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Dr. Eliyahu Schleifer, Emeritus Professor of Sacred Music und ehemaliger Direktor der School of Sacred Music am Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion in Jerusalem, ist seit Beginn dieses Wintersemesters der neue Direktor des Kantorenseminars am Abraham Geiger Kolleg. Er beschreibt seinen Aufgabenbereich so:

“It is with a deep sense of responsibility that I have come from Jerusalem to Berlin to teach at the Cantorial School of the Abraham Geiger Kolleg and to help in directing its training program. In about a week we shall commemorate the infamous Reichspogromnacht, the tragic herald of the Holocaust. The destruction of the synagogues during the Pogrom dealt a severe blow on the sacred music of the German Jews. While the synagogue music of the East-European Jewry survived, because it had been kept alive in various countries around the world, the German counterpart has vanished and is now almost extinct. Only a few congregations do still pray with the same ancient melodies that began their growth in Medieval Mainz, Speyer and Worms; and from the glorious music of the 19th century emancipation composers, such as Salomon Sulzer and Louis Lewandowski, only a few melodies are sung today. Therefore I believe that by establishing a new cantorial school in the renewed Jewish communities of Germany, Abraham Geiger Kolleg under the leadership of Rabbi Walter Homolka, has taken an important step in re-establishing music as an important factor in the resurrected Jewish communities of Germany and Europe. I therefore feel privileged to take part in this important endeavor.

The new Jewish communities comprise a mixture of German and East-European traditions. Therefore the Cantorial School has an obligation to maintain a well thought-out blend of the two musical traditions. This necessitates that our students should be bi-lingual. They should be able to incorporate in the services music of both traditions. This creates an additional hardship on our cantorial students who at the same time need to cope with their Judaica studies and vocal training. It is therefore, with great appreciation to our cantorial students that I am assuming this role of leadership.

Working together with the Director of the Academic Program of the Cantorial School, Dr. Jascha Nemtsov, and with the staff under the directorship of Dr. Anne Brenker, I hope to help propel the Cantorial School to high achievements, and to graduate male and female Chasanim, who would serve as faithful Shlihei Zibbur, emissaries of the people before God and leaders of the congregations in the Sweet Song of Israel. Thus we would all take part in the revival of the Jewish communities and Jewish music in Germany.”

Prof. Dr. Eliyahu Schleifer vor dem Vorabend des Schabbats “Lech Lecha" am 4 November 2011.