Cantor Michal Hammerman

Cantor Michal Hammerman sings "Shalom" from the musical "Milk and Honey," and is interviewed by Jess Cain in a broadcast in Boston, mid 1960s, in advance of a Brothers Hammerman Concert.  

Also see mixed tapes of his cantorial and non cantorial music:

Part One (Non Cantorial)

Part Two (Cantorial music, including High Holidays)

Below are some local newspaper clips regarding the Brothers Hammerman Concerts, and my father's legacy.

Nov., 1963

Shabbat-O-Gram for Jan. 31

I hope to see everyone here for Temple Rock on Saturday night.  It is unbelievable how hard the committee has been working to make this evening the great success it always is – a real highlight of our calendar year.  I hope to see you here!  

I also hope you noticed the email we sent out earlier today about our new young couples group.  Over a dozen very enthusiastic individuals have taken on leadership of this new venture.  They aren’t all members of TBE, but that doesn’t matter.  This group is open to everyone – including interfaith and other non traditional couples, with and without kids.  If you are looking to expand your social horizons, here’s your chance.  We find that people are so busy these days that it’s hard to break away and just be a human being for a couple of hours.  Here’s a chance to step back from the rat race and meet other crazed, incredibly busy people looking to do the same thing.  If you (or your adult kids) want to join them for their movie and bar night this Tuesday, contact Matt Miller at mattmiller585@gmail.com.   

Join us on Shabbat morning as we celebrate our TBE BCDS 8^th graders as they prepare to leave for their Israel experience.  We look forward to sending off Eddie Weinstein, Matt Greenbaum, Matt Zweibel, Danny Goldblum, Hudson Price and Steven Yudell  - and also thank those of their families who will be sponsoring our lunch tomorrow.  ‘

Speaking of Israel, my son Dan is now at Hebrew U for spring semester, and he is continuing to blog about his travels at http://dhammerman.blogspot.com/.  Mara and I look forward to visiting him in March.

Speaking of my family, my dad’s music was featured in a recent radio show that highlights classic cantorial music.  If you are interested, you can find it here. Go to the program of Jan. 20, 2014 (#233), and drag the mouse along the recording bar to side 2, about 35:25 minutes in.  It’s a little complicated, but instructions are there.  The person interviewed who spoke about my father got a number of the facts wrong, but it was still very moving to me to hear from someone who knew him long before I was born (and in fact was bar mitzvah on the day my dad came to Brookline for his audition).  And then, of course, to hear  him chant reminds us that although Jewish liturgical has moved, by necessity, to a new place, there is something magical about the great hazzanut of yesteryear. (If you want to hear more, you can also hear some of my dad’s music that I’ve collected here).

Speaking of Shabbat morning, tomorrow I’ll be continuing my series of Learners’ Shabbats, where a key theme of contemporary Jewish life is wedded to both the portion of the week and a prayer from the liturgy.  Tomorrow’s theme is Love, Unity and the Tabernacle – as we’ll look at the Sh’ma and the portion of Terumah, exploring themes of Jewish unity and God’s Oneness.  One, we’ll discover, is definitely not the loneliest number.  You can get a sneak peak at the parsha packet here.  And you can also look back last week’s packet, on the topic Commandment and Choice: How should Post-Modern Jews Relate to Jewish Law? part one is here and click here for part two.

And speaking about send-offs, this evening at Kabbalat Shabbat services we’ll have a send-off of sorts for Pete Seeger, who died this week.  Among his many other his contributions, he brought Israel to the forefront of American popular imagination in a very positive ways, back in the 1950s.  His relationship with Israel later became more complicated, but through his efforts, an Israeli song actually made it up to #2 on the American charts in 1950. 

Now, for my annual Super Bowl Prediction (Using Jewish Sources):

It’s not easy for me to make my Jewish Super Bowl prediction this year, still in mourning for my New England Patriots. But since I’ve almost always been right, as a public service I must meet the challenge. 

So who will it be: Broncos or Seahawks?

Let’s start with geography. I’ve always liked Seattle, and the Native American leader Chief Seattle was known for his pearls of environmental wisdom.  But not even the lovely Cascades can beat the Rockies for sheer natural beauty.  But it’s not just about mountains.  When Gershwin wrote “the Rockies may tumble, Gibraltar may crumble, they're only made of clay; but our love is here to stay,” he was paraphrasing Isaiah 54:10: “For the mountains may depart, and the hills be removed; but My kindness shall not depart from you.”  Was God speaking to Bronco fans in that verse? 

