cantors and lay people
May. 21st, 2004 10:24 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
cellioI'm on a mailing list for synagogue music/musicians. It's mostly inhabited by cantors, and I try to just sit and listen.
Lately, though, they've been doing the "we don't get no respect" mantra, saying that synagogues underpay them and that non-proefessionals are cutting into their jobs (something like "how dare an accountant who sings part-time take away our jobs!"), and they've been tossing around the "union" word. And. Well.
I slept on this before sending it:
Thus far this discussion has focused mostly on financial concerns -- that "part-timers" and "ameteurs" take work away from cantors, who need the work to survive -- leading to suggestions like the above, where others are forbidden to do this work. I would like to bring up a different consideration.
We, as Jewish leaders, should be encouraging members of our congregations to participate, to learn, and to become more proficient in a variety of Jewish endeavors. Hired professionals are a relatively recent innovation; before that, "just plain folks" were educated enough to serve as sh'liach tzibur, ba'al kri'ah, and other functions around the synagogue. Much of modern Judaism has lost that, and I think we should be trying to reverse that trend, not driving even more nails into the coffin.
I would rather see on the bima a dedicated member of my own congregation with an adequate voice than an outsider with a stellar voice and no real commitment to the congregation. (I recognize that some cantors do make real commitments to their congregations, but I also know that many just view it as a "gig".) I would like members of the congregation who are skilled in these areas to have opportunities to apply and hone those skills in their own congregations -- even if they are nurses or accountants or teachers who have absolutely no intention of pursuing a profession as an invested cantor. Restricting most ritual roles to people with credentials weakens the community, and Jewish worship is about the community. There are some roles that must be restricted in some ways, of course, but those are matters of halacha, not of job-protection.
If in the future we should have so many talented, dedicated lay leaders that invested cantors are feeling threatened, well, that's unfortunate for the cantors, but it's great news for the community. Any profession is subject to ups and downs, and occasional massively-reduced demand, because of changes in the world (automation, demographics, economic factors, etc). We are all subject to these risks, whether we are computer professionals, retailers, factory workers -- or cantors.
There will always be congregations that prefer the invested cantor, and there are undoubtedly other jobs that cantors are able to fill. Cantors aren't going away. But being an invested cantor is no guarantee of employment, just as a university degree is no guarantee in other professions. Sometimes the market just doesn't support the available labor force, and people have to adapt.
Lately, though, they've been doing the "we don't get no respect" mantra, saying that synagogues underpay them and that non-proefessionals are cutting into their jobs (something like "how dare an accountant who sings part-time take away our jobs!"), and they've been tossing around the "union" word. And. Well.
I slept on this before sending it:
Thus far this discussion has focused mostly on financial concerns -- that "part-timers" and "ameteurs" take work away from cantors, who need the work to survive -- leading to suggestions like the above, where others are forbidden to do this work. I would like to bring up a different consideration.
We, as Jewish leaders, should be encouraging members of our congregations to participate, to learn, and to become more proficient in a variety of Jewish endeavors. Hired professionals are a relatively recent innovation; before that, "just plain folks" were educated enough to serve as sh'liach tzibur, ba'al kri'ah, and other functions around the synagogue. Much of modern Judaism has lost that, and I think we should be trying to reverse that trend, not driving even more nails into the coffin.
I would rather see on the bima a dedicated member of my own congregation with an adequate voice than an outsider with a stellar voice and no real commitment to the congregation. (I recognize that some cantors do make real commitments to their congregations, but I also know that many just view it as a "gig".) I would like members of the congregation who are skilled in these areas to have opportunities to apply and hone those skills in their own congregations -- even if they are nurses or accountants or teachers who have absolutely no intention of pursuing a profession as an invested cantor. Restricting most ritual roles to people with credentials weakens the community, and Jewish worship is about the community. There are some roles that must be restricted in some ways, of course, but those are matters of halacha, not of job-protection.
If in the future we should have so many talented, dedicated lay leaders that invested cantors are feeling threatened, well, that's unfortunate for the cantors, but it's great news for the community. Any profession is subject to ups and downs, and occasional massively-reduced demand, because of changes in the world (automation, demographics, economic factors, etc). We are all subject to these risks, whether we are computer professionals, retailers, factory workers -- or cantors.
There will always be congregations that prefer the invested cantor, and there are undoubtedly other jobs that cantors are able to fill. Cantors aren't going away. But being an invested cantor is no guarantee of employment, just as a university degree is no guarantee in other professions. Sometimes the market just doesn't support the available labor force, and people have to adapt.
(no subject)
Date: 2004-05-21 07:56 am (UTC)Now that I think about it, I suppose I could have used cars and wagon-makers, too.