Temple Sholom recently held a special Shabbat Service and Congregational Dinner to
officially welcome its new cantor, Hazzan Sandy Bernstein, to the community.
As a member of Temple Sholom’s clergy team, Cantor Sandy will lead services with Rabbi Mitchell Hurvitz, Rabbi Chaya Bender and Hazzan Sheni/Ritual Director Ezra Konigsberg.
Additionally, she will provide tutoring to upcoming b’nai mitzvah students, teach in the Temple Sholom Learning Center (religious school) and lead Shabbat on Friday mornings for the Temple Sholom Selma Maisel Nursery School.
Cantor Sandy brings a unique passion for music and can perform in diverse musical styles such as Cantorial, Opera, Rock, Pop, Standards and Jazz. She holds a BA in Music from California State University and completed her Cantorial studies at the Academy for Jewish Religion California where she was ordained in 2013. She is also proficient in Spanish and Hebrew, and can sing in both languages, as well as in Yiddish, Ladino, Italian, German, French and Latin.
“A cantor helps us meaningfully appreciate the liturgical and musical power of our tradition,” said Rabbi Mitchell M. Hurvitz. “With Cantor Sandy, we have been blessed with an individual who will help us add our own unique voices to the collective voice heard by God.”
Cantor Sandy resides in Greenwich with her husband, Gaston Bernstein (a well-known Jewish percussionist), and two daughters, Gabi and Naomi. They also have two sons, Daniel and Matt, who live in California.