My New Home in North Miami Beach
In North Miami Beach, I rented a two-bedroom apartment across the street from the beach at 159th Street and Collins Avenue. Amazingly, my parents moved to Florida, stayed with me and, several months later, moved to downtown Miami Beach where they adopted an informal and easy lifestyle which brought them much contentment and joy.
My New Spiritual Home at Temple Sinai
At Temple Sinai, a beautiful sanctuary had just been built that was a marvel to the eye. Our area in North Miami Beach was attracting many newcomers and retirees who were settling there. The growth was enormous. A few hundred people were showing up regularly at Sabbath services. The number of Bar/Bat Mitzvahs was up substantially. It was time to form an adult and children’s choir, and I got to work immediately.
The Cantors of Miami Beach
As the new cantor in town, I was very warmly welcomed by my cantorial colleagues. Cantor Bill Lipson from Beth David in Miami called and invited me to lunch. There was also a Cantors Association of Greater Miami - a group of about 50 cantors from Miami Beach to Fort Lauderdale - that met regularly in Miami Beach. How lucky I was to find such camaraderie with my colleagues. Our organization welcomed new cantors from the Orthodox, Conservative and Reform branches of Judaism. We had weekly meetings, lunch and enrichment programs. I developed close relationships with Cantors Zvi Adler, Abraham Seif, Zvee Aroni, Jacob Bornstein, David Conviser, Jack Mendelson, Nico Feldman, Jacob Danziger and Murray Yavneh.
I was very active in the organization and was fortunate to be its President from 1973-1977.
My close friends, the renowned Cantor Zvee Aroni and the very talented Cantor David Conviser were actively involved in our association as well.
For three years in a row, we presented a Jewish music concert at the Jackie Gleason Convention Center. There were 2,600 seats at that theater, and they were all sold out. Eventually, we presented concerts that were held in synagogues and concert halls between Miami Beach and Boca Raton. Years of great growth, indeed! I was soon offered a teaching position at Miami Dade, but I quickly realized that it would be too much for me. My plate was really full.
A Little Luxury at the Fontainebleau
During my first year, I rented a cabana at the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami Beach with three other men. They were Sam Kramer, Julius Littman, and his brother Milton. We had wonderful times together. Julius, who later became a commissioner of North Miami Beach, organized a social club and appointed me as vice president. A few weeks later, Chuck Hall, the Miami Beach mayor, was scheduled to celebrate the formation of our group at an inaugural dinner on a Wednesday evening. I mentioned to Julius that I couldn’t make it to the dinner because of a choir rehearsal conflict on that night. It was difficult for him to accept the fact that my choir rehearsal could be more important to me. Twenty years later, he came to my office to check on the progress of a Bat Mitzvah student and still remembered, with mixed approval, my strong commitment to the choir rehearsal and the no-show at the inaugural dinner.