Our Purpose
Judy Berman devoted her life to music, with special love and energy for Jewish music. Cantors, soloists and choirs know her music as both accessible and evocative. We, her three sons, created this website for the purpose of making our mother’s music available and to promote its use among cantors, choir conductors, music teachers, or anyone else interested in her compositions, arrangements, settings and songs.
Judy’s main liturgical works were her three Friday night Sabbath (sacred) services. The first two were published by Transcontinental Music, which has graciously made them available on this website. The last of these sacred services was composed for the fiftieth anniversary of Judith's marriage to her beloved husband. Sadly, he died unexpectedly only three weeks prior to their anniversary date, and the work is first published here.
A primary inspiration for Judy’s sacred services was her father, Rabbi S. Felix Mendelsohn, the founding rabbi of Temple Beth Israel in Chicago, who was instrumental in popularizing the Friday night service in the Reform movement.
Judy also composed countless arrangements of other liturgical works; a select few are included in this site. Although she arranged liturgical works from many sources, she used two most often:
● the "Vinaver collection" – Hassidic songs collected by noted musicologist Chemjo Vinaver (1900 – 1947);
● Sefer Hanigunim – a collection of Hassidic chants, which Judith used as the basis for her second sacred service, which also served as her thesis for her 1976 Master of Arts in Sacred Music at the Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion.
Judy’s compositions, in addition, included more than 100 original songs, nearly all for solo voice with piano accompaniment. Most were songs for children, set to poetry or lyrics by Chayim Nachman Bialik or Judy's longtime collaborator, Rose C. Engel. Many songs were composed for Judy and Rose's three Hanukkah songbooks, two of which were published by Willis Music Publishing Co. Other compilations, notably My Passover Haggadah, My Sabbath Prayerbook and My High Holy Day Prayerbook, included original compositions and arrangements by Judy, utilizing lyrics by Rose Engel and illustrated by Judy’s lifelong friend and colleague Lita Greenberg.
Judy complemented her work as a composer in many ways. For all of her adult life, she served congregations as a music director, music teacher and choral conductor. She especially loved working with children, bringing out their best. Long before it was popular, she mounted productions of Brundibar, the children’s opera composed during the Holocaust in the Terezin concentration camp.
To help strengthen the future for Jewish music in America, we ask that musicians who download music from this site make contributions through the site either to the Cantors Assembly or to the American Cantors Conference. To make a contribution, please click here.
The American Cantors Conference is affiliated with the Union for Reform Judaism and serves and represents over 450 cantors in North America. For more information about the American Cantors Conference, or to contribute directly, please click on this link: www.accantors.org.
Affiliated with the United Synagogue for Conservative Judaism, the Cantors Assembly is the largest organization of professional Hazzanim in the world. For more information about the Cantors Assembly, or to contribute directly, please click on this link: www.cantors.org.