In My Own Voice

This title is printed to order. This book may have been self-published. If so, we cannot guarantee the quality of the content. In the main most books will have gone through the editing process however some may not. We therefore suggest that you be aware of this before ordering this book. If in doubt check either the author or publisher’s details as we are unable to accept any returns unless they are faulty. Please contact us if you have any questions.

In My Own Voice tells the trailblazing story of Barbara Ostfeld, the first woman ordained as a cantor. As a schoolgirl, Barbara loved singing loudly and with spirit, but she was mocked for her singing by her classmates. This didn't happen when she sang in her synagogue's children's choir, and Barbara reveled in her freedom to sing choir solos at Temple services. When it was time for her to apply to colleges, Barbara asked her cantor what seminary he had attended, explaining that she wanted to become a synagogue cantor. He laughed at her, telling her not to apply, and saying that the seminary would not accept her because she was a girl. And even when the seminary's registrar told her that no girl ever had even applied for admission, Barbara applied anyway, and was admitted. But when she entered her first chorus class at college, the teacher said, "There are no women's parts, so just mouth the words." Yet Barbara persisted in finding her own voice at the seminary, and in 1975, became the first woman ordained as a cantor in 3,000 years of Jewish history; today, female cantors sing in hundreds of synagogues around the world.