Or how about this?  In Joshua 24, we read that Joshua was buried north of Mount Ga’ash, which was known to be a volcano.  Seattle is situated north of North America’s most famous volcano, Mount St. Helens. It so happens that Ga’ash today is known as a nude beach north of Tel Aviv.  Seattle, like Israel, has nude beaches (sorry, no hyperlink.  Just trust me, it does).  Denver doesn’t have nude beaches.  So the needle seems to be leaning Seahawks here. 

Since both teams come from states that have legalized marijuana, neither gets the edge derived from Genesis 9:3, where God says, “Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. And as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything.” 

Coffee?  Howard Schultz, owner of Starbucks, is Jewish.  But there is no Starbucks Haggadah. That honor is reserved for Maxwell House, and there’s a Maxwell’s Coffee House in Denver.  Plus Golda Meir once lived in Denver and she was known to drink a dozen cups of coffee a day.  But she is best known for fixing a steamiong pot of tea for guests.  Jewish folklore favors tea.  Jewish history favors Golda.  Edge to the Broncos. 

Oh yes, and there are also more Jews in Denver than Seattle.  Another plus for the Broncs.

There is to my knowledge no “seahawk” in the bible, but hawks do appear.  In Leviticus, chapter 11, the hawk is listed among unkosher birds.  Interestingly, the hawk is listed just below the raven and indeed, the Ravens won last year’s Super Bowl.   

The Eagles also appear there, both before and after, possibly indicating that while the Eagles would GET to the big game before the Seahawks, which they did, they wouldn’t win it until later, which, if Seattle wins this week, will indeed be true.

Hawk in Hebrew is “Netz.” (I thought they played in Brooklyn!)  Commentaries about the bird focus on its blinding speed.  And if we are comparing the two quarterbacks in this game, the Seahawks hold a definitive speed edge. 

The rabbis commented on the hawk’s keen eyesight, saying in the Talmud, “It can live in Babylon and see everything that people are doing wrong in the land of Israel.”  That speaks to excellent scouting and Seattle’s superior pass defense to stop long range throws.

As for the Broncos.  Horses don’t typically do well in water - unless they are seahorses, of course.  A few weeks ago in the Torah, we chanted the triumphant Song of the Sea… triumphant for Israelites, I should clarify, but not good for horses. 

 “Ashira L’Adonai Ki Gaoh Ga’ah,” it begins, “(“I will sing to God, who has triumphed gloriously,” “Soos v’rochvo ramah va’yam” (“Horse and driver have been hurled into the Sea”).  Considering the fact that the game is taking place in the Jersey swamps, it is tempting to toss in all the cards at this point and proclaim that the Seahawks will sink Denver in a rout.  

Especially when you figure in how “Ga’ah sounds like “Ga’ash” and there are no nude beaches in Denver.

But the Broncos were incredibly impressive in their win over my Patriots (sigh) two weeks ago.  And there are some positive signs in our sources.

There is even a biblical character (Numbers 13) whose last name is “Soosi.”  The root meaning of “soos,”(horse)  incidentally, is “swift,” which pretty much describes the Broncos, both offensively and defensively.  They are built for speed.

 According to an online concordance, the word soos appears 283 times in the Bible. With the land of Israel being so mountainous, horses were not as useful as mules and oxen and therefore not as plentiful as they were in flatter places, like Egypt and Arabia.  On the plain, horses and chariots were formidable, but you can ask the Canaanite general Sisera how things went once it got hilly and wet.  Or ask Pharaoh.  And they never had to play in the swamps of New Jersey.

Bottom line – a wet, muddy field favors Seattle.  A snowy field all the more.

Typically, horses are seen as instruments of war, typically employed by the enemies of Israel See (Deut 20:1) Despite their threatening status (and how often in history have Jews been chased down by the horses of Cossacks, Roman soldiers and Crusaders), they are also admired, especially for their speed (see Isaiah 30:16).  Clearly, the biblical authors were aware of the Broncos’ lightning fast attack.  Horses are also symbols of dignity and honor (Esther 6:11).  Think of that scene in the book of Esther when Mordechai, not Haman, got to ride through town on horseback – one of those great “gotcha” moments in Jewish history.  

