Stephen Wise Free Synagogue
30 West 68th StreetJoin Stephen Wise Free Synagogue for a screening of "A Cantor's Head," followed by a discussion about the film and audience Q&A with filmmaker Erik Greenberg Anjou.
This program is made possible through the generosity of Jamie and Haim Handwerker and Sara Star.
ABOUT THE FILM | WATCH THE TRAILER HERE!
A wise Jew once opined — “You don’t leave synagogue humming the sermon.” It is sacred song that lifts, inspires, transports the soul, and carries the beating heart of tradition.
Cantor Jacob Ben-Zion Mendelson – or just “Jackie” – has been in the vanguard and at the epicenter of that evolving tradition since graduating from Hebrew Union College in 1970. As a cantor, a teacher and a performing artist, his Brooklyn-born chops, dynamism and humor have inculcated and inspired legions of cantors across the U.S. and world. But Jackie is no longer the cantor at his long-time home of Temple Israel Center in White Plains, NY. His absence on the bimah – Hebrew for stage – reveals multitudes about both the state and future of Jewish sacred music. Director Erik Greenberg Anjou had unparalleled access to his larger than life subject in this captivating, warts and all portrait.
Thu, Nov 20, 2025 6:00 PM - 8:30 PM
Stephen Wise Free Synagogue
30 West 68th Street
A vibrant Reform congregation on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, Stephen Wise Free Synagogue has served as a catalyst for progressive Jewish thought, committed social action in the local community and beyond, and support for Israel for more than 115 years.
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