Cantor Lizzie Weiss uses the power of music to engage congregants and support them in making spiritual connections. Music is her medium for teaching Torah. She celebrates the significance of nostalgic traditional music alongside relevant contemporary melodies.
With training in Clinical Pastoral Education, she values time spent with congregants in the hospital, in mourning, and celebrating simchas. From officiating life cycle events, to nurturing young singers, to experiencing milestones with people of all ages, her life at Temple Emanuel is filled with learning, music, and community engagement…
Cantor Weiss grew up at Temple Emanuel of Beverly Hills and was always involved in all things music. From intergenerational productions at the Emanuel Arts Center, to Junior Cantors, to the High Holy Day Professional Choir, Cantor Weiss developed her Jewish identity with her experiences in Jewish living at Temple Emanuel, Camp Swig/Newman and all under the wing of her Uncle Rabbi Kenneth J. Weiss, and her brother Rabbi Scott Hausman-Weiss.
After graduating from the University of California, Irvine with a degree in drama, Cantor Weiss moved to New York and was cast in the Broadway National Tour of Disney’s High School Musical. After a few years on the road, Cantor Weiss landed back in Los Angeles, and entered cantorial school at the Academy for Jewish Religion, under the mentorship of Cantor Nathan Lam and Cantor Perryne Anker. Cantor Weiss received her cantorial ordination in May 2015.
When not on the Temple Emanuel bima, Cantor Weiss can be found singing in Jewish and secular concerts, alike, throughout Los Angeles. Cantor Weiss is proud to serve on the Board of Directors of the American Conference of Cantors.
Cantor Weiss founded the Temple Emanuel Soul Singers in 2015 and it continues to serve as one of her proudest gifts that ensures the future of Jewish music at Temple Emanuel. As children graduate from the Soul Singers, they become junior cantors helping to lead services and chant torah on the high holy days. Lastly, the intergenerational choir, of which she was a part of starting at age 12, continues to be the most warm, welcoming and musical choir she could ever imagine!
Ana Gasteyer is a multi-talented performer renowned for her work on Saturday Night Live, where she created iconic characters like Bobbie Moughan-Culp and Margaret Jo.
Jelani, a proud alum of Montclair State University and a native of New Jersey, has left an indelible mark on Broadway stages. Notable performances include portraying Eddie Kendricks in “Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of The Temptations” and bringing Simba to life in Disney’s “The Lion King.”
Arielle Jacobs, a first-generation Filipino-American actress, has left a lasting mark on Broadway stages. She garnered attention for her portrayal of Princess Jasmine in Disney’s Aladdin and as Delilah McPhee in Between The Lines.