But a horse is also a symbol of vanity and false hopes.  Psalm 33;17 is rather indicative of the Broncos’ recent history:  “A horse is a false hope for victory; Nor does it deliver anyone by its great strength.” 

So, what will happen on Sunday?

Check Job 39:26: “Does the hawk fly by your wisdom, and stretch her wings toward the south?” 

The numerical equivalent of the word “netz” (hawk) is 140.  That is equivalent to the word “koom,” “arise” (without the vowel).   Perhaps the numerical equivalence is hinting at something here. The Hawks will arise late in the game – and it might come down to whether the Seahawks are headed toward the south side of the field in the fourth quarter.

Interestingly, only a few verses earlier in Job, in verse 39:20, we read: “Have you given the horse his strength? Have you clothed his neck with fierceness?”  Could this juxtaposition of hawk and horse verses be the Bible’s way of informing us their positioning on the scoreboard, that the hawks will score 26 and the horses 20?  If you need more proof, check out verse 18: “When the time cometh, she raises her wings on high, and scorns the horse and his rider.”

And how will it end?

In Hebrew, the name of Seattle’s quarterback, Russell, is an acronym for sergeant. With military precision and a strong ground game, Wilson will lead the Seahawks down the field for a go ahead score late in the fourth quarter. 

The Hebrew word Peyton (“pie-tan”) means “poet,” or the composer of a prayer (a piyyut).  So Denver’s Manning will throw up a prayer in the game’s final seconds, a “hail Mary,” as it were.

It will fall incomplete.  Horse and driver will be hurled into the swamp.

Only one thing can save them.  The Talmud prescribes a magical amulet where suspending the tail of a fox between the eyes of a horse wards off evil. In order to win, then, Bronco coach John Fox must head to the end zone before the game and squat between the eyes of the Bronco logo.  Apparently, only the coach’s tush can save the team.

Otherwise, I’ll go with the Joban verse discrepancy and say that the final score will be 26-20, Seahawks.

…of course it must be stated that in no way do I condone gambling, and past performance should not be an indicator of future results…

The 94-Cent Yahrzeit Candle

We are constantly being tested, and with each test we pass, our character becomes more refined and pure. Most of the tests are small, but from small things come much larger ones. The rabbis taught, "Mitzvah goreret mitzvah" one mitzvah leads to another... and the same goes for sin.

My father, a renowned cantor, was a moral mentor to me, although he died very young. Perhaps in part it was because he died at the most vulnerable time for me, just as I was starting rabbinical school, that his imprint has been so lasting. Click here to see what I wrote about him on his tenth yahrzeit, way back in 1988. He was the consummate mensch.

So last week I went to Fairway (the new one in Stamford) and bought a cartload of items, including a small candle for my father's yahrzeit, which falls Thursday night. After unloading my bags into my car, I handed the shopping cart to a parking lot attendant. A moment later, I heard him shout, "Hey you forgot this."

He was holding up the candle. Immediately I realized that I had forgotten to pay for it and had left it in the cart. I took the candle and, for an instant, my mind went through all the machinations that you go through when you are trying to figure out the consequences of the moral decision you are about to make. Yes, it was a bother to go back into the store - and I was i a hurry. Yes, I could "get away with it" by simply leaving, and no one would ever know. And how much was this little candle worth to Fairway, after all? What difference would it make?

But when I thought about what this candle is for, it really was no contest. How could I even think of lighting a stolen yahrzeit candle to honor Mr. Mensch? Or anyone?

I ran into the store as if I were holding hot coals. No, I hadn't stolen intentionally, but until it was back inside the store, the candle was contraband. I ran to the nearest cashier. The value of this near grand-theft: 94 cents.

Some mitzvot come cheap.

A few weeks ago a significant percentage of our seventh graders told me they've at times lied when going into the movies, in order to get the under-12 discount. Most were prompted by their parents to do that. At the local Majestic Theater, it costs $8.50 for a matinee showing of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows." The cost of a child's ticket?

$7.50.

If your child has just turned twelve, think of how much value you will get by instructing him to walk up to the window and tell the truth. Talk about getting bang for the buck!

A moment of honesty could buy a lifetime of integrity. That's the gift that will keep on giving.

And it's the gift my dad gave me once again last week, in the parking lot at Fairway.

