Rabbi Stiefel's Monthly Article

Current November 2026

Rabbi Sharon Stiefel

Mayim Rabim’s Cabaret

I grew up hearing the story of my great-great-great-grandfather, Herz Hachenburger, being granted exclusive rights in 1797 by Count Ludwig X to provide music at Jewish weddings in the county of Katzenelnbogen, Germany. 

My family’s story is part of a long Jewish tradition of musicians, performers, and entertainers. Miriam danced with her tambourine. King David played the lyre. Jewish prayers are adorned with hazzanut, cantorial music.

Yiddish is full of words reflecting the world of performers and entertainers. A badchan was a wedding jester, a professional jokester who entertained the wedding couple and their guests with humor, verse, and song. The word klezmer comes from the Hebrew kley zemer, literally “instruments of song.” Over time, klezmerrefers both to a distinctive style of Eastern European Jewish music and to the musicians who played it at weddings and other celebrations. The Purim shpiel, a humorous retelling of the Book of Esther, helped lay the groundwork for Yiddish theater. The Yiddish word shtick refers to a comic routine.

For Jewish musicians and performers, talent could travel with you even when you could no longer remain in your home. A village might be destroyed but a musician could escape with a fiddle and continue to make a living.

Herz Hachenburger’s son, Kallman, left Germany for the United States in 1854. He became a member of the band of the 22nd New York Regiment and later served as a cellist with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. His journey is one example of how musical traditions traveled with Jewish immigrants and took root in new places.

Fast-forward to today, and we might ask: Why have Jews been so prominent on Broadway and in Hollywood? There is no single answer. For Jews facing occupational restrictions, entertainment was one field in which some found opportunity to work and succeed. Jewish communities brought with them rich traditions of music, humor, storytelling, vaudeville, and theater. 

Mayim Rabim’s annual Cabaret/Talent Show, now more than a decade old, is one small link in this long chain of Jewish performances. Each year our members share their gifts through singing, dancing, playing instruments, telling stories, and cracking jokes. For a congregation of our size, we are blessed with an extraordinary range of talent.

One of the delights of the evening is discovering that we may have prayed, studied, or shared a meal with someone for years without realizing that they sing beautifully, play an instrument, or have a gift for making an audience laugh. The Cabaret gives us a chance to see one another in a new light and to celebrate what each person brings to our community.

Of course, Jewish tradition is not only about performing; it is also about an audience gathering to listen, laugh, and appreciate the gifts of others. I hope you’ll join us on Saturday evening, November 14, for Mayim Rabim’s Cabaret. It promises to be a wonderful evening of talent, laughter, and community and quite possibly the best entertainment of the year!