Volunteer of the Month: Devorah Felder-Levy

Why do you volunteer for the ACC? How do you make time for it in your busy schedule?

I volunteer because I think it’s the right thing to do. It helps me feel involved and give back to an organization that I truly value and helps me connect with colleague, especially since I’m not able to come to every convention. Making time is difficult. I just carve out time and since it’s important, I just do it. There’s something very rewarding in being a volunteer. One of my choir members died this past summer and he was always willing to jump in and volunteer. For him, his life was most rewarded when he was volunteering. We all have our reasons for having become cantors. For me, it was to be able to continue the tradition of Jewish music and to connect and help our congregants through all of the life cycles. And even though this is a paid profession, many of us go way beyond what is asked of us. When we show our commitment to the ACC, we are modeling commitment and volunteering to our congregants.

What projects are you currently involved in with the ACC? What past involvements have given you exceptional memories?

I coordinate the Hadracha program, which is a mentoring program that matches cantors who have been in the field more than five years with recent graduates of the School of Sacred Music. Last year we had two years worth of graduates to match and this year we had about a dozen. Last year we asked on the list serve for volunteers to be mentors and quite a few volunteered. This year we took a more personal touch and got more of a commitment from the mentors. We approach the mentors first and then the new graduate. We explain to the graduate what the mentor is for and give the new cantors a sensitive and personal way for them to deal with any difficulty that may come up. It helps the new cantors reach out beyond the small window of the cantorate that they had in school. I work with Barbara Ostfeld (placement director) and Claire Franco (Hadracha is in her board portfolio) to help create the matches, and Barbara is especially helpful as she has worked with all of them as they searched for their congregations. When possible, we try to match them with someone in their region or someone in a similar circumstance, for example, if one is a cantor/educator, we tried to match them with another cantor/educator or if the cantor is married to a rabbi, we tried to match them with anther colleague who is also married to a rabbi. There is a lot of detail that goes into the matching. I was on the ACC board for just one year – I completed the term of someone who needed to leave the board. It was awesome to be able to do it and it worked out well that year with my family commitments. I really enjoy overseeing the Hadracha program and wish is had been in existence when I was invested. I enjoy helping people making connections.

How do you try to inspire young people?

I try to reach them a bit above their level. I try to find something they’re really interested in and use that as a catalyst for their lesson. Each lesson begins with some conversation about what is going on in their lives, whether it is school, theater or sports. I have found over the years that a lot of my B’nai Mitzvah students are really into sports and like to follow sports. We talk about their team at the start of the lesson. The analogies that come from their lives, whether theater or sports can assist the students in their studies. It also encourages them to come to their lessons and opens the door for there to be an adult whom they could turn to in times of trouble.

What do you like to do completely unrelated to your cantorate?

Follow sports! I went to football games in college and I follow sports on the internet. When our television is on, it is usually a sports events. We have here a local professional hockey team, the Sharks, and the San Francisco Giants and the Oakland A’s are nearby. I also follow my teams from Chicago – the White Sox and the Bears. Most of all, I like to spend time with my family.