By Rabbi Steven Blane, Founder and Dean of JSLI · October 2026
A cantor, or hazzan, is the person who leads a Jewish congregation in prayer through sacred music. When the cantor sings, the congregation isn’t supposed to sit back and listen to a performance. The cantor’s job is to carry the prayers so the whole room can pray together. Today’s cantor is also full clergy: a teacher, a counselor and a leader of lifecycle events. If you’ve ever been moved by a Kol Nidre and wondered what it would take to be the one singing it, this article is for you.
Where the cantor comes from
The word hazzan goes back to ancient times, when it described a synagogue official who oversaw the service. Over the centuries, as Jewish prayer grew longer and more musical, the hazzan became the person who led it. Before prayer books were printed and widely owned, many worshippers depended on the hazzan to know the words and the melodies. The hazzan also kept the music alive, passing down the traditional modes and tunes by ear from one generation to the next.
That body of music is called nusach. It’s the set of prayer modes and melodies that tell you, just by listening, whether it’s a weekday, Shabbat, a festival or the High Holidays. Nusach is the heart of the cantor’s craft. A good cantor knows the tradition well enough to keep it, and well enough to know when a new melody will help a congregation pray.
What a cantor does today
The cantor’s role has grown a lot in the last fifty years. In most liberal congregations today, the cantor:
- Leads services for Shabbat, weekdays, the festivals and the High Holidays
- Chants from the Torah and teaches others to do it
- Prepares bar and bat mitzvah students to chant Torah and Haftarah and lead parts of the service
- Officiates at weddings, funerals and baby namings
- Visits the sick and sits with mourners
- Teaches adult education, directs choirs and brings new music into the community
In a synagogue with both a rabbi and a cantor, the two work side by side as a clergy team. In many smaller communities, the cantor is the only spiritual leader. You can read more in What Are the Roles of a Cantor?
Cantor, cantorial soloist and rabbi
People often mix these up. A cantorial soloist is a singer who leads music in services, often part-time, without formal clergy training. A cantor has studied nusach, liturgy and the work of clergy, and has been ordained or invested. A rabbi’s training centers on text, Jewish law and teaching. There’s a lot of overlap, and many cantors serve as the full spiritual leaders of their communities.
Can women be cantors?
Yes. Women were first invested as cantors in 1975, and today women make up a large share of the cantorate in liberal congregations. See Are There Female Cantors?
The challenge today
Fewer cantors are being trained than in past generations. Mainstream seminaries have reduced or restructured their cantorial programs, and many synagogue budgets are tight. At the same time, congregations still need someone who can lead the High Holidays, Shabbat and lifecycle events beautifully, and part-time and High Holiday positions are often hard to fill. Smaller, independent and interfaith communities have an especially hard time finding trained cantors. That’s a real opportunity for someone who feels called. See Are Cantors Paid?
How to become a cantor
Traditional cantorial programs at the major seminaries are usually multi-year, full-time and residential. JSLI’s Cantorial School offers another path. It’s a two-year online program where you meet every other week with an experienced cantor in a small hevruta-style session. You learn the nusach for the High Holidays, Shabbat, Weekdays and Festivals, taught for the Reform prayerbooks Mishkan T’filah and Mishkan HaNefesh, and you join our rabbinical students for lifecycle and pastoral care training. You graduate as Cantor and Spiritual Leader.
To apply you’ll need a good singing voice, the ability to read simple music notation, and the ability to read Hebrew in a siddur and machzor. You don’t need to play an instrument. Tuition is $18,000 for the full program, with payment plans. Learn more on our Cantorial School page, see the Cantorial Curriculum, or read How Long Is Cantorial School?
The heart of it
A cantor stands between the tradition and the people in the room. The music is old, but the moment is always new: a family at a funeral, a thirteen-year-old’s first time at the Torah, a congregation on Yom Kippur afternoon. The cantor’s gift is helping people find their own voice in prayer. If that’s what you hear when you hear the call, it may be worth a conversation.
Rabbi Steven Blane, the founder and Dean of the Jewish Spiritual Leaders Institute, served as a cantor in Conservative and Reform congregations for nearly two decades before founding JSLI. Talk with him about the cantorate.