Part of a long line of cantors, he led services at the Great Synagogue in Jerusalem for 30 years and helped train the next generation.
Naftali Herstik, whose soulful, resonant tenor and elegant interpretations of Jewish liturgical music made him one of the most renowned and influential cantors of his time, died on Sept. 1 at his home in Ra’anana, Israel. He was 77.
His son Netanel, the cantor of the Hampton Synagogue in Westhampton Beach, N.Y., said the cause was kidney disease.
In many ways, Mr. Herstik was a throwback to the period between World War I and the 1960s, when cantors like Yossele Rosenblatt and Moshe Koussevitzky would fill thousand-seat temples on a Sabbath or a Jewish holiday, drawing connoisseurs eager to hear lyrical prayers delivered by glorious and powerful voices.
Known for his silken-voiced tenor, Mr. Herstik had an extraordinary range of three octaves, comfortable in deep bass, the high-C register or falsetto. Equally important was his gift for conveying the emotions of solemn prayers. They were often appeals to the Lord for mercy and sustenance — a sensibility infused by his upbringing as the son of Holocaust survivors — or joyous expressions of gratitude for the biblical miracles.
“Naftali Herstik reminded us that music is the language of the soul, and that a cantor can reach a congregation in ways no rabbi can,” said Rabbi Marc Schneier, senior rabbi of the Hampton Synagogue, which held a tribute to Mr. Herstik on his 70th birthday in 2017.
Although Jewish law does not require that a cantor (chazzan in Hebrew) lead prayers in a synagogue, many Conservative and Reform congregations, and a few Orthodox ones, hire professional cantors to add flair and grandeur to their worship services. Several cantors, including Jan Peerce and Richard Tucker, have gone on to become esteemed opera singers.
