New cantor has big plans for temple

Inbal Sharett-Singer did not always want to be a cantor.

She came from Israel to New York City 10 years ago to study opera at Brooklyn College and pursue a career in music. But while she was a student, she started teaching at a synagogue and eventually worked with the cantor there and at another institution. 

One day, she was asked to sing the services for a distant relative’s funeral. The usual cantors were unavailable, so she performed the service on her own.

“I think it was the first time in my life I ever felt that the little knowledge I had about Judaism really was a comfort to so many people and really made a difference,” Cantor Sharett-Singer said. “I used to do acting and performing, I was a national anthem singer for the Marines in New York, I did a lot of exciting things. But this was by far when I really felt needed and felt a beautiful fulfillment.”

She left her career in secular music behind and enrolled in the Debbie Friedman School of Sacred Music, the cantorial school at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. Her studies took her to the Riverdale Temple, where she helped lead services for the last three years as the synagogue’s cantorial intern. 

After Cantor Sharett-Singer finished her program and was ordained in May, she decided to stay at the temple at 4545 Independence Ave.

“I was very, very lucky that I got to be an intern here because in the past three years, I have learned so much from the congregation and the rabbi,” she said. “Now I feel so excited and I’m looking forward to the future of the congregation.”

One reason Cantor Sharett-Singer decided to stay at the Riverdale Temple was to help shape the future of the place she loves so much, especially after the temple’s beloved Rabbi Judith Lewis retired in June. Cantor Sharett-Singer said her replacement, Rabbi Thomas Gardner, is the perfect person to fill Rabbi Lewis’ shoes. 

“I work as a team with the rabbi, so we have meetings, we talk about our vision together, we want to help the congregation to grow and be vibrant and joyful and we do a lot of the thinking together about the big picture, how should we bring our vision to life,” Cantor Sharett-Singer said.

She moved to Riverdale from Manhattan a month ago, saying the move “will really strengthen my clergy.” While she was initially reluctant to leave the borough, she said now that she is here, she is happy.

With a 20-month-old son about to start nursery school at the temple and a daughter on the way, Cantor Sharett-Singer said she and her husband are excited to become permanent members of the Riverdale community.

She said she is also excited to draw on her Israeli background to reach out to others in Israeli community in Riverdale, “because there are so many, and to see how we can start a relationship, so the temple can offer them some worship in a very open, modern way,” she said.

Cantor Sharett-Singer comes from one of Israel’s founding families. Her great-grandfather, Moshe Sharett, was one of the first people to settle in Tel Aviv and became his country’s second prime minister.

“We’re a big tribe, the Sharett tribe, and we would always join together to celebrate our Judaism. I’m happy my family is very supportive of what I’m doing and I’m happy that that sort of leadership role is within me,” she said. “I’m very proud of it. My great-grandfather was a very peaceful man, he was a great intellectual, he traveled all over the world and helped Israel in so many different arenas. So I’m hoping he’s proud of me.”

Cantor Sharett-Singer continued that Riverdale Temple strives to be inclusive and inviting toward people from all backgrounds.

“We really want the Israeli community and the Riverdale community to know that our doors are open,” she said.

With the Jewish High Holidays approaching, Cantor Sharett-Singer is excited about the future. She and Rabbi Gardner are working to bring new energy to the congregation and the community.

“I find it really exciting we have a new rabbi and a new-slash-old cantor,” she said. “I’m looking forward to what the New Year will bring and I say Shana Tova U’Metuka [a happy and sweet New Year] to the Riverdale community.”