Cheri Weiss brings music and prayers to those unable to attend synagogue services. With the High Holy Days upon us, she has made it her mission to distribute her CD “Hineni” for free to close to a thousand homebound and hospitalized people throughout the nation as well as to the Chaplains and Rabbis who provide their spiritual care. It all began last year when Weiss’s father-in-law was too ill to attend services but wanted to hear her sing the central Yom Kippur prayer “Kol Nidre.” The problem was that Mr. Weiss lived in Wisconsin and Cheri was serving as High Holy Days Cantor in Rhode Island. So she sent him a recording of her singing the prayer and was later told how he had been moved to tears and had requested to hear it played over and over again. He passed away three weeks later. And then it hit Weiss. “I realized that there must be thousands of people unable to attend services on the High Holy Days due to health issues or other reasons beyond their control,” Weiss explained. She decided that if people could not attend synagogue services, she would bring the services in the form of a CD to them. Thus the idea of “Hineni” was born.
“I want everyone to feel connected to these most holy of days and to feel that they are a part of the Jewish people even if they are homebound or hospitalized,” she shared. “I believe that these holidays take place in your heart no matter where you may be.”
“I was a Cantorial soloist for many years and always felt deep down that I had missed my true calling to be an ordained Cantor. I joined Congregation Beth El in La Jolla a few years ago (where I serve as Cantorial Intern) and began leading services and learning how to chant from the Torah and eventually was encouraged to attend Cantorial School. Now in her fourth year at the Academy for Jewish Religion in Los Angeles, she finds this post-denominational school the perfect place to explore Judaism from many viewpoints, which is particularly important now that the structure of American Judaism is undergoing significant re-examination and change. CD available at Hazzanit.com