The Cantor: From the Mishnah to Modernity

Wayne Allen traces the evolution of the office of synagogue cantor as reflected in the primary sources of Jewish law as well as in Jewish lore from the third century to the present day. Allen explores the ambivalence of both Jewish authorities and the Jewish public toward the cantor and speculates on the future of the position. Rabbi Allen is clearly a proponent and supporter of cantors. He has been positively influenced and spiritually moved by them throughout his life and is convinced that the cantor is indispensable to Jewish worship specifically and to Jewish life in general. He regards many of the rules restricting cantors as concessions to custom and wrote this exposition of the cantors role during the past 1900 years to help readers understand why it was always surrounded by controversy. He intends that this history of a most important position in synagogue life will serve as a tool for accessing the past and assessing the future of what has emerged as the profession of cantor. --Journal of Synagogue Music Rabbi Wayne Allen is the author of three previous books and has taught at California State University Long Beach the American Jewish University and the University of Waterloo. He earned his doctoral degree from York University.