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Concept
Hazzan
Summary
A hazzan (ˈhɑːzən; χaˈzan, lit. Hazan) or chazzan ( ḥazzān, plural ḥazzānim; Yiddish khazn; Ladino Hasan) 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 person leading the congregation in public prayers is called the sh'liaḥ tzibbur (Hebrew for 'emissary of the congregation'). Jewish law restricts this role to adult Jews; among Orthodox Jews, it is restricted to males. In theory, any lay person can be a sh'liaḥ tzibbur; many synagogue-attending Jews will serve in this role from time to time, especially on weekdays or when having a Yartzeit. Someone with good Hebrew pronunciation is preferred. In practice, in synagogues without an official hazzan, those with the best voice and the most knowledge of the prayers serve most often.
As public worship was developed in the Geonic period and as the knowledge of the Hebrew language declined, singing gradually superseded the didactic and hortatory element in the worship in the synagogue. Thus, while the idea of a cantor as a paid professional does not exist in classical rabbinic sources, the office of the hazzan increased in importance with the centuries, evolving a specialized set of skills and becoming a career in itself.
Even in the earliest times the chief qualifications demanded of the hazzan, in addition to knowledge of Biblical and liturgical literature as well as the prayer motifs (known as steiger), were a pleasant voice and an artistic delivery; for the sake of these, many faults were willingly overlooked. The hazzan was required to possess a pleasing appearance, to be married, and to have a flowing beard. Sometimes, according to Isaac of Vienna (13th century), a young hazzan having only a slight growth of beard was tolerated. Maimonides ruled that the hazzan who recited the prayers on an ordinary Sabbath and on weekdays need not possess an appearance pleasing to everybody; he might even have a reputation not wholly spotless, provided he was living a life morally free from reproach at the time of his appointment.
Official source
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