It didn't happen yesterday, nor in recent months. It happened in 2003, but it feels like it was today. Videos of the show continue to accumulate millions of views and raise donations from around the world for social causes.
"Cantors: A Faith in Song" was a live-recorded TV concert featuring three renowned Jewish cantors—Naftali Herstik, Alberto Mizrahi, and Benzion Miller—performing Jewish sacred and secular music in Amsterdam's historic 17th-century Portuguese Synagogue (Esnoga).
The city of Amsterdam was chosen as the setting because of its history as a crossroads for Ashkenazic and Sephardic traditions, highlighting the unification of these two major streams of the Jewish faith. "Tumbalalaika" was probably the main performance in the concert in the historic Portuguese Synagogue appearing alongside other classics like "Yerushalayim Shel Zahav" and "Sunrise, Sunset".
To get an idea of the importance of Portuguese Jews in the past, it is enough to mention that the Esnoga was the largest synagogue in the world when it was completed in 1675 and remains one of the largest and most significant historical synagogues in Europe. It features a seating capacity designed for approximately 1,700 people. Located in the Jewish Cultural Quarter, it was built by the Sephardic community to reflect their wealth and influence, and its interior is still fully intact, lit by hundreds of candles rather than electricity.
The synagogue miraculously survived destruction during the Holocaust, partly due to its lack of electricity, which made it unsuitable for Nazi deportation, and the actions of a volunteer fire brigade. However, the Jewish community of the Portuguese Synagogue was devastated. Over 80% of Amsterdam’s Jewish population was murdered. The Sephardic congregation saw its numbers severely reduced, with only a few hundred members surviving the war to rebuild, representing a near-destruction of the community's life and presence, though the physical building survived.
"Cantors: A Faith in Song" aimed to give ancient liturgical melodies new life in a large-scale concert setting. The 75-minute performance was accompanied by a 46-piece orchestra and a 16-voice choir. It was conceived as a "faith in song" celebration, presenting both spiritual prayers (including Kol Nidre) and traditional folk/secular songs (such as "Oyfn Pripitchick" and "Mayn Yiddishe Mama").
The special served as a celebration of Jewish musical culture. The concert was produced for television (PBS in the US), becoming a staple of Jewish holiday programming and fundraising efforts for many years following its release.
