Baal Koreh

My name is Faraj Samra. I was born in Damascus, Syria and when I was ten years old I emigrated to the United States to join the rest of the Syrian Jewish community. During my schooling in Syria, reading the Torah was stressed and taught extensively. When I first came to the USA, I went to Ateret Torah for elementary school and I continued to learn Ta'amim with Rabbi Maslaton on Friday afternoons. Because of my dad's encouragement, when I became Bar Mitzvah, I began reading the Torah portions on Mondays and Thursdays. Initially I used to read the Torah in Shevet Ahim but later got a job to read during the week at Ahi Ezer on avenue X. Reading a whole Parashah was a daunting task and during my summer after my Bar Mitzvah, I got a job reading the Torah at Mil Basin synagogue. Additionally, I used to read at Shaare Zion for Shabbat Minha. When the Rabbi of the shul heard me, he encouraged me to continue reading the parashah on a regular basis. The following week I got a job to read the Torah in the Shaare Zion annex. At that time, I used to read every third week because there were two others reading. During those days, it took me more than a week to study each parashah. I stayed there for about a year or two. During the summers, I would read at Mil Basin Synagogue. Additionally, for two summers I read at a Sephardic synagogue in Boro Park. After that I got a full time job to read at Ahi Ezer of Avenue X and I stayed for about two and a half years. Later on, I got a job as a Baal Koreh in Bnei Yosef synagogue, where I have been reading there from 2004 till the summer of 2011.

Hazzanut

I was always interested in Middle Eastern music because of my father. As a young kid, I had no idea what a maqam was but I enjoyed listening to music. My first exposure to hazzanut was at the Sepharadic Lebanese Synagogue when it was located in the Ahi Ezer nursing home. I used to be part of the choir led by Hazzan Ari Ovadiah. We used to prepare songs on Shabbat and sing them in front of the congregation between Minha and Arbit in Seuda Shilishit. Additionally, on a few occasions, we got the opportunity to sing in front of the Chief Rabbi of Israel. During my high school years when I used to read the Torah at Ahi Ezer on Avenue X, I learned a lot about hazzanut from Hazzan Menachem Mustachi who was the Hazzan at the shul. Hazzan Mustachi and Hazzan David Shiro used to give Bakashot classes at Shaare Zion every Shabbat before Minha. At that time, I began to comprehend and understand a little bit about the maqamot and how they relate to each other. I continued listening to Arabic music and tried to incorporate what I learned from the music into the tefillah. I used to be the Hazzan for Arbit Saturday night in Ahi Ezer and every week, with my dad's help, I tried to find a beautiful tune that I could use for Kaddish. As I listened to more songs, I became more familiar with the tunes and maqamot. I loved going from shul to shul in order to listen to different hazzanim so that I could learn from them and apply what I learned to my Hazzanut. When I began reading the Torah in Bnai Yosef, during the first summer, I was asked to take over as the hazzan for the summer because the regular hazzanim were away. Initially, I was very hesitant and I was not sure if I would be able to be a Hazzan for Shahrit on Shabbat. In the end, I decided that it would be a worthy challenge for me and a great learning experience. Since that first summer, I have been the hazzan every summer. Additionally, I'm was one of the hazzanim at Bnai Yosef every year during the High Holidays. When I began college at Yeshiva University, I noticed a course entitled "Sephardic Liturgical Music" given by Rabbi/Hazzan Moshe Tessone. I decided to take the class and I must say that what I have learned there has helped me tremendously in growing in Hazzanut. I learned how to use improvisation and how to advance in my learning. I took the class every semester and even though the curriculum was the same, I learned something new every time. As of September 2011, I'm the Hazzan in Mikdash Eliyahu Synagogue in Brooklyn, NY.