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A Memorial In Song: Friends Remember Cantor

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By MICHELLE BEARDEN

mbearden@tampatrib.com

Published: January 24, 2009

PALM HARBOR - It's just the sort of concert that Rabbi Sam Dov Berman would have loved.

But the Ocala rabbi won't be taking part in the sixth annual Cantorial Concert on Feb. 7, as he had in previous years. Berman died from complications during heart surgery shortly before the Jewish High Holy Days began last fall.

Instead, his fellow cantors from the Bay Area Cantorial Association will dedicate the musical program at Temple Ahavat Shalom in Palm Harbor to their friend and colleague, whose warm presence and high baritone are sorely missed this year.

"I look for him at rehearsal and he's not there," says Joy Katzen-Guthrie, a singer-songwriter and cantor from Palm Harbor. "But I can feel his spirit with us. He was such a sweet and giving person - you don't forget somebody like Sam Berman."

Although Berman, 61, didn't live in the Tampa Bay area, he made the drive every year to rehearsals and to participate in the annual program, which brings together local cantors to raise scholarship money for cantorial students. The event rotates among area synagogues on or near the weekend of Shabbat Shira (Sabbath of Song), when the traditional Torah reading contains the song of thanksgiving sung by the Jews when they crossed the Red Sea.

For aspiring cantors strapped for cash, a scholarship is a big help. It's a long-term spiritual and financial commitment to become a cantor, a member of the Jewish clergy who leads the congregation in liturgical prayer and handles many of the same responsibilities as rabbis. The typical path includes a four-year college degree, followed by five years of post-graduate studies, including one year in Israel.

"Being a cantor encompasses everything I love," says Deborah Jacobson of Temple Ahavat Shalom. "I love the music, but I also love the teaching. I love working with the young and the old. I feel like God has given me a gift and I feel blessed that I can use it this way."

This year's theme - "L'Chayim: A Celebration of Life!" - is an appropriate memorial to a man who embraced his fellow humans. The son of Holocaust survivors, he was ordained as a cantor in 1974; then as a rabbi in 2005. He served as senior chaplain for the Ocala Police Department and was active in many interfaith organizations.

At the time of his death, Berman was serving Temple Beth Shalom in Ocala with his wife, Dale, the mother of their three children. One son, Ari, died in a 1998 skydiving accident. The couple felt the tragedy drew them closer and made them an even stronger team.

And always, the music lifted his heart and soul.

"There's no better calling," says Harold Orbach, a 1952 seminary graduate who served a congregation for nearly 50 years in West Bloomfield, Mich. He now makes his home in Bradenton and performs in the Bay area. "My kids asked me what would I do if I had to do it all over again, and I said I'd do it all the same."

Although he loves opera, Orbach says his favorite song is "whatever I'm singing that day." His mission always is to make the world a better place and to touch the hearts of people emotionally at their time of need and time of joy.

"When a service is over, people come and hug me, congratulating me and thanking me for what I've done. They make you feel special," he says. "Now, in what other career does that happen?"

February's concert includes folk and liturgical Hebrew, Yiddish, Ladino, Chasidic, Sephardic and Ashkenazi pieces celebrating Jewish life past and present. Also featured will be a lively medley of songs from the hit musical "Fiddler and the Roof."

It's always a lively, joyous occasion. The participants intend to keep it that way, even though there's one empty spot in the chorus this year.

"Sam was special," says Katzen-Guthrie. "He'll always be missed. It's hard to believe he won't be with us, but we're going to sing our hearts out for him."

L'CHAYIM: A CELEBRATION OF LIFE!
WHEN: 8 p.m. Feb. 7
WHERE: Temple Ahavat Shalom, 1575 Curlew Road, Palm Harbor
ADMISSION: Suggested donation of $18 includes coffee and dessert; proceeds to benefit scholarships for cantorial students.
INFORMATION: (727) 785-8811

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