From eJP: The hidden cantor: Why members of our clergy are missing from the picture

[Reprinted from eJewishPhilanthropy—link to full op-Ed below]

I open a government form, and the cursor hovers over the title field. A little dropdown menu appears: Mr., Mrs., Ms., Dr., Reverend, Pastor, Rabbi. I scroll, waiting to see my own title appear. It never does. There is no “Cantor.” No “Hazzan.” It looks like a small omission, but it lands with weight. I exist in the world as clergy, but the world does not always know what to call me. 

That same feeling washed over me when I read the newest study on the American rabbinate, a serious piece of research by Atra on the state of rabbinic leadership in the United States. It explores burnout, changing roles and the pipeline for future rabbis. Important work, thoughtful and needed. Yet once again, cantors are nowhere to be found. Not as a category. Not as a data point. Not even in a footnote. We simply do not exist in the frame.

Continue reading on the eJewishPhilanthropy website.