Expression in prayer — what we generally call kavanah — is more detailed than the average student understands. Prayers are not always crying like Yossele; we often have words of praise and glory too, and the music and expression need to vary with the shift in the text.
Before I explain the PaRDeS of hazzanut, let me suggest something simple: expression in prayer requires time. A little bit of time. Before one sings, in the breath, one imagines — any of these points, or a combination of them. It happens in the breath. We breathe, we feel, we envision, we connect.
I often say that in many congregations in Israel, they pray to the cholent or the kugel — not necessarily to the Almighty. The whole country is in a mad rush, except for the Hasidim. We can wait an extra half hour for kiddush.
So here is the PaRDeS of hazzanut as I have developed it, through my years studying with Noah Schall and studying acting for opera.
Perush — the meaning of the words
The perush of the words is the necessary starting point. The words are the point of departure from which the rest of the method emerges. The hazzan must know the meaning of the words — and deliver that meaning effectively to the kahal. Each word holds a potential for depth, and each hazzan has his own connection to it.
Regesh — feeling
As the hazzan says each word, there is a feeling, or a complex of feelings, bound up with it. The point is to express those feelings and transmit them to the listener. We often hear that a certain hazzan "doesn't move me." I am not here to judge — but in a lesson, I may guide a student to discover how to express his feeling more clearly.
Imagination
Feeling is not the end of the story. Here lies one of the most important parts of the theory: imagination. The hazzan of the highest level must use his imagination. This, my friend, takes time — time to envision the words in an artistic, creative way. When the hazzan takes a second before a phrase and infuses it with imagination and feeling, the listener can relate to what he is seeing and feeling. Of course, if you are in a mad rush, it is not possible — and God forbid the cholent should get cold while we pray to the Almighty!
Sod — the secret
The final point of the PaRDeS is the secret: the spirituality, the kavanah, that only you can describe — how you relate to the Almighty. When words come from the heart, they go into the heart. If you feel God deeply, and express it through your interpretation of the prayers, you can be sure the congregation will feel it too.
What Schall added
To all of this, Noah Schall added three things. Personality — most cantors of this generation lack the personality the golden-age cantors possessed; not a personality of the street, but one devoted to true and honest prayer, revealing a little of the colour of the voice. Timing — the timing with which the words leave the mouth. And dynamics — sometimes soft, sometimes louder.
I have wanted to share my Torah of hazzanut for a long while. And as a teacher, one of my first methods is this: always start with a positive.