The chazan of Israel coming to Australia
Shai Abramson became the chief chazan in 2008 and now has a rabbinate choir that performs alongside him.
Shai Abramson describes his role as the cantor (chazan) of the State of Israel as an emotional rollercoaster: “I can start the morning with a funeral and then in the afternoon do a wedding of soldiers and then go to visit wounded soldiers and bereaved families.
“Yesterday was another funeral of one of the soldiers who died in the battle in Gaza. And you see the families suffer. You see the Israeli population coming together, but not enough … We have to get our strength from unity,” he said.
Abramson told The AJN there was one day when sadly he had eight funerals, one after the other. He acknowledges that the heartbreaking losses do take their toll on him, but he believes being Israel’s chazan is his purpose in life.
He describes the tale of how he came to be Israel’s chazan as a ‘Cinderella story’.
“As a child I liked to sing, and we are in a musical family. My father used to be the musical director of the Israeli Chamber Orchestra for years. We grew up in Jerusalem, and I went to the Great Synagogue for the High Holy Days. I sang in the choir and I liked it, but it was a hobby for me,” he said.
Abramson would go on to serve in the army, study at university and work in logistics and technology, until one day a friend asked him to sing a cantorial piece at an event honouring Benny Gantz. He chose to sing the prayer for the State of Israel. The IDF’s then-chief of staff Gabi Ashkenazi came onto the stage and said, “Your voice is amazing and if you lack a horizon at Elram [the previous name for the Technology and Logistics Branch] then you have one in chazanut with us.”
He became the chief chazan in 2008 and sought to broaden the position to perform all around Israel and the Diaspora, and he now has a rabbinate choir that performs alongside him. While it may not have been his original plan, he believes it is his calling. “After a year or so, I understood that I’m doing my purpose in life … When you have the opportunity and the capability in this country to touch people’s hearts, it’s really a present that’s beautiful … If you get a present you have to use it.”
Abramson has now performed with acclaimed cantors, musicians and musical ensembles, including the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, the Israel Chamber Orchestra, the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, the Ra’anana Simphonette and the IDF Orchestra. His broad repertoire includes cantorial and classical music, Hebrew and Israeli songs, as well as modern pop and rock music. He frequently travels to the Diaspora to perform solidarity concerts as well as bar mitzvahs and weddings, and has released albums, his latest single being Shaar HaRachamim meaning Gate of Mercy.
Abramson returns to Australia for We Sing As One concerts in Melbourne with the St Kilda Hebrew Congregation on November 3, and in Sydney hosted by The Joint Distribution Committee (Australia) on November 5.
He said the concert will feature moving prayers, Israeli classics, as well as meaningful songs such as Simon and Garfunkel’s Bridge Over Troubled Water, and Bring Him Home from Les Mis, which he has changed the words to “Bring Them Home” as a rallying call to bring the Israeli hostages home.
To book tickets:
Sydney: events.humanitix.com/voices-for-israel-concert
Melbourne: trybooking.com/1280039
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