New Jersey Jewish News
MetroWest Feature
Israeli-born cantor channels spirit of Willy Wonka
Clap your hands, and a spider begins climbing down the
wall; rub a large gorilla head, and it begins to talk; ask a wizard in a globe a question, and with magical sounds it offers an answer.
This is no ordinary cantor’s office.
As soon as Menachem Toren, cantor of the Conservative Pine Brook Jewish Center in Montville, finishes showing off his favorite toys, he can’t wait to serve a visitor his fresh-brewed espresso in a porcelain cup with a circle of his paper-thin homemade chocolate placed gently on top.
There is, however, method to his whimsy: The collection of kitsch not only puts people at ease but helps him ensure that his b’nei mitzva students will do well when they get to the sanctuary. “No child is ever distracted reading the Torah or haftara in this synagogue,” he said. “If they can do it here without being distracted, they can do it anywhere.”
Cantor Toren and his wife, Hadas, will be honored Sunday, May 7, by State of Israel Bonds and Pine Brook Jewish Center for their devotion to Israel and the local Jewish community. Israeli diplomat Yoram Ettinger will be the guest speaker.
In a black T-shirt and jeans, the youthful Toren (“I’m almost 40 — I turn 40 in three years”) seems more rock star than hazan. That’s part of his charm — and his history. For two years, from 1978 to 1980, he performed in an Israeli television series called Ritch-Ratch, roughly equivalent to the PBS kids series ZOOM!
But don’t let his star quality deceive you. Toren has hazanut in his blood. His grandfather was a prominent cantor in Israel; his uncle was a cantor. On his desk is his grandfather’s business card, circa 1950.
“When I was five years old, I knew that I would become a cantor,” he told a visitor on a recent Friday in his office.
And he takes his mission seriously, particular when training b’nei mitzva students. He quakes at the thought of what might happen if even one has a bad experience. “When I die, God, or Gabriel, will point at this child and say, ‘Do you see this child? This child had a bad experience,’ and I will pay for it.”
He plants seeds early for children to have a good experience, participating in nursery school programs and keeping small toys stashed away to give to a crying child or someone who needs a pick-me-up. “I’m a big believer that kids remember. Do you know what it means to get a toy from the cantor?”
Raised Orthodox, he trained at the Orthodox Tel Aviv Cantorial Institute and joined the Pine Brook Jewish Center eight years ago.
He came to the United States because, he said, he thought the work would be more satisfying. “The cantorate is different in Israel. Only four synagogues have full-time cantors. They only need someone on Shabbat and holidays — not during the day…. A few high-end synagogues want high-end cantorial pieces. I wanted to do something more meaningful. Spreading spirituality in Judaism is something I can do here. Let’s say I’m 110 volts and Israel is 220…. I feel I’m fulfilling my duty on Earth. My bar mitzva students are happy. They can relate to me. We become good friends…. And if they do well, I’m kvelling. What better feeling is there?”
If his vocation is hazanut, Toren has other passions beyond collecting tchotchkes, like making chocolate and sushi. He makes truffles as beautiful to look at as they are delicious to eat, and he creates complicated chocolate sculptures for special occasions. “I make the chocolate late at night when everyone is asleep.” The Torens have three small children. “It’s my serenity,” he said. A coffee “freak,” he created special paper-thin chocolate circles to place on top of espresso, exactly the size of the cup.
He also makes his own sushi and offers classes at the synagogue. Still, there is always one more surprise, another hidden talent waiting to be discovered. As a conversation hits a lull, he brings out some magic tricks, then offers to write names in the calligraphy his father taught him as a youngster.
He takes his tricks and his exuberance with him on Friday mornings to kabalat Shabbat programs with the preschool. On this Friday, he enters the sanctuary wearing a green furry goblin doll on his shoulder. The children share their delight, and he eventually puts the goblin away to join the rabbi and the teachers in leading Shabbat songs and blessings.
Toren finishes the morning with his weekly ritual: a balloon rocket. “It’s how I teach the children to count in Hebrew,” he explained. Sure enough, before he lets the balloon go, the children count down from 10 in Hebrew.
On this particular day, the balloon whizzes around the sanctuary before becoming lodged in a resting place in the ceiling, and Cantor Toren bounds back to his office with a wink and a smile.
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