The High Holy days music at Belsize Square Synagogue Cantor Heller, September 19, 2023September 19, 2023 The capability to live stream, and archive, our services, allows me the luxury of being able to review, and edit, our important musical legacy. I’d like to share one such development. It’s a new composition by Dr Benjamin Wolf, our synagogue’s Music Director, Choir Master and Composer that was commissioned by Rabbi Botnick to the new opening for the repetition of the Amidah, during Musaf Rosh Hashana. The music is designed to integrate the traditional melody of Zochreinu L’Chaim (Remember us for Life) and offer greater congregational participation. I hope you will agree it is quite wonderful! Related Hazzanut
Hazzanut Summer Weddings and the Sacred Harmony of Hans Bloemendal’s Sheva Brachot June 19, 2025July 21, 2025 There’s something uniquely magical about summer weddings. The golden light, the scent of blooming flowers, and the warmth of long days create a perfect backdrop for love and celebration. In Jewish tradition, this joy is elevated by the Sheva Brachot—the Seven Blessings—recited under the chuppah and during the week of festivities… Read More
Hazzanut Summer weddings are back June 29, 2026June 29, 2026 At Belsize Square, the sanctuary carries its own atmosphere: the light through the windows, the familiar stillness of that space, and the sense of accumulated ceremony. Everything is in place for a chuppah. In Italy — Bari, this time — the grandeur is architectural and the air conditioning is, shall… Read More
Cantorial Tavo Lefanecha: A Masterpiece Through the High Holidays July 27, 2026August 6, 2026 As we approach the High Holidays, there is one piece that has become woven into the fabric of Belsize Square’s liturgical year—Louis Lewandowski’s Tavo Lefanecha (May It Come Before You). It is a work that embodies much of what we preserve and continue in our tradition, and this seems a… Read More