Cantor Michal Hammerman audio links

I've been getting lots of wonderful feedback regarding my father's cantorial archives, but a number of people have not been able to download or play the Quicktime files. Below are the web links, which hopefully will be easier to access. Let me know if this works better.

Go Down Moses
Bless this House
Eli Eli
Raisins and Almonds
Day is Ending
Tell Me Where Can I Go?
Kol Nidre Live from K.I.
Musaf Rosh Hashanah Live from K.I.
Selichot
Brothers Hammerman Concert
Our Believing World

If these don't play, you can also go to the archive page and see if you can download it in a format more compatible with your computer.

http://www.archive.org/details/goDownMoses
http://www.archive.org/details/CantorMichaelHammermanblessThisHouse
http://www.archive.org/details/EliEli
http://www.archive.org/details/RasinsAndAlmonds
http://www.archive.org/details/dayIsEnding
http://www.archive.org/details/tellMeWhereCanIGo
http://www.archive.org/details/kolNidreLiveRecordingByCantorMichalHammerman
http://www.archive.org/details/musafRoshHashanah
http://www.archive.org/details/brothersHammermanConcert
http://www.archive.org/details/selichotByCantorMichalHammerman
http://www.archive.org/details/ourBelievingWorld

Dayenu! The Musical Legacy of Cantor Michal Hammerman #3

With this third and final installment of this series of archival recordings, my father and Rabbi Saltzman lead Selichot services together and appear together on a pre High Holidays special on WBZ TV in Boston. They were truly an all-star team on the pulpit. When one spoke and the other sang, either way, we were in the hands of a master. Also featured is an excerpt from one of the famous Brothers Hammerman concerts.

"Live from K.I.: Selichot, 1971"


"Live from K.I.: Brothers Hammerman Concert"


"Our Believing World" TV Broadcast prior to High Holidays

Dayenu! The Musical Legacy of Cantor Michal Hammerman #2

This entry in the archives includes "live" recordings of the two key moments of any High Holiday season, Kol Nidre and Musaf Rosh Hashanah. My father was master of nuance and pace. What remains remarkable to this day is how, with no accompaniment or choir, he was able to make of each service a symphony, probing the deepest meanings of the prayers in the subtlest of ways.

"Live from K.I.: Kol Nidre, 1971"


"Live from K.I.: Musaf Rosh Hashanah, 1971"

Dayenu! The Musical Legacy of Cantor Michal Hammerman #1

As we begin preparations for Passover, I'm reminded that this year marks 30 years since my father's passing. It so happens that even he has found his way onto the web, and with a Passover song, no less. That is not surprising, since he loved this holiday and my memories of our very musical seders are no less vibrant today than they were those many years ago.




In the 1960's his album "My Folks, Their Songs" (here seen in an earlier incarnation - and no, that is not me on the cover, but some impostor!) didn't exactly go platinum, but it was a good platform for many to be introduced to a voice that made him the dean of the New England cantorate. Cantor Jeff Klepper paid tribute to him and to the first song on that album, "Dayenu" in his blog last year.

Here's a Dayeinu For The Ages. When I started collecting Jewish novelty songs - think Jewish Dr. Demento (he is Jewish, I know) - I would occasionally come across a track that was recorded in complete seriousness, but hit me funnier than many comedy songs. Not like the stuff on NPR's Annoying Music Show, which is just annoying. I mean great music, the kind that gets better with age. (Sometime I'll let you hear my 10 worst Hava Nagilas and you'll see what I mean.)


So, enjoy this Pesach treat, the late Cantor Michael Hammerman, tenor, beloved hazzan of Brookline's historic Congregation Kehilat Israel, from his album of Jewish songs called Bless This House. I don't want to spoil the fun of discovering it for yourself. I'll just mention, in the third verse, after he gives a krechtz (cry) on the words "try to do it" the track gets more and more bizarre by the second, straight through to the end. This is one you'll want on your iPod. (Here are the lyrics.)


I agree with Jeff on the campy nature of the arrangement (evocative of the era), though I wouldn't exactly call it "bizarre." Unfortunately, there are few examples on the web of his amazing voice.

You can find his name mentioned in the midst of a nostalgic tour of my home town of Brookline if you scroll down half way. If you log in, you can hear the contents of that entire album from a Dartmouth archive found here.

