MARY LEE TALBOT
Staff Writer
“I love what I do, and it is a blessing to have found a life path where I can use my gift of (a singing) voice and help the community with ritual. I think it is unusual to have a job I am passionate about and I can contribute to the community at large,” said Cantor Olivia Brodsky.
Brodsky will serve as chaplain for Week Four. She came to Chautauqua Institution on a family trip when she was about 7 years old. As a trained opera singer, several of her teachers had sung in the Chautauqua Opera Company. “I knew about Chautauqua from the point of view of its artistic and educational endeavors, but I had never considered it from the perspective of being a chaplain,” she said.
One of Brodsky’s hopes for the week is to give people a better understanding of what a cantor does. “I am fully ordained, like a rabbi, but I specialize in Jewish music,” she said. “I picked the topics for my sermon series as a way of explaining my own relationship to Judaism and theology, to talk about why I do this work.”
Brodsky will preach at the 10:45 a.m. Sunday service of worship in the Amphitheater. The title of her sermon is “Music as a Gateway to Spirituality.” She will also preach at the 9:15 a.m. Monday–Wednesday services in the Amphitheater.
Her Monday sermon title is “Action, Not Belief,” which will make a case for religion to non-believers, what religion has to offer doubters.
The Tuesday sermon title is “Ethno-Religion,” which will look at the full complexity of Jewish identity. The Wednesday sermon title is “The Biblical Origins of Zionism,” which will seek to understand the origins of the word Zion. She will share her faith journey at the 9:15 a.m. Thursday morning worship service in the Hall of Philosophy.
The Department of Religion said, “We encourage Chautauquans to attend Chautauqua Dialogues throughout the week.”
Brodsky serves as cantor and co-clergy at East End Temple in Manhattan alongside Rabbi Joshua Stanton. She is a vocalist dedicated to preserving Jewish culture and tradition while making it evermore applicable to daily life and accessible for people of all generations. Brodsky is passionate about engaging a diverse community of people with varying backgrounds and levels of religious and cultural observance, herself having been raised in the Conservative movement and now dually affiliated with both the Reform movement’s American Conference of Cantors and the Conservative movement’s Cantor’s Assembly.
Brodsky is deeply engaged in Jewish education, global Jewish travel and interfaith dialogue. In reaction to divisive politics plaguing both the U.S. and the world at large, she founded an adult education series entitled “Complex Conversations with the Cantor,” where she facilitates respectful dialogue between people with a diverse array of views on controversial issues.
As an outspoken advocate for the Jewish community and a published writer, Brodsky contributes op-ed commentary to a variety of news outlets addressing Jewish identity, the Arab-Israeli conflict, Zionism and antisemitism. She brings a nuanced understanding of Jewish history, culture, Abrahamic faith traditions, Middle Eastern politics, social justice and ethics to her ministry. Brodsky strives to create relevant, inclusive, intellectually engaging Jewish experiences for her community.
Brodsky attended a dual-degree program at Tufts University and the New England Conservatory of Music, earning a Bachelor of Arts in Judaic studies and studying classical vocal performance. She received her Master of Sacred Music and Cantorial Ordination from the Debbie Friedman School of Sacred Music at Hebrew Union College–Jewish Institute of Religion.
This program is made possible by the generous support of The J. Everett Hall Memorial Chaplaincy and The Randell-Hall Memorial Chaplaincy.
