The Jewish world mourned when Sephardic Hazzan Raphael Yair Elnadav pased away recenlty. Universally acknowledged as one of the worlds foremost Sephardic hazzanim, Elnadav had a wide and varied career. Born in Jerusalem to Yemenite parents, his musical education began when he was a young child.
He studied hazzanut under the celebrated Sephardic Hazzan Yaakov Levi. At the Conservatory Arzi Israeli in Jerusalem, he received advanced training in voice development, in violin, theory and harmony of music. Under the aegis of Professor Moshe Cordova, he mastered the many maqamat of Oriental music. For many years his fame spread as a leading singer of Arabic, Sephardic, Yemenite and Turkish folk songs, 15 of which you can listen to at savethemusic.com.
In 1950, he was appointed chief hazzan of Congregation Ohel Moed, the largest Sephardic Synagogue in Tel Aviv.
He completed his higher Torah studies in Jerusalem, where he received his Rabbinical semicha.
In 1955, he was called to fill the role of chief rabbi and hazzan of the Sephardic Congregation of Havana, Cuba.
His fame spread as an outstanding hazzan, upholding tradition, and with an all inclusive and deep knowledge of Oriental traditional music. His talent and ability to improvise was superb and indeed unique. His blending of the Oriental and Occidental hazzanut won him world wide acclaim.
In 1959, the Syrian Sephardic Congregation, Shaare Zion of Brooklyn, invited him to fill the post of chief hazzan which he fulfilled with great distinction for 21 years. In recent years, he officiated numerous times at Bnai Shaare Zion as a guest hazzan as well as numerous years for the High Holidays at the Deal Synagogue and the Ohel Yaakob Synagogue in Deal, New Jersey.
Hazzan Elnadav was on the Red Pizmonim Book committee in the early 1960s along with other community leaders such as Chief Rabbi Jacob S. Kassin, Ezra Mishaniye, Refael Marcus, Ezekiel Albeg, Isaac Cabasso, David S. Salem, Sam Catton, Abraham M. Ashear, Ralph S. Tawil, Ralph Sutton, Yaakob Ezra Hamaoui, Jack Hanon, Jack Maslaton, Hymie Kairey, Abraham Ezra Azar, Moshe Paredes, and Gabriel A Shrem.
He served as a Talmud teacher at the Yeshivah of Flatbush High School in the 1970s. In 1992-3, he served as cantor for Sephardic Synagogue.
He also led the High Holiday services at Congregation Bet Yaakob at Ahaba VeAhva along side his grandson, Hazzan Tebele, who officiates at that synagogue.
One lasting legacy that he leaves is the beautiful Ashrei HaAm melody that every Syrian congregation sings every Shabbat when taking out the Torah. Prior to Elnadavs arrival to Shaare Zion, nothing was chanted upon taking out the Torah on Shabbat other than VeZot HaTorah and a Pizmon Sefer Torah.
We must continue to teach his beautiful music to our children and their children.
Rabbi Elnadav is survived by his wife, Bertha, and children, (Joe AH), Meyer Elnadav and Esther Tebele, grandchildren and great grandchildren.
