Cantor Amy Daniels
Cantor Emerita

Cantor Amy Daniels served as Temple Sha'arey Shalom's Cantor for 30 years, retiring on June 30, 2018.  In July, 2018, she became our Cantor Emerita.

She was invested as a Cantor from the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion School of Sacred Music in 1985, at which time there were less than thirty-five women cantors in the Reform Movement nationwide. Previous to her cantorial studies, Cantor Daniels received a Bachelor of Music and Bachelor of Arts Degree from Case Western Reserve University and the Cleveland Institute of Music where she studied modern dance and music education. In April of 2010 Cantor Daniels was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the Hebrew Union College in recognition of twenty-five years of service to the Jewish people as a gifted cantor.

Amy Eisenstein Daniels grew up in Cleveland Ohio, where she credits her family's pastime of singing Hebrew songs around the dinner table with planting her love of Jewish music. She is married to Scott Daniels and they have two sons, Jacob and Gabriel.

Cantor Daniels led the Temple's active Adult and Junior choirs, prepared students for Bar and Bat Mitzvah, taught adult education and led all musical aspects of the synagogue worship. In 1997, Cantor Daniels served as the Director of Education for Temple Sha'arey Shalom Religious School until her retirement.

Cantor Daniels has performed in numerous concerts of Jewish and cantorial music with the New Jersey Cantors' Concert Ensemble, a group that promotes appreciation of Jewish music and raises money for scholarships for the training of future cantors. Cantor Daniels is an active member of the American Conference of Cantors and recently served on its Executive Board.

"As the Cantor and the Director of Education I am in a unique position to integrate music and a natural and meaningful worship and prayer experience into the lives of our students and their families. I continue to explore ways that our rich Jewish musical and cultural heritage can create community and enhance our experience of spirituality.

I also try to instill a love of Israel in our members through Israeli songs, Hebrew language, learning about Israel and its issues, and encouraging travel to Israel. A frequent traveler to Israel myself, one of my greatest experiences was completing a "Sea to Sea" hike across northern Israel (61 kilometers in five days). With the support of the Temple Sha'arey Shalom community we raised over $6,000 for One Family Fund which supports the needs of victims of terror in Israel."