Prolific composer joins Rodef Sholom for weekend event

Composer Ben Steinberg is a man with a passion for Jewish music and a reverence for its tradition. He's also blessed with a wry sense of humor.

Those qualities were evident at a recent panel discussion in New York, where Steinberg, the director of music at Toronto's Temple Sinai, addressed the role of tradition in the synagogue.

"The Torah scrolls are awkward and inconvenient," Steinberg told the shocked audience. "We should consider replacing them with overhead projectors."

Steinberg laughed as he recalled that many audience members failed to recognize the facetiousness of his remarks. "My point was that Jewish tradition is both sacred and vulnerable, and that Jews need to be vigilant in protecting it."

Regarded internationally as one of the foremost composers of sacred Jewish music, Steinberg will be the featured guest at Congregation Rodef Sholom's first composer-in-residence weekend Oct. 29 to 31 in San Rafael.

His music will be performed by a choir and instrumental ensemble during the Friday night Shabbat service. The sermon is titled "Shir Chadash: Origins of Jewish Music."

The Saturday evening program is titled "The Musical Mosaic of Judaism," and a Sunday morning program is on "The Real History of Sabbath Table Songs."

Roots and tradition are central themes in Steinberg's life and work. Educated at the Toronto Royal Conservatory of Music and the University of Toronto, the composer is well-known for his fervent belief in preserving the ancient role of the cantor in the synagogue. He is the recipient of awards from such groups as the Cantors' Assembly of America and the American Harp Society.

Rodef Sholom Cantor David Margules called Steinberg the "most prolific composer of Jewish music today.

"Ben Steinberg exemplifies a school of thought in Reform Judaism that demands historical vigilance," he added. "Too often what passes for music in congregations these days are glorified camp songs."

Margules noted that when Steinberg appears at Rodef Sholom, he will be accompanied by harps, a full choir and a string quartet, so the audience can see a "true visionary lay it all out."

In a recent telephone interview from his Toronto home, Steinberg said he received the "calling" for Jewish music the old-fashioned way: It was in his blood. "My father was a cantor, and I knew the synagogue modes before I could even speak."

The composer cut his teeth writing scores for radio and TV shows in the 1950s, as well as chamber music and liturgies for various churches. But he always returned to where his soul lay -- the synagogue.

"Sarah's Sacrifice," one of his compositions, was set to the writing of Margaret Kaufman of Kentfield and performed at San Francisco's Congregation Sherith Israel.

"The greatest repository of Jewish music is within the walls of the synagogue, and the cantor is its keeper," Steinberg said.

In a society that is bombarded with commercial images, Steinberg believes it's imperative that both the cantor and congregants take a firm stand against watering down sacred traditions. Noting that change is inevitable, and sometimes even for the better, Steinberg still contends that the past is a building block for the future and shouldn't be casually discarded.

"As congregants know less and less about their traditions, they're left with an inability to safeguard it against the winds of change. One of the roles of the cantor is to inspire people to seek that knowledge."

Steinberg said the Canadian Jewish community is much closer to its European roots than its U.S. neighbor. Toronto and other large Canadian cities became hubs for Jewish immigrants when Ellis Island restricted immigration in the early decades of the century, he said. "I'm always surprised when I meet American Jews who tell me that they're fifth or sixth generation. You don't see that in Canada. There's much more of an immediate connection to the European homelands."

Steinberg still speaks of Jewish musical tradition with awe. "There is great profundity in being a cantor. The history and music of the synagogue is endless and relates to almost every facet of Jewish life. I love what I do very deeply."