Celebrating women cantors

SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — Oheb Shalom Congregation presents “From Bima to Broadway,” a concert to celebrate the 30-year anniversary of women serving in the Conservative cantorate, as well as Cantor Erica Lippitz’s 30-year anniversary as Oheb Shalom’s cantor. The concert will take place on Sunday, March 11, at 4 p.m. at Oheb Shalom, 170 Scotland Road, South Orange.

“From Bima To Broadway” will feature three nationally-acclaimed female cantors: Magda Fishman, Alisa Pomerantz-Boro and Elizabeth Shammash. Other guest cantors and instrumentalists will also perform during this special afternoon.

Oheb Shalom has long distinguished itself as an incubator for women leaders across the extended community. As early as 1948, Oheb Shalom began to offer girls the opportunity to become b’not mitzvah. The congregation elected its first woman president in 1979. Then in 1987, Oheb Shalom appointed Cantor Erica Lippitz, one of the first two women to graduate as hazzan from the Jewish Theological Seminary.

“Change in centuries of tradition is challenging and slow moving, but Oheb Shalom energetically led the effort to empower women, who then became distinguished leaders of our congregation and the broader MetroWest Jewish community,” historian and Oheb Shalom member Mark Gordon said.

“In 1987, most congregations were not open to even interviewing a woman cantor, but Oheb Shalom embraced me as a spiritual leader,” Lippitz said. “People understood that I came to strengthen our tradition, with its glorious and expressive music and chant. Thirty years later, my heart bursts with joy to see the remarkable women cantors of the next generation. Shehecheyanu — we have been privileged to shape the history of women together.”

Admission is charged, though free for anyone younger than 18 or older than 90. For ticket information, visit http://www.ohebshalom.org/broadway or call the Oheb Shalom office at 973-762-7067.

  Broadway, Oheb Shalom