Rav Hazzan Ken Richmond
Rav Hazzon Ken Richmond joined the Temple Israel family in the summer of 2006. He graduated from the H.L. Miller Cantorial School in 2004, a receipient of a Wexner Graduate Fellowship. As Cantor (Hazzan) and Family Educator, he enjoys leading the congregation in participatory prayer and teaching and learning with nursery school students, religious school and day school students and their families, and adults of all ages. He hopes to share his love of yiddishkayt, Jewish learning, mitzvot, and shabbat and holidays with the community. Ken was a member of the Rabbinical Assembly Mahzor Committee which worked on the Lev Shalem Mazhor. He invites you to download and share mp3s from Music of TI, including Torah and Haftarah trope, and songs and prayers for shabbat and holidays. He founded and played klezmer violin with the Yale Klezmer band, Klezmaniacs, di bostoner klezmer, and “Fish Street Klezmer” his duet with his lovely and talented wife, Rabbi Shira Shazeer. Ken and Shira are raising their children in a Yiddish speaking household. Ken enjoys biking, hiking, and swimming when he gets the chance. In 2015, Cantor Ken was chosen by the Jewish Daily Forward as one of 21 Jewish Voices That Move Us, as part of their “Soundtrack of Our Spirit” series– here is his page. Click here to email Cantor Richmond.
Musical Compositions
Some compositions can be found in the musical pages of the TI website, including the High Holiday and Friday night pages.
- Click here to hear and here to see sheet music for Asei Lecha Rav, by Rav Shira & Cantor Ken, written for the MWJDS 2017 Gala.
Words of Torah
Please click here to read words of Torah from Rav Hazzan Richmond.
- 2020, March 11, Ki Tisa: Seeking God’s Face in the Age of Coronavirus
- 2019, December 4, Vayeitsei: Jacob’s Ladder; Finding Wonder in Life’s Highs, Lows, and Middles Too
- 2019, November 30, Toldot: Redigging Wells on the Shabbat of Thanksgiving and Jacob & Gender Dysphoria
- 2019, February 2: Mishpatim: Brownies, Bribery, & Moral Gray Areas
- 2019, January 26: Yitro: Back and Forth; the Movements of Revelation
- 2019, January 19: Beshalach Oy, Were We Thirsty: is Complaint a Vice or a Virtue?
- 2019, January 5: Va’eira Fibonacci & the Plague of Hail: Threat or Opportunity?
- 2018, October 1, Shmini Atzeret: Lingering on Shemini Atzeret
- 2018, September 29: What Do We Do When Prayer Doesn’t Come Naturally? Seeking God’s Face Chol Hamoed Sukkot
- 2018, September 25: Ready or Not, Here Comes the Joy by Rabbi Shira Shazeer
- 2018, September 24: Sukkot Bluff the Listener
- 2018, September 22: Ha’azinu; Being a Part and a Portion (or: I Bet You Think This Song Is About You); inspired by Rabbi Sharon Cohen Anisfeld
- 2018, July 21: D’varim/Hazon: Being Lifted on Shoulders
- 2018, July 14: Mas’ei Starting Points & Destinations on our Journeys (for the 70 Faces series)
- 2018, February 24: Secret Hitler? Keeping Our Hands Raised Against Amalek. (and the introduction: the Priests’ Footwear)
- 2018, February 17: Terumah: The 4-Minute Mile & Finding Resilience After Parkland, FL
- 2018, February 3: Yitro: Standing Again at Sinai
- 2018, January 13: Va’eira: Eil Shadai: What’s in a Name? (or: How God is Like My Mother)
- 2018, December 9: Vayeishev: Lighting Up the Darkness, One Good Point at a Time (for the 70 Faces of Torah series)
- 2017, October 28: Lech Lecha: Living Up to Abraham & Sarah’s Legacy
- 2017, July 29: Devarim/ Hazon: Lifting Each Other Up; Preparing for Tish’a B’av with Joy as well as Sorrow (from 70 Faces Blog)
- 2017, June 3: Naso: “Make Our Leaders Great Again” (from 70 Faces Blog)
- 2017, May 6: Acharei-Mot Kedoshim: Inclusion Shabbat and the LGBTQ Jewish Community. Here is as well a presentation by Daniel Bahner from Keshet on Pride Shabbat 2017.
- 2017, April 18, the 8th Day of Passover: “All the Days of Our Lives“
- 2017, April 17, the 7th Day of Passover: The Shot Heard ‘Round the World & the Crossing of the Sea
- 2017, April 15, Shabbat chol hamoed Passover: Divine Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Stubbornness, & Passover Two Truths And A Lie
- 2017, April 8, Tsav/ Shabbat HaGadol: Preparing for Pesach; Cleaning up the Ashes
- 2017, April 1: Vayikra: Mike Pence, Fences around the Torah, & the Example Leaders Set
- 2017, March 11: Tetzaveh/Zachor: Listening to Darth Vader, the Good Guy (from 70 Faces Blog)
- 2017, February 4: Bo– ‘Round Midnight; Balancing Justice & Love Regarding the Executive Order on Immigration
- 2016, November 16, Vayera: What Would Abraham Do? (from 70 Faces Blog)
- 2016, February 23: The Levites, the Golden Calf, & Jewish Disabilities and Inclusion Month
- 2016, February 20: Tetzaveh: Clothing, Joy, & Constancy: by Rabbi Shira Shazeer
- 2016, February 13: Terumah Constructive Conflict and the 9th of Adar
- 2016, February 6: Mishpatim: Who is the Stranger? What We Can Learn from the Strange Story of Csanad Szegedi
- 2016, January 30, Yitro, from Rabbi Shira Shazeer: Beans, Rice, & Revelation
- 2016, January 16: Bo: How We Treat the Stranger: Reflections on Donald Trump Rallies and My Visit to the Local Mosque (being edited)
- 2016, January 9: Is Patience a Virtue? What can Marc Gafni, Jonathan Rosenblatt, & Bill Cosby Teach us About Va’eira?
- 2015, January 3: Vayechi– on Disabilities and Inclusion
Videos from Our Celebration of Cantor Ken’s 10th Year at TI
Here is the Cantors Assembly “Sacred Sounds” Hanukkah edition 2015, which includes an article by Cantor Ken.
