The Love Story of Cantor Judy Fox and Cantor Herschel Fox

Their voices! Anyone who has ever heard the incomparable voices of Valley Beth Shalom’s own Cantor Herschel Fox, his wife Cantor Judy Fox, their elder daughter, Cantor Shira Fox and younger daughter Shayna has never forgotten those voices.

Herschel and his daughter Shira will be performing a special service of Yiddish songs at Valley Beth Shalom on Friday, February 17th, 2012 at 8:00 PM.

I first heard Herschel’s voice as an 8-year-old camper at a Hebrew speaking summer camp near Winnipeg, Canada, when he was a counselor. Herschel immigrated at age 4 from Poland, fleeing the Holocaust with his family. Twenty years later, when he was auditioning at Valley Beth Shalom, I heard that voice again. I had no idea who would be davening (the Yiddish word for praying) that night. I instantly knew that it was Herschel Fox.

At age 6, after hearing the voice of an eminent cantor, Herschel knew that he wanted to be a cantor. He spent his childhood studying davening. He also starred in many musicals performing with stars such as Jack Carter. At a benefit he met the venerated opera singer Jan Peerce. Aware that New York was the heart of the performing arts as well as of Judaic music, he left Winnipeg,Canada to study liturgical music with the world famous cantor David Kusevitsky.

“I don’t feel that there is a conflict between being a cantor and an entertainer”, Herschel explained as he reminded me that there are Orthodox Jews who consider it to be forbidden for a man to so much as touch a woman on stage.

Herschel called his friend, the late Jan Peerce, who had given him his number telling him to call if he was ever in New York. Peerce became like a father to him. Herschel performed on and off Broadway with many great entertainers such as Peerce, Molly Picon and Mickey Katz, the father of Joel Gray and grandfather of Dirty Dancing’s Jennifer Gray. He even had his own Yiddish radio show.

Herschel wanted to break into the Catskills scene in upstate New York, and was told that a talented and beautiful singer named Judy Stivens was the expert. Judy opened for comedians such as Jan Murray and Rodney Dangerfield, and worked in the Catskills, on cruise ships and in major hotels world wide.

Judy has been the cantor for the Synagogue for the Performing Arts for many years. Herschel met her for lunch at the Carnegie Deli in Manhattan. After talking about the Catskills, Judy asked Herschel about his current work. Herschel told her that he was a cantor in a synagogue and began to explain what that meant.

Judy lit up exclaiming, “You’re a Chazzan in a shul! My zaida was a Chazzan in a shul where I was born in Hungary.”

Herschel soon asked Judy out on a date. On their second date, while driving he started belting out Chazzanic music (I recall him doing that during swimming lessons at summer camp, and it’s something he still does in the midst of conversations). Amazingly, Judy began to mimic him. He realized that she had an innate talent for cantorial liturgy.

When Herschel took her to meet Jan Peerce, he took one look at her, sat Herschel down and told him that Judy was the girl he was going to marry. Nine months later they married with Peerce signing the traditional marriage contract.

Jan Peerce called Judy “ the greatest female cantor in the world.” Married and knowing they wanted babies, Herschel began to look for work, and found it at Valley Beth Shalom in Encino. Thus began his 31-year career at the temple.

Judy and Herschel’s daughter Shira is an entertainer in her own right, and is a cantorial soloist at Beit T’shuva Recovery Center. Their younger daughter Shayna also sings and was the voice of Reggie Rocket in Nickelodeon’s Rocket Power.

Herschel will also be producing, “A Spectacular Evening of Music and Song” on March 18th, 2012 at VBS with world renowned entertainers Mike Burstyn, Elliot Finkel, Cantor Judy Fox and special guests Shira Fox and Rachel Goldman Neubauer.

UPDATE: November 9th, 2014

To learn more about the Synagogue For the Performing Arts go to www.sftpa.com .

Due to popular demand there you can view and listen to the angelic Cantor Judy Fox along with the Synagogue For the Performing Arts Choir singing, “Listen” by Doug Cotler during rehearsal for Rosh Hashanah 2014 services accompanied by Nick Fryman.

Cantor Judy Fox is also known for belting out Chazzanic music while driving, parking at super markets and in the midst of conversations.

In 2013 Cantor Shira Fox was installed as Cantor at Temple Kol Tikvah in Woodland Hills with what to me seemed like at least 50 rabbis and cantors celebrating the Fox family business of cantors breeding cantors.

Shira is an Artist in Residence with The Jewish Women’s Theater of Los Angeles. She holds a degree in Literature/Creative Writing from SUNY.