Meet Beth Israel's new cantor

MICHELLE DODEK

Click. In August, the last piece of the puzzle fell into place at Beth Israel, a synagogue that is on a path to rejuvenation. Rabbi Jonathan Infeld and baalat tefillah (Torah reader) Debbie Fenson were joined by Cantor Michael Zoosman to complete the shul's young and vibrant religious trifecta.

Zoosman, who likes to be known as Cantor Mike, is almost fresh out of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America (JTS), where he received a master's degree in sacred music and his title of cantorial investiture in 2007. He was drawn into Judaism, and later into a career as a cantor, through a love of Jewish music. His childhood was spent in Connecticut and, by the time he was a bar mitzvah, he was already thinking of becoming a cantor. He began to lead parts of the service in his teens and became a cantorial soloist at congregation B'nai Jacob in Springfield, Mass., on his 20th birthday.

During the year directly following his graduation from JTS, he spent a year working in New London, Conn., so he could spend some quality time with his father before he took a job elsewhere. "In the spring of '08, I decided to look for a job. The thought came to me from somewhere that I'd go where the winds take me." The winds blew strongly, and here he is, far from home, in Vancouver.

"I didn't know where Vancouver was when I saw this job posting. It seemed exotic," said the cantor. He also mentioned having seen Michael Moore's movie Sicko, which helped to open his mind to life in Canada. "It's very different than Connecticut. It's beautiful and exciting and, best of all, I'm told it never snows here!" he laughed. (This was before the recent snowstorms.)

He also felt strongly that the position at Beth Israel was the best possible job out there for him. "The community is warm, the rabbi is great to work with and having Debbie as part of the klei kodesh [sacred vessels] offsets some of the responsibilities I might otherwise have and enables me to do some of the things, musically and in the community, that I might not otherwise be able to do," commented Zoosman. On top of the synagogue work of daily services, the adult choir he started in November and help for b'nai mitzvah students, the cantor is involved in many aspects of the Jewish community at large.

Chaplaincy, for which he took special training during his cantorial studies, is one of his interests. Bikkur cholim, visiting the sick, is a primary component of his chaplaincy work. He's often at the Louis Brier Home and Hospital visiting residents and singing Yiddish folk songs, which he said has an amazing effect on people, especially those with dementia who can come out of their shell when they hear familiar music. He's a regular at L'Chaim Adult Day Care at the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver and at

Yaffa House, but the most intriguing element of his chaplaincy is his strong interest in those in prison.

"That is a population we are first to forget about," Zoosman commented emotionally. He visited the prison in Surrey this December to mark Chanukah with an inmate there. "Our tradition teaches us that when you save a life, you save the whole world," said the cantor, who went on to explain how fervently he believes in making sure all people feel connected.

He relates to youth as well. "Just the presence of someone my age makes a big difference. I don't claim to have more experience than my 27 years, but being younger is an advantage to relating to younger people." He leads an egalitarian minyan once a week at King David High School and works on tefillah with Vancouver Talmud Torah's Grade 4 students, who are currently housed in Beth Israel's classrooms. He has had only positive interactions with older people here as well. "The receding hairline helps," he quipped.

On Feb. 6-7, the Shabbat known as Shabbat Shira (Shabbat of Song), Zoosman's position will be publicly recognized at his official installation at Beth Israel Synagogue. The dean of the cantorial school at JTS, Henry Rosenblum, will be here for the occasion. The community is welcome to attend the services and see what the cantor sounds like. If you can't make it and still want to meet the rabbi – maybe to set him up with someone – you can always come to his weekly adult education classes on Tuesdays.

Michelle Dodek is a Vancouver freelance writer whose full-time job is caring for her two small children.

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