Timeline of women hazzans
Okay kiddo, do you know what a hazzan is? It's a Jewish prayer leader who leads people in singing prayers during religious services. So, women have been singing and leading prayers for a long time, but it hasn't always been accepted for them to do so in every community.
A long time ago, women would lead prayers and sing in the home, but not in the synagogue. It wasn't until the 1800s that women started to become hazzans in some European countries. But even then, some people thought it wasn't right for a woman to lead religious services.
In the 1900s, some women in America began training to become hazzans, but it was still considered controversial. It wasn't until the 1970s that an all-female Jewish congregation called Kolel founded the first women's seminary for hazzans in Philadelphia.
Since then, more and more women have become hazzans and are accepted in many Jewish communities. It's still not accepted everywhere, but the number of women hazzans is growing every year.
So, in short, women have been singing and leading prayers for a long time, but it's only in the past few hundred years that they've been allowed to do it in a formal religious setting. And it's only been in the past 50 years that they've had their own seminaries to be trained as hazzans.
A long time ago, women would lead prayers and sing in the home, but not in the synagogue. It wasn't until the 1800s that women started to become hazzans in some European countries. But even then, some people thought it wasn't right for a woman to lead religious services.
In the 1900s, some women in America began training to become hazzans, but it was still considered controversial. It wasn't until the 1970s that an all-female Jewish congregation called Kolel founded the first women's seminary for hazzans in Philadelphia.
Since then, more and more women have become hazzans and are accepted in many Jewish communities. It's still not accepted everywhere, but the number of women hazzans is growing every year.
So, in short, women have been singing and leading prayers for a long time, but it's only in the past few hundred years that they've been allowed to do it in a formal religious setting. And it's only been in the past 50 years that they've had their own seminaries to be trained as hazzans.