But although Dayenu means "it is sufficient," sometimes even Dayenu isn't enough! I've uploaded some of Dad's "Greatest Hits" here, in celebration of his 30th yahrzeit. Some of these are being made public here for the first time, including "live" recordings of "Kol Nidre," "Selichot" and "Musaf Rosh Hashanah" as taped at Kehillath Israel in 1971 (by the non Jewish janitor, BTW) as well as an excerpt from one of the classic "Brothers Hammerman" concerts that he did with his brothers, who were also cantors, Herman and Saul Z. Hammerman. Zel (as his family called him) passed away just a few months ago and there was an incredible bond between him and my father, which shines through in this excerpt, along with their passion for Jewish music (and the other family trademark, their sense of humor). The Selichot recording also features the long-time rabbi of K.I., Manny Saltzman, known for his great oratory. Rabbi Saltzman also is featured in the "Our Believing World" broadcast, which appeared on Boston television before the High Holidays one year.

These are truly collectors' items. They were recorded at the tail end of an era of greatness for the American Cantorate, reflecting a style that is nearly extinct. There are still great cantors around, but the focus now is much more on participation and more intimate forms of spiritual expression. I'm a proponent of those newer, more indigenous American Jewish forms, but no one can deny the power of the voices of that era - and my father was one of the greatest. When people came into KI during the '50s and '60s, typically the place was packed every Shabbat. Hundreds of people would stream in from all over the Boston area. These were the golden days for my community. North Brookline was virtually a shtetl, especially on Shabbat and holidays. We even had a junior congregation that was filled each week - a service led by teens for teens. Out of this crucible of intense Jewish passion were nurtured over 30 rabbis and many more teachers and educators, including some of the greatest of our era.

This is an era that is no more. In many ways, the Conservative movement now needs to move beyond it, and the nostalgia for those times, so it can forge a new era of greatness. Many shuls are still stuck on those memories and have yet to realize that the caravan has moved on. But as we all move forward, I'm glad that my father's music can now go with us. For those in Brookline and elsewhere who have waited 30 years for this, it took me almost that long to figure out the technology. There are still glitches, but hopefully, if you have QuickTime capability, you'll be able to play them. I've divided these up into three blog entries to help in the downloading process. Through the magic of the Web, I hope you'll feel transported back to simpler times.

Enjoy!

"Bless this House"


"Go Down Moses"


"Raisins and Almonds"


"Tell Me Where Can I Go"


"Day is Ending"


"Eli Eli"



Fortunately, my dad made lots of those old reel-to-reel tapes - In that sense (and only that sense) he was the Richard Nixon of the cantorate. Unfortunately, the reel-to-reel tapes have reel-to-reel quality, which is uneven, and the tape always runs out... I've got some more concerts that I can upload from time to time.

But for now...Dayenu!

Shlomo Carlebach z'l, Vintage Concert Recording

This evening we'll commemorate the yahrzeit of Reb Shlomo Carlebach, incorporating some of his melodies and stories into our Shabbat service. On the website of the Carlebach Shul in NY, the following passage echoes our own philosophy:

Our secret is rooted in two fundamental Torah teachings: Neshama Yeteira, a special soul we receive on Shabbos, and Lechem Mishnah, the two loaves of bread we have to Shabbos commemorating the double portion of Manna we received in the desert for Shabbos. Finding the special Shabbos souls who are hungry for G-d (the Neshama Yeteira) and feeding them the double portion (Lechem Mishnah) is our goal. Indeed, in order to reach the lofty goal of a "never-ending Shabbos," The Carlebach Shul, together with its rabbi, is dedicated to bringing Reb Shlomo's Torah teachings to Jews of all backgrounds in an atmosphere of warmth and joy.

On this his yahrzeit, I am pleased to release to the public for the first time this vintage recording of a concert featuring Reb Shlomo, recorded on a stormy night in Nov. 1972 at my home shul, Kehillath Israel in Brookline, Mass. It also features my father, Cantor Michal Hammerman z'l and Cantor Alex Zimmer (and my mom at the piano). Carlebach begins about 35 minutes in. See the program here.

My dad brought Reb Shlomo to Brookline as part of the local Jewish Music Forum. The recording features not only some of his famous melodies, but his inimitable storytelling style. My father had the concert taped but this was not a professional recording (there is some unevenness in the sound); this tape was never mass produced or released. Until now. Click on the player below or you can access the concert here.