Deborah Katchko-Gray, at The Blogs

Apr 4, 2023, 7:53 PM

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...

Jun 9, 2021, 5:21 PM

Remembering Elie Wiesel on his fifth Yartzeit

A moment in Elie Wiesel's study at Boston University

It is hard to believe five years have passed since the world lost the great teacher, humanist, and writer; Elie Wiesel. With the surge of antisemitism and acts of anti-Israel fueled hatred, I’m conflicted between being grateful he is...

Mar 5, 2021, 6:50 AM

A Tale of Two Tallitot

Prayerful Creations is the name I call my tallitot- prayer shawls that are unique, made with a technique called, Swedish Weaving. It’s a needlework art that I was introduced to as a cantor in Norwalk, CT by Ellen Temkin,...

Sep 30, 2020, 5:11 PM

A Kol Nidre tale: Thank you Natalie Cole

Kol Nidre is one of the most sacred musical experiences of the year in Jewish worship. It is solemn and awesome; the music is powerful. The cantor has a responsibility to represent the community and uplift them through his...

Sep 18, 2020, 10:55 PM

Second Day Rosh Hashanah. A Yartzeit and PTSD

Second Day Rosh Hashanah, A Yartzeit and PTSD Do things happen for a reason? Can coincidences be bashert? I believe they can be. Usually I see utter delight in a coincidence of time and space, connections between people and events....

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 two. Wife and friend.