Jewish Post, Indianapolis, Marion County, 31 May 1995 — Page 14

NAT 8 Mav 31. 1995

Female cantors reclaiming the spiritual - 3 interviews By MARVIN MIGDOL

CANTOR VICKI L. AXE Reform cantors and musicians, including some from foreign lands, will hold their annual convention in Houston from June 25 to 29. The joint convention is for the American Conference of Cantors, Guild of Temple Musicians and is open to guests. More than 250 people will attend the 42nd annual convention, which also marks the 20th anniversary of the first woman cantor. I interviewed Cantor Vicki L. Axe, president of the ACC; Cantor Howard M. Stahl, executive V.P. of the professional association; and Cantor Lisa Lipco Levine, ACC convention co-chair; for a convention preview and insights on cantorial issues. Migdol: What has been the impact of large numbers — about 40 percent — of female cantors, plus increasing women

rabbis?

Axe: Women bring a gentler approach to religious texts and music. Our life experiences have had a positive impact on

how we serve congregants.

Migdol: What is your prediction for the next 20 years as an even larger percentage of Reform cantors are women? Axe: Being a cantor will never become a "woman's" profession. Perhaps the percentages will become closer to 50-50. Females, like males, often have a calling with a gift of music and desire to serve our texts, the Jewish people, and God. Migdol: How old were you when you

entered cantorial school?

Axe: I was 31 and already had a Master's degree in music education. But when I was in the seventh grade I came home from Sunday school and told my parents I wanted to be a cantor. They looked at each other and looked at me and said: "Don't be ridiculous. Women can't be cantors." Migdol: And now, when a recent study revealed that 10 percent of women in other areas of the workplace found a lack of opportunities to advance and 80 percent of women expect the next genera-

tion to have more opportunities, you have equality of the sexes in the cantorate? Axe: Yes, I believe we do. Migdol: Are you the first female to head the ACC? Axe: Yes. I am just completing my second two-year term as president, the first person to serve two terms. I'll step down at our convention in Houston in June. I'm presently cantor and music director of Temple Israel in Columbus, Ohio, where I've served since 1988. Migdol: Last year, you also served as cantor-in-residence in Fort Wayne (Ind.)? Axe: Yes. Migdol: What are your feelings about the ever increasing use of gender-free language in the synagogue? Axe: I like it where appropriate but I want integrity to the text. Berachot are a special genre of prayers invented by rabbis. In its traditional formulation, a beracha begins with Baruch Atah, "Blessed are You." It must mention God's name and God's kingship. Because men wrote down and transmitted Judaism's sacred texts, because women were excluded from their prayer communities, and because of syntactical problems in Hebrew grammar, berachot addressed God in the masculine. But if maleness and femaleness both reflect the Divine Image, it should be possible to make berachot in feminine language. To call God "king" was to say that God assumes responsibility for the world and is actively concerned about it flourishing. Because the notion of kingship no longer resonates, we sometimes substitute "Guardian" or "Source of Life" to express the concept of Goad as protector and nurturer without the connotation of absolutism. The masculine Adonai, "Lord," is not the only name for God. We have sometimes replaced it with "Ya," a shortened form of YHWH, from the root of the word "to be." Migdol: But the Orthodox do not accept these gender changes. Axe: Right. But, by the way, I've performed funerals alongside Orthodox rabbis. Conservatives, though, have been more under-

Vicki L. Axe