The Liberal Jewish community in the German city of Hamburg has appointed an Israeli baritone as its first cantor since the Nazi era.

Assaf Levitin is to take up the role at the Bornplatz synagogue, which was destroyed in 1938 but is now to be rebuilt.

He told the JC that the shul will be a “house for all Jews”, when the building is complete.

His great-grandfather, Josef Zebrak, was a cantor in the Kriegshaber synagogue in Augsburg but was murdered in the Holocaust at Bernburg concentration camp.

Mr Levitin lives in Berlin with his wife, a doctor, and their two children, aged 10 and 14.
His parents were born in Israel, but the family roots go back to Poland, Ukraine and Belarus.

Mr Levitin, 49, said: “I grew up in the Upper Galilee, a totally non-religious atmosphere, which was very much kibbutz-orientated, and I went to high school and hung out mostly in this atmosphere. It was not just non-religious, it was almost anti-religious. I don’t think that I was actually anti-religious, but I was certainly not very religious.”

Barniske Kantorenstudent Assaf Levitin 2016 0040

Assaf Levitin

He moved to Germany in 1998 to study at the University of Music in Saarbrücken before working at the Opera House in Dortmund and then turning to freelance opera and concert singing.

Moving to Berlin in 2006, he became more actively involved with Judaism. He heard from a friend that a four-strong choir in a synagogue were looking for new recruits. He recalled: “Honestly, it was really just a bit of a way to make a little money. But through the work I started getting to know this Jewish music, to really appreciate it. I really got into it. It is not just singing after all.

“I realised I had really found my place vocally and also spiritually, and that I had kind of returned to a sense of home in a way. I really did feel at home — the moment it all started I felt very confident, like I knew what I was doing. It made me really appreciate my faith and really want to expand my knowledge of it.”

Looking back to the horror of the Holocaust that claimed the life of his great-grandfather, he said: “Of course, there is the Shoah, and it will never be forgotten, but this should not be the only thing that unites us Jews. You need to manage all these differing Jewish groups, consider what makes them tick and try to offer something which appeals to everyone. It is really difficult and takes a lot of thought.”

A few months ago, Levitin released an album, Made in Germany, designed for use in the synagogue: “I suppose my message was — guys, it is time for something new. We can’t just keep importing Jewish music from Israel and the USA and call ourselves liberal and reformist.”

Looking forward to the opening of the synagogue, he said: “I will get a flat in the city, and commute between Berlin and Hamburg. Hamburg is a great city, and I think it is great that Jews in Hamburg will have a choice between Orthodox and Liberal.”

He added of his shul’s community: “We welcome everyone, that’s what we are about. This means absolutely any sexual orientation is accepted. Women and men also have equal rights, so we pray together, not separately. Women can also wear a kippa or a prayer shawl with us.”

The first recorded mention of Jews in Hamburg was in 1590. The Reform Judaism movement was established in Hamburg in 1817 and by 1844, the community had become became large enough to build its own synagogue.

By 1925, 20,000 Jews lived in Hamburg.

When the Nazis came to power all synagogues were destroyed, and all Jewish groups and associations officially dissolved. But after the war the city gradually regained its Jewish identity. Herbert Weichmann became the first Jew to be elected mayor in 1965.

By 1970 Hamburg was home to 1,532 Jews, and the numbers swelled with the influx from Eastern Europe after the end of the Cold War.