Chazan Jaclyn (Jacky) Chernett is a musicologist and lecturer who is Cantor at Kol Nefesh Masorti Synagogue in Edgware in the London Borough of Barnet. [1] [2] [3] She was ordained as a cantor in 2006, receiving her semikhah from the Academy for Jewish Religion (AJR) in New York and becoming the first female cantor in the United Kingdom. [1]
Chernett is a vice-president of Masorti Judaism in the UK and the founder, in 2017, of the European Academy for Jewish Liturgy (EAJL). [4] [5] [6] She is an Associate member of the London College of Music [7] and received an M.Phil degree in Ethnomusicology in Biblical Chant from City University, London in 1998. [8] [9]
She and her husband live in Edgware. [4]
A hazzan or chazzan is a Jewish musician or precentor trained in the vocal arts who leads the congregation in songful prayer. In English, this prayer leader is often referred to as a cantor, a term also used in Christianity.
The machzor is the prayer book which is used by Jews on the High Holy Days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Many Jews also make use of specialized machzorim on the three pilgrimage festivals of Passover, Shavuot, and Sukkot. The machzor is a specialized form of the siddur, which is generally intended for use in weekday and Shabbat services.
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Reform Judaism, formally the Movement for Reform Judaism (MRJ) and known as Reform Synagogues of Great Britain until 2005, is one of the two World Union for Progressive Judaism–affiliated denominations in the United Kingdom. Reform is relatively traditional in comparison with its smaller counterpart, Liberal Judaism, though it does not regard Jewish law as binding. As of 2010, it was the second-largest Jewish religious group in the United Kingdom, with 19.4% of synagogue-member households. On 17 April 2023, Reform Judaism and Liberal Judaism announced their intention to merge as one single unified progressive Jewish movement. The new movement, which may be called Progressive Judaism, will represent about 30% of British Jewry who are affiliated to synagogues.
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Jacqueline Hazel "Jackie" Tabick is a British Reform rabbi. She became Britain's first female rabbi in 1975. She retired in 2023 as convenor of the Movement for Reform Judaism's Beit Din, the first woman in the role, and until its closure in 2022 was also Rabbi of West Central Liberal Synagogue in Bloomsbury, central London.
The Giffnock Newton Mearns Synagogue, commonly known as Giffnock Shul, is an Orthodox Jewish congregation and synagogue, located at 222 Fenwick Road in Giffnock, East Renfrewshire, on the south side of Glasgow, Scotland, in the United Kingdom. The synagogue is the largest in Scotland and also features a religious day school for both children and teenagers.
Masorti Olami is the international umbrella organization for Masorti Judaism, founded in 1957 with the goal of making Masorti Judaism a force in the Jewish world. Masorti Olami is affiliated with communities in over 36 countries, representing with partners in Israel and North America close to two million people worldwide, both registered members and non-member identifiers. Masorti Olami builds, renews, and strengthens Jewish life throughout the world, with efforts that focus on existing and developing communities in Europe, Latin America, the former Soviet Union, Africa, Asia, and Australia. More than 140 kehillot (communities) are affiliated with Masorti Olami in Argentina, Aruba, Australia, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, the Czech Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, France, Germany, Honduras, Hungary, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, the Netherlands, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Uganda, Ukraine, Uruguay, the United Kingdom and additionally, more than 600 in Canada and the United States and over 80 communities in Israel. All of Masorti Olami's activities are conducted within the context of the overall Conservative Judaism movement, in close cooperation with its affiliated organizations in North America and Israel. The current executive director is Rabbi Mauricio Balter.
Marcel Lang was a Swiss chazan (cantor) and singer (tenor).
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Shir Hayim was a Reform Jewish congregation and synagogue, located at 37a Broadhurst Gardens, in West Hampstead, in the Borough of Camden, London, England, in the United Kingdom. Established in 1975, the congregation closed in 2020 when it was merged with Willesden Minyan to form the Makor Hayim congregation.
The Radlett Reform Synagogue is a Reform Jewish congregation and synagogue in Radlett, Hertfordshire, England, in the United Kingdom. Formed in 1971 as the Bushey Heath Reform Community, the congregation is a member of the Movement for Reform Judaism.
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New London Synagogue is a Masorti Jewish congregation and synagogue, located in St John's Wood, in the City of Westminster, London, England, in the United Kingdom.
Rabbi Natasha Mann is a rabbi of New London Synagogue in the United Kingdom, which is affiliated to Masorti Judaism. She is the first openly queer rabbi in a traditional Jewish denomination in Europe.
Kol Nefesh Masorti Synagogue is a Masorti Jewish congregation and synagogue, located on Rectory Lane in Edgware, in the Borough of Barnet, London, England, in the United Kingdom. The congregation was founded in 2001. Its part-time rabbi is Joel Levy and its cantor is Jaclyn Chernett.
The Ark Synagogue is a Liberal Judaism Synagogue situated in Northwood, in a northwest London suburb, in the London Borough of Hillingdon, in the United Kingdom. Since its foundation in 1964 it has become the largest Liberal Jewish Synagogue outside of central London with over 1100 adult and 300 younger members. Previously known as Northwood and Pinner Liberal Synagogue (NPLS), in December 2020 they adopted the name "The Ark Synagogue".
Elizabeth (Liz) Bolton is a rabbi, feminist, and activist. Hired in 2013 by Reconstructionist synagogue Or Haneshamah, she is Ottawa’s first female and openly gay rabbi. In the late 1980’s, she led efforts to address the exclusion of women from the cantorate in Canada.