[Leonard] Bernstein came from a family of Talmudic scholars, but was only moderately observant in his adult years. However, Bernstein would hire a taxicab for Yom Kippur and go around Manhattan "shul-hopping." He did this because he loved to hear many different cantors' interpretations of the traditional prayers.Caveat: A morning in the library hasn't turned up corroboration of this story, even by Joan Peyser, who presumably would have jumped on it like a Pomeranian on a meatball. Sounds like Lenny, though.
Bernstein knew, of course, that riding was forbidden on the holiday, so he would have the cab driver drop him off a block away from each synagogue so that synagogue-goers would not see the famous conductor riding on the holiday.—Jewish World Review, October 10, 2005
September 21, 2007
Come up to My place
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The issue here really would be that Leonard Bernstein would be able to get into a Yom Kippur service (or any one of the high holy day services) without a ticket or something that would reserve him a seat for a temple where he was not a member. But then again, he was Leonard Bernstein.
I imagine that this story could be an elaboration on reality. I also imagine that Bernstein might have been more interested in the ways the various rabbis read from the Torah (sang, actually--and for the high holy days it is in a special high holy day "trope") rather than the quality of the cantors, who he could hear at any time because he was Leonard Bernstein.
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