Musical Clergy Search

INTRODUCING CANTOR SUSAN LEWIS FRIEDMAN
Visiting Chizuk Amuno Congregation & Schools October 20-22

We are pleased to announce that our newest cantorial candidate, Cantor Susan Lewis Friedman, will be visiting our congregation over the weekend of October 20-22. Cantor Friedman will sing, lead, and teach us. She will be our hazzan for a Shir Shabbat-style service on Friday, much of the davening on Shabbat morning, and a family-friendly Havdalah and then adult-focused jam session Saturday night. She will also engage with our KSDS, Goldsmith ECC, and RRS students on Friday and Sunday.

Schedule for Visit:

Friday, October 20:
5:30 p.m. - Wine and Cheese
6 p.m.: Shir Shabbat with Cantor Friedman and Rabbi Wechsler and the Shir Shabbat band (Esterson Auditorium)

Saturday, October 21:
9:30 a.m. Shaharit and the Bar Mitzvah of Roy H.
10:30 a.m. Cantor Friedman will visit the Family Service (Hoffberger Chapel)

Kiddush lunch followed by a conversation with Rabbi Gruenberg (Hoffberger Chapel)
Questions from the larger community are requested in advance and will be posed by Rabbi Gruenberg.
Please submit questions to search@chizukamuno.org

6:15-8 p.m. Havdalah (Approx. 6:45 p.m.) and Open Jam Session
Family-Friendly Havdalah - Come in your PJs and enjoy songs and a treat!

Adult-Focused Jam Session - Feel free to bring instruments- no musical prowess necessary!
(Esterson Auditorium) - In-Person Only

About Cantor Susan Lewis Friedman
Susan Lewis Friedman is a multi-faceted human being who has served as the Cantor for congregations in Suburban Chicago since 2015. Cantor Friedman enjoys directing and mobilizing volunteers of all ages to do many things for their synagogue community, such as lead services and sing with her, participate in choirs, sing in concerts, play in worship bands, and write, perform, and produce Purim Schpiels.

Prior to becoming a cantor, Susie appeared in the Broadway National Tour of CATS, in regional opera, theater, symphony concerts, and as a pianist/singer/entertainer in clubs throughout NYC, hosting her own weekly open mic show at The Duplex. Susie is frequently invited to sing and collaborate in concerts at various synagogues throughout the U.S as well as other performance venues. Her original compositions are often used in worship and have been heard on Jewish Rock Radio. Her album, entitled Sing, Pray, Repeat! includes many of her compositions as well as Jewish songs for kids. It features her daughter, Abigail Friedman, and her son, Zev Friedman. It is available free of charge at her website: https://susanlewisfriedman.com/singprayrepeat/ . You can also ask your smart speaker to play “Sing, Pray, Repeat!” by Susan Lewis Friedman.

She received her Cantorial Ordination from the Hebrew Union College - Institute of Religion in 2015 and is a proud member of the Conservative Movement's Cantors Assembly, the American Conference of Cantors and Actors Equity Association. She is married to the love of her life, Ross Friedman. Her absolute greatest achievements are their children, Abigail and Zev. They are both living examples of her answered prayers.