Acknowledged worldwide as the foremost Sephardic Hazzan and exceptional teacher, Raphael Yair Elnadav has had a wide and varied career.

Born in Jerusalem in 1921, throughout his life Rabbi Elnadav carried a certain nostalgia for his Yerushalmi upbringing; never losing sight of the Jerusalem of his youth.

Rabbi Elnadav was born to a prominent Yemenite rabbinical family that had immigrated to Jerusalem around the turn of the 20^thcentury. His father, Rabbi Meyer, exerted a profound influence on him, who expressed his reverence for him in a privately published collection of original Torah insights.

As a young man, Rabbi Raphael studied in Yeshivat Porat Yosef in Jerusalem’s Old City, until Arab violence forced the yeshiva to relocate to Western Jerusalem.

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 and in 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.

Simultaneously, he continued his Torah learning in Jerusalem’s Yeshivat Shaare Zion under Chief Rabbi Ben-Zion Uziel. He earned semicha (rabbinical ordination) from Rabbi Eliezer Waldenberg (1915-2006).

Deeply committed to the cause of Zionism, Rabbi Raphael joined the Irgun, an underground defense force, serving as chaplain, even teaching hazzanut to groups of young soldiers. At one point, he was arrested and imprisoned for two-and-a-half months for his anti-British activities. His brother Yosef was killed in the struggle for Israeli independence; a very personal loss.

In 1950, Elnadav married Bertha (Batia) Hassoun, and they settled in Tel Aviv, where he was appointed chief hazan in Congregation Ohel Moed, the main Sephardic synagogue of Tel Aviv. Their eldest son, Yosef, was born soon after. By then, he had earned widespread acclaim in the world of hazzanut as a talented innovator, composer and expert in Sephardic liturgy, and his fame had spread to Jewish communities throughout the world.

He was only 34, but tremendously accomplished – a shohet (ritual slaughterer), mohel, hazzan and rabbi – when the life-altering job offer came. An emissary from Cuba’s Sephardic community arrived in Israel, having been sent for the sole purpose of offering Rabbi Elnadav the leadership of the community. After months of negotiation and deliberation, Elnadav agreed. Just before Rosh Hashanah of 1955, Rabbi Elnadav, his wife, child and parents-in-law arrived in Havana.

Rabbi Elnadav quickly threw himself into the service of the Cuban community. He functioned for them at every level – leading the prayers, performing marriages, funerals, and answering halachic queries. Often, there was more than one berit mila to perform in a day, and the community would pay for him to travel by plane from one end of the island to the other so the mitzva could be performed at the proper time. He supervised kashrut in Cuba, overseeing the shehita process twice a week.

Despite the critical role he served as spiritual leader and functionary of the Cuban community, Rabbi Elnadav was forced to cut his time in the island short. With the rise of Communism, Rabbi Elnadav sensed the impending Castro takeover of Cuba, and realized he had to get his family, now with two young children, out of Cuba. In the mid-fifties, before the Elnadavs moved to Cuba, Mr. Isaac Shalom heard Rabbi Elnadav perform at a special congress of Sepharadim in Jerusalem. Shaare Zion on Ocean Parkway in Brooklyn was in its planning stages. Mr. Shalom spoke to Rabbi Elnadav and expressed his hope that the young hazzan would consider a position in the Syrian community once the Shaare Zion building was complete. When life in Havana became no longer viable, Rabbi Elnadav accepted Mr. Shalom’s invitation. In 1959, together with his two children (the youngest, Esther, was born later, in America) and parents-in-law, he moved to New York and assumed the position of Chief Cantor, a post he held for 21 years until his retirement in 1980.

His tenure as hazzan in Shaare Zion had a profound impact upon the community. “He taught us how to pray,” commented one woman who grew up hearing his tefilot. “All the tunes, all the words – he gave us the key to prayer, and enabled us to build our own relationships with Hashem.” Some of the tunes used commonly today, like those of “Ashrei Ha'Am” and “Mah Tovu.” were actually original compositions, introduced  by Rabbi Elnadav. He officiated at many weddings.

