Hochman will receive the Marylee and Stuart Alperin M’kor Or Leadership Award during a special celebration on June 4.
For 36 years, Congregation M’kor Shalom cantor Anita Hochman has touched the lives of thousands in the community.
Hochman’s passion for service and love of music have benefitted M’kor Shalom since she was hired in 1981. Hochman taught thousands of bar and bat mitzvah students, presided over hundreds of lifecycle events and has been a spiritual leader at M’kor Shalom for many years.
Now, Hochman, 60, is preparing for her final month on the job, as she plans to retire on June 30.
Growing up in Levittown, Pa., in the 1960s and early 1970s, Hochman said she knew she wanted to be a cantor when she grew up. However, there were few female cantors at the time.
“There were some women here and there that had small jobs that were mostly soloists,” Hochman said. “But anyone I would turn to that was doing what I wanted to do was a man.”
When it came time for college, Hochman decided to put an emphasis on music. She attended West Chester University in the late 1970s, earning a bachelor’s degree in music education. Just prior to graduating from West Chester, Hochman enrolled in graduate school at Gratz College in Philadelphia, where she would earn a master’s degree in Jewish music.
Hochman’s career began at Temple Emanu-El in Willingboro, where she held a part-time position for a couple years before M’kor Shalom had a cantor opening in 1981.
“I learned of an opening for a full-time cantor and I knew some people that were applying for the job,” Hochman said. “I didn’t think I was ready for that yet.”
“By June of ’81, they were still looking for the right person,” Hochman continued. “I thought, ‘I have nothing to lose. Maybe that right person is me.’”
Hochman was hired and began working at M’kor Shalom in November 1981. For 36 years, her job has consisted of many roles. The job of a cantor is a clergy position and Hochman has performed many of the same functions as a rabbi, including presiding over lifecycle events such as weddings and funerals.
Hochman also spends a significant portion of her time teaching bar and bat mitzvah students.
“I oversee that program here with a team of tutors,” she said. “In the 36 years I’ve been here, I’ve been involved in the training of 2,500 kids.”
Being a part of the lives of many local families is what Hochman enjoys most about the job. Having been in her position for 36 years, she has worked with multiple generations of families.
Hochman has been in charge of music for all of M’kor Shalom’s services. Her style is a blend of both traditional and contemporary music. Hochman’s biggest goal is to get congregants to actively participate during services.
“What we’re going for is participation,” she said. “I don’t see myself as an intermediary between the congregation and God. I see my role being as encouraging people to find their own pathway to God through music and musical prayer.”
Hochman has helped enhance the music at M’kor Shalom through its 40-voice, volunteer choir and other groups affiliated with the synagogue. Hochman has also made an impact through the formation of the Unity Choir, a religious music group consisting of M’kor Shalom members and members of Baptist churches from around the region. The Unity Choir first formed 13 years ago.
“It grew out of a partnership between me and Dr. Beverly Collins, who was at a church in Camden at the time,” Hochman said. “We blended our two choirs, an African-American Baptist church choir and my choir. Over the years, we’ve brought more people into the choir.”
Each year, the choir holds a special service at M’kor Shalom in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. in the days leading up to Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The choir performs a wide range of music, including Jewish folk songs and gospel music.
“Music brings people together and lifts them to a higher place unlike anything else,” Hochman said. “It symbolizes diversity and unity all at the same time. Through our diversity, we can be unified.”
Entering 2009, Hochman began to feel a little tired. Years of 60-hour workweeks were beginning to take a toll, and she was uncertain how many years she could continue in her role.
That same year, Rabbi Jennifer Frenkel arrived at M’kor Shalom and helped give Hochman new life. Hochman said the two have developed a tight bond over the past eight years.
“We just connected on a spiritual level and on a friendship level and developed a true partnership,” Hochman said.
“She’s my best friend,” she added with a smile.
Now, Hochman is ready to take the next step in her life. On June 4, M’kor Shalom is hosting a celebration honoring Hochman. At the event, Hochman will receive service with the Marylee and Stuart Alperin M’kor Or (Source of Light) Leadership Award for her service to the community.
“I think it’ll be overwhelming,” Hochman said of the event. “It will be deeply emotional. I cry on a daily basis with the passage of each ‘last.’”
A special guest will appear at the June 4 celebration. Singer Janis Ian, one of Hochman’s favorite musicians, will perform. Hochman recalls listening to Ian’s music on records when she was younger.
“Janis Ian was the most influential singer of that time for me,” Hochman said. “She just spoke to my soul. She’s a real poet. She writes magnificently. I just fell in love with her music. When they came up with that idea of bringing her in, I was over the moon.”
After retirement, Hochman will still have a role at M’kor Shalom. Hochman will become cantor emerita and plans to work part-time, about 15 hours a week, performing a few roles at the synagogue.
“I’m going to do some of the lifecycle events,” Hochman said. “I’ll still have some involvement with the choir. I’ll do some teaching. Initially I’ll be available to my successor to let her know of how I’ve done things so she can start from there and make it her own.”
Tickets for the June 4 celebration are sold out. To be placed on the waiting list for the event, email mainoffice@mkorshalom.org. Community members can also make a contribution in honor of Hochman at www.mkorshalom.org.
