Cantor Sarah Beck-Berman

Cantor Sarah earned her B.A. in Religious Studies from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2011, and was ordained as a Cantor in January 2018 by the ALEPH: Alliance for Jewish Renewal Cantorial Program. Her studies included courses in both Middle Eastern and Western Jewish music, Jewish musical history and traditions, the collected body of Jewish liturgy, learning to chant and interpret Jewish sacred texts, and many other subjects.

Sarah is the Cantor at Congregation Beth Ahabah in Richmond, VA, where she where she enjoys leading the congregation in singing during services, chanting from sacred scriptures and interpreting them, working with the adult and youth choirs, planning meaningful and fun life cycle celebrations, and teaching people of all ages. She is also the B'nei Mitzvah Coordinator at Beth Ahabah, supervising tutors, working with  students and their families as they celebrate these milestones.

Cantor Sarah has enjoyed speaking about Jewish music and culture in her local community, including as guest lecturer for the VCU courses Music & Religion and Western Religions: Women and Society; as keynote speaker for Jewish American Heritage month at Defense Supply Center Richmond; as guest speaker for the Jewish Women's Club of Richmond on topics like global Jewish music and philanthropy; and as a guest speaker at Collegiate School, St. Catherine’s, St. Christopher's, Steward School, and others, usually on religion and the arts.

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Among her many hobbies and interests, Cantor Sarah has an abiding passion for sharks and marine biology, and drinking tea.