Cantor Jason Kaufman knew he wanted Jewish life and music to be part of his career. He has now served as cantor at Beth El Hebrew Congregation in Alexandria since 2013.
Kaufman not only sings and leads the congregation but also incorporates social justice into his day-to-day life. He holds leadership roles in the Union for Reform Judaism, notably with the American Conference of Cantors and the Religious Action Center, and he writes social justice-related blog posts through the latter.
A graduate of the State University of New York at Fredonia, Kaufman is also a global justice fellow with American Jewish World Service.
He lives in Alexandria with his husband, Kirk, and their beagle, Punky. In his free time, he loves distance running — Kaufman has run 14 marathons, half of them at Disney World: “It’s truly a celebration of joy.”
Tell me about your Jewish upbringing and background.
I grew up in Monsey, New York, which has a very large Orthodox and Hasidic community. I was raised in a Reform synagogue where I went to religious school starting in nursery school all the way through Sunday school, religious school, confirmation and post-confirmation. I was always involved in my synagogue’s religious life. The synagogue’s junior choir was a place that was home.
Describe the moment you knew you wanted to become a cantor.
My first real experience being in front of a congregation was during our Purim spiel when I was in elementary school. It was actually in college when I became very active in my Jewish life. I became president of our Jewish Student Union and that was where I really discovered my love of Jewish life and wanting that to be part of my career. I joined a synagogue that was very small; we may have had anywhere from five to 15 people on a Saturday morning, and I had a wonderful relationship with a college professor of mine who drove me to synagogue every Saturday. It was in that beautiful, small community that I decided I wanted to be a cantor.
Why was that?
I felt like I belonged. I felt like so many of my interests came together: my love of Jewish tradition and music and community and talking about social justice and the issues that are important to us as Jewish people all came together in this small, beautiful synagogue. That’s where I really discovered that being a cantor was something I wanted to pursue.
What are some of your favorite melodies to sing and why?
I love to sing and to lead congregational melodies and niggunim because everyone can join along and there’s something very special when you are leading a community and everyone’s voice is important and a part of the fabric of the sound you are creating together. When there’s a niggun with no words, it takes away all barriers. Someone who knows Hebrew and someone who doesn’t know Hebrew, someone who has lived in Jewish community their whole life and someone who’s brand new to the Jewish community can all sing and create this meaningful experience together.
Why is social action and justice something that you’re passionate about?
As a Jew, I believe that we are here to help others, and it means to help all those in our Jewish community and all those outside of our Jewish community, as well. Social justice has been a really important part of my cantorate and a part of how I see myself as a Jew in the world. My congregation believes deeply in helping others, so I feel really glad to be part of a congregation where we share each other’s values of civic engagement. It’s such a profound part of who I am as a Jew.
What is your proudest social justice accomplishment?
My proudest social justice experiences that I’ve had revolve around civic engagement and voter outreach. I have volunteered for many years for the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, and I have been a part of their leadership team on civic engagement. Nothing makes me prouder than when I have 13-year-olds and younger who are doing voter engagement work at the same time that I have homebound congregants who are making phone calls to people around the country making sure that they know the correct voting date and polling location.
One of my favorite things is to take our confirmation students to Capitol Hill every year to advocate on issues of importance to them with the Religious Action Center. We take them to our congressional and Senate offices, and they talk about issues such as responsible gun control or LGBTQ+ rights and reproductive choice. To see youth find their voices is incredibly exciting. (I want to make a point that the work that I do is not partisan. I do not engage my congregation or anyone else in my professional capacity in partisan work.)
What are you looking forward to?
Being part of a community now for 13 years, I’ve learned what it means to be in deep relationship with people. I’m excited and honored to be part of the story of Beth El Hebrew Congregation and the future of Beth El Hebrew Congregation and to create more meaningful Jewish experiences together. I’m excited for more music classes and for choir and for more conversation and Jewish life together.