“When he prayed, you had the feeling you were eavesdropping,” said another community member. “He knew to Whom he was praying, and he brought that reverence and majesty to us, as well.” The rabbi had no ulterior motives when he prayed. He simply stood before Hashem, as a representative of the public. He was precise in all he said and in all he did, strictly following halacha and tradition at every step. He demanded much of his congregants during tefila, but he demanded far more of himself. He took his responsibility as emissary of the congregation very seriously, and stood in awe of his Creator. He felt the holiness of the Mikdash, of the synagogue, and his demeanor during prayer was awe-inspiring.

During those same years, Rabbi Elnadav established himself as a legendary teacher, first at Magen David, and later in Yeshivah of Flatbush. His flair for drama found an outlet in the classroom. “Today I heard Yeshaya HaNavi himself!” exclaimed one observer of his Navi class. When he spoke, he brought the words to life. When he taught something, you saw it – and understood it differently.

To the world at large, Rabbi Elnadav was a musical genius, a master teacher, and a hazzan of unparalleled stature. And yet, despite his public persona, he was a deeply private person. Perhaps what was most hidden, and least recognized, was his erudition as a talmid hacham. Halacha governed his every decision, Torah was his life.

At age 80, Rabbi Elnadav took upon himself a project most people would never attempt. Utilizing his myriad skills, he selected parchment, made his own ink, and wrote his own Sefer Torah – from start to finish. The writing is beautiful, a blend of many different styles, produced with meticulous care and an eye for detail – his very own signature writing in his very own signature way: beautiful and precise. The Sefer Torah exemplifies the way Rabbi Elnadav lived his life, combining the beauty of his many talents and the precision of halacha to produce a truly unique individual.

The untimely passing of his oldest child, Yosef z”l, affected him deeply. He found emotional outlet in his art – his poetry and music, expressing his grief in writing. And no congregant in Yeshivat Ateret Torah wasn’t moved by the sounds of a father sobbing for his son in his rendition of “Bnei Aharon” on Yom Kippur.

Rabbi Elnadav was consoled during this time of grief by bringing several important projects his way. One such project was deciphering and organizing the manuscripts of a prominent community lecturer. The writings were in shorthand, and difficult to read. At an advanced age, Rabbi Elnadav had learned how to use a computer for the compilation of his father’s derashot (sermons). Now, he undertook to enter hundreds of pages of text with exact precision. The project was very difficult, but the rabbi persevered. He found that the work helped him focus his thoughts on Torah, and provided consolation after his tragic loss.

He carried that precision to every area of his life: his learning, his music, his tefila, and even his public speaking. He composed deep, intricate derashot for each of his grandsons to present at their bar mitzvah celebrations. He trained each of them in turn, ensuring that they mastered both the content and the delivery of these divre Torah. “I’m not sure I appreciated it at the time,” grins one grandson, “but it really helped me a lot later on!” This devotion to detail was Rabbi Elnadav’s way in avodat Hashem. He strove to bring each act, each speech, each prayer to its completion, achieving wholeness in both the action itself and within himself. If it was worth doing, it was worth doing not just well, but superlatively. This perhaps is why it is so difficult to write of Rabbi Raphael Elnadav without resorting to hyperbole – everything he did, every action he took, was a step on the journey to excellence.

One summer Friday night, Rabbi Elnadav stood up to recite qaddish for the yahrtzeit of a relative and, as is common, was joined by another congregant in the kinees who was also saying qaddish. The rabbi recited the qaddish in a loud, clear voice, carefully enunciating every word with his trademark patience and precision. The other man also said the qaddish loudly, but was very rapid and unclear in his pronunciation. Disturbed that the qaddish was not being recited in unison, and more so that it was not being said correctly, Rabbi Elnadav raised his powerful voice louder and louder until everyone in the kinees, particularly the other man across the room, was aware that kaddish should be recited clearly and precisely.

