In Harmony

In the Weinbachs’ home, as in every chazzan’s home, the awesome feeling of Elul and Tishrei arrives long before the months do. Chazzanim start practicing the haunting tunes — Hamelech, Hayom Haras Olam, Hayom Te’amtzeinu — preparing to lead their kehillos in teshuvah and tefillah. Their wives and children can sense the passion.

The wife of a chazzan is an active partner in his tefillos, says Shoshi Heller, wife of Chazzan Dov Heller. “Being a chazzan isn’t easy. It’s music without a keyboard, just the live voice with no external support. Even on your bad days or under uncomfortable conditions, you have to give your whole self and overcome the challenges.

“I’m very tuned in to the exercises and practice my husband does — and then I get to reap the fruit of all that preparation in real time in shul. I understand the small nuances. I know when it’s hard for him, when he’s struggling… at certain sections I know that in another moment he’ll be screaming, and I find myself taking a deep breath to fill my lungs with air, as if for both of us,” says Shoshi Heller. Paramount is the sense of mission these women feel, and their pride that their husbands are arousing Jewish hearts with their tefillos.

“I see people leaving Selichos feeling aroused to do teshuvah. I’m proud to have a part in that zechus,” says Miriam. “For the most part, my husband davens in front of kehillos where it’s not taken for granted that the people will come to shul on Yamim Noraim. When people hear that an excellent chazzan will be davening, they decide it’s worth it for them to leave their houses to daven. We have a real part in the tefillos of each person who participates in the tefillos on these holy days.