana and the spirituality necessary
in the intimate communication with the Creator and with
oneself.
It is a huge responsibility for the individual who chooses the
vocation to be in front of a Minyan, and in this sense it
was and it is the congregation that always gave the Chazzan a
place of respect and recognition.
Every generation and every congregation presents the Chazzan
with new challenges.
For those of us who enjoy being in a synagogue, nothing brings
more joy to our spirits than to pray in community, either
sharing petitions, thanks, or even complaints to God. But in
recent years we have also noticed that we are in a crisis, where
assimilation is touching everyone's lives and some of the
fundamental ideals of Judaism are getting lost.
As a consequence, we are losing the most important material that
we have, which is the Jew, like you, attending the synagogue,
wanting to be an active part of the community.
The synagogue is not the only place to express our Judaism, but
it has been and it should be the center of the Jewish life.
So, going back to the definition of the Chazzan as the one who
sees, the one who as a VISION, I wonder what is it that the
Chazzan of the 21st century should see.
The modern Chazzan should see that he/she has the duty of
bringing something more than his/her voice to make possible a
Jewish future, both inside and outside of the synagogue.
Today, certainly, it is not enough to see the Siddur; today we
have to look at the congregation, and to see us as part of it.
A few generations ago, perhaps the common image of a Chazzan was
that of a singer with a great voice singing Kol Nidre.
Today, the role of a Chazzan should be much wider than that. I
don't believe that we, Chazzanim, have a lot of options in this
matter. Either we accept this reality or we will not only be
facing a personal failure but rather we will also push our
congregations to be indifferent to the synagogue for the current
and future generations.
These are times where the Chazzan should look a little further,
fly a little higher, and to serve not only the God of Israel,
but the People of Israel and to work for the continuity of the
Jewish life in every possible aspect.
Do you have a
question you would like answered in this column? Email
information@shaareyzedek.mb.ca.
