Deborah Katchko-Gray, at The Blogs

Jul 25, 2024, 7:20 AM

Face to Face with Hate and Love at the NJ Turnpike

protesters getting ready to get back on the bus after a day of domestic terror in Washington DC.

Driving on the New Jersey Turnpike is actually something I enjoy. I love playing music and getting in the zone of driving and clearing my mind, except for paying attention to the road! When I...

Mar 9, 2024, 8:22 PM

My ADL Day. Never is Now!

As a news junkie, I am constantly looking for the latest news about the Jewish world and Israel specifically. Since Oct. 7, like many others, I haven’t slept through the night once- always checking the Jerusalem Post in the...

Jan 21, 2024, 5:24 PM

Sacred Sounds Reborn- Nu? What about using Nusach?

Sacred Sounds Reborn A Nusach based project with Beth Styles, producer, composer, and gifted musician. For years I have listened to lots of new music for the synagogue. I can appreciate the many new composers out there writing with music that...

Sep 30, 2023, 8:34 PM

Remembering Elie Wiesel

A moment in Elie Wiesel's study at Boston University

Remembering Elie Wiesel I think about my teacher and mentor most days, but Sept. 30, 1928 is his birthday and that makes me think about him even more. There is still no Jewish leader who can speak to us and for...

Apr 4, 2023, 7:53 PM

Why All These Kiddush Cups?

Preparing for a holiday brings up a wealth of memories. My mother lived a modest life, at least compared to the middle-class moms around us. Vacations, Florida trips, beauty parlor, manicures, cleaning ladies, social dinners out were nonexistent in...

Aug 11, 2022, 8:42 PM

Preparing for the High Holydays – a cantorial view

From my very first High Holyday services in l976 at Boston University at the age of 19, I knew preparing for the music and spiritual experience was like the “Jewish Olympics”. It is a delicate balancing act of good...

Jul 2, 2022, 3:17 PM

Remembering Elie Wiesel on his Sixth Yartzeit

Thanks to the efforts of Alan Rosen all the way from Jerusalem, a few students, his son Elisha, scholars like Ariel Burger; gather online to study and remember our teacher and mentor. These intimate study sessions are precious and...

Jun 22, 2022, 11:40 PM

Forty Years of the Women Cantors’ Network

WCN Flyer_Final copy 2

Jan 18, 2022, 3:15 PM

A WOW Choir! From Dream to Reality

Women’s voices in prayer is not unusual in most American egalitarian synagogues. More than half of the Reform and Conservative cantorial schools are made up of women, including professors and cantorial coaches. Women cantors are the norm, and it...

Jun 11, 2021, 2:39 AM

40 years of cantorial adventures

It is hard to believe forty years has passed since I began as a cantor, one of the few ( 2 or 3) female cantors to serve a traditional synagogue in l981, in Norwalk, CT. I began to think...

About Me

Fourth generation cantor, second woman to serve a traditional synagogue and founder of the Women Cantors' Network. Deborah studied with Elie Wiesel z"l and continues to be inspired by his teachings. First recipient of the Debbie Friedman Miriam Award. A cantor in Ridgefield, CT since 1999, cellist, tallit Swedish weaving embroiderer, mother of 6, grandmother of five. Wife and friend.