After the tefila, many people apologized on behalf of the other congregant, fearing that perhaps the rabbi was angered by what happened. But on his way out of the kinees, Rabbi Elnadav approached the man himself. In a caring manner, he explained that qaddish shouldn’t be read rapidly as though it is a burden. That Sunday, the rabbi took out an audio cassette, and recorded himself reciting qaddish. He went to the kinees and handed it to the man, telling him he could keep the tape and should practice reciting qaddish with it. Grinning from ear to ear, the man would go on to tell everyone he met, “The rabbi made me a tape!” With this gesture, Rabbi Elnadav touched this man’s heart. The fellow now realized that the rabbi wasn’t trying to orchestrate the prayer in his way, but rather, he wanted everyone to pray the correct way. Rabbi Elnadav’s efforts also conveyed a powerful message to the man: that his qaddish is valuable because he is valuable, and that he is important enough that the Rabbi would go to the trouble of recording a tape just for him..

Rabbi Elnadav’s clarity of vision was unparalleled and genuine. He had no patience for flattery, and stayed far from any lashon hara (negative speech). After his retirement, he gloried in being a private person, never mixing or meddling in the affairs of the people around him. He believed that people should always know clearly what they are doing, and why. His faith was so strong, so clear, that it was his reality. “You saw it in his joy at fulfilling each separate missva on Pesah night,” recalled one grandson. “That clarity, knowing what life was really about, gave him a tremendous joy of life.”

He derived immense joy from his beautiful family. He gloried in the children, playing with the grandchildren and great-grandchildren with a softness his former students may have found astounding. All the boys in the family learned with Rabbi Elnadav at one point or another, and many of them studied hazzanut. He held an exceptionally high standard in all areas of learning – and especially in hazzanut. One day, in preparation for Rosh Hashanah, a grandson was reviewing the tefilot. Somehow, something he said or sang did not satisfy the rabbi. “Stop!” he commanded. “You know, on Rosh Hashanah, every word must shine!”  

Hazzan Elnadav was on the Pizmonim Book Committee in the early 1960s along with other community leaders such as Chief Rabbi Jacob S Kassin, Ezra Mishaniye, Rephael Marcus, Ezekiel Hai 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.

In recent years, he officiated numerous times in Bnai Shaare Zion as a guest hazzan as well as numerous years for the High Holidays at the Deal Synagogue and Ohel Yaakob Synagogue on Lawrence Avenue in Deal, New Jersey. In 1992-94, he served as hazzan for Sephardic Synagogue. He also led the High Holiday services in recent years at Congregation Bet Yaakob at Ahaba VeAhva along side his grandson, Hazzan Jack Tebele, who officiates at that synagogue.

Throughout his lifetime, he was not comfortable being recorded and this is why recordings of him singing are very rare. Effort is currently taking place by the Sephardic Pizmonim Project to locate and post some recordings.

He was a man with a mission: “Zeh eli ve’anvehu – This is my God, and I shall glorify Him!” He lived with the awareness that at all times, one has to bring glory to Hashem’s name. He carried a legacy from the great people he knew in his youth, and bridged the generations from then to now. He brought beauty to everything he did, and ensured that the heritage and traditions he learned from his rabbis, in Jerusalem of old, were transmitted to us in all their beauty and entirety.

“Ashira l’Hashem behayai – I shall sing to God in my lifetime.” Throughout his life, with every breath he took and every word he spoke, he sang a shira, a magnificent song of praise, to God.  

Section	Pizmon	Page	Song	Commentary	Recordings	Application
Rast	155c	132a	אל חביב		R. Elnadav
Rast	155d	132b	חי אל נאדר	Haim S Aboud	R. Elnadav
Rast	167.01	144a	אנא יה חביבי		R. Elnadav
	167.1	142l	דגלי תשא על הרי	Haim S Aboud Maqam Rast	R. Elnadav
Ajam	254e	204a	יום זה ישיר ירון	Raphael Yair Elnadav	R. Elnadav
Nahwand	265	210	אתה אל כביר	Raphael Tabbush The initials at the beginning of each stanza form the acrostic 'Ani Refael'. The song talks about Israel's redemption. The beginning of the pizmon has the composer turning to God to ask for mercy. The composer says that he will not stop praying until his prayers are accepted. He prays for the redemption of the Jewish people, the gathering of the exile, and returning to the Land of Israel.	R. Elnadav	נשמת
Nahwand	299.02	237b	החיש לצירך		R. Elnadav
Nahwand	299.06	237f	הדור שומע	Raphael Yair Elnadav Jack D. Hidary Bar Misvah.	R. Elnadav
Bayat	346	266	אל מאד נעלה	Moses Ashear Gindi. Shabbat Shemot. Also for weddings. The originating melody is a polka from Istanbul. Ashear Manuscript	R. Elnadav	שמחים
Bayat	391.05	318c	קולי שמעה		R. Elnadav
Bayat	391.06	318d	יקרך ישירו		R. Elnadav
Sigah	521	437	יונה יקושה	יום טוב Attiah Manuscript	R. Elnadav
Hijaz	612	510	אליכם קהל עדה		R Elnadav	שמחים
	ברכות	540	השכבות	Raphael Yair Elnadav Maqam Berachot Hashkabot are said for the deceased at the funeral.	R. Elnadav- Hashkava at Funeral of H Yaakob S Kassin, 1994 R. Elnadav- Hashkava at Funeral of H Matloub Abadi, 1970
	2102	514j	אחות קטנה חלבית	Abraham Hazan Girondi Spain, 13th Century, song used to open prayers on Rosh Hashana, hence, opening the new year and concluding the old one.	R Elnadav	ה' מלך
	2103		ינוב פי ניב ישיח	ישראל The piyyut originally before Musaf of Yom Kippur.	play pause R Elnadav	הללויה
	2104	514v	אוחילה לאל אחלה פניו	This is also used prior to the Amidah of Musaf on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.	R Elnadav	נשמת
	2106	514u	ישראל עבדיך		R Elnadav	אל ההודאות
	2108	514k	עת שערי רצון	Yehuda Samuel Abbas Aleppo, 12th Century, Used on Rosh Hashana before the shofar. The piyyut relates the Akedah of Isaac to the themes of Judgment, and loyalty to Hashem.	R Elnadav	שמחים
	2110	514u	שואף כמו עבד	Shelomo Ibn Gabirol Song is meant to be a Reshut for Nishmat for Shaharit of Rosh Hashanah---The song compares us to slaves who must return to serve our master, Hashem.	R Elnadav	נקדישך
	2116	S24	יה שמע אביוניך	Yehuda HaLevi Song, which is used in Selihot, discusses the situation of the Jewish people.	R Elnadav	ראו בנים
Selihot	2123	S32	אתאנו לחלות	Selihot.	R Elnadav	פיוט
	2127	514j	חזקו וגילו מאחות קטנה	This is the last verse of the above song. that the cantor sings alone.	R Elnadav	פיוט
	2128	514l	חון תחון על בניך	Binyanim Hazak--- Opens the prayers for the Second night of Rosh Hashana--- closes the Selichot prayers---	R Elnadav	פיוט
	2129	514n	לך אלי תשוקתי	Abraham Ibn Ezra Opens the prayers on Yom Kippur Evening. Discusses confessions of a person and realizations that everything comes from Hashem. Ashear used this song for Semehim on Shabbat Shubah.	R Elnadav	פיוט
	2130	514m	אלהי אל תדינני	Isaac Ibn Mar Shaul Spain--10th-11th century--- The piyyut, used on Rosh Hashanah, is an alphabetical acrostic, and portrays a person confessing his sins.	R Elnadav	פיוט
	2131	514o	ידי רשים	Yehuda HaLevi	R Elnadav	פיוט
	2132	514o	המבורך	This is the last verse of the above song that the cantor sings alone.	R Elnadav	פיוט
	2192	353c	גיל ורון	Raphael Yair Elnadav Maqam Kourd Bar Misvah of Miro Isaac Sutton. Composed by H Raphael Y Elnadav.	R Elnadav
Selihot	2195	S24	אם אפס		R Elnadav
Selihot	2196	S20	אל רחום שמך		R Elnadav
Selihot	2197		אדיר ונאור		play pause R Elnadav
Selihot	2198	S19	עננו		R Elnadav
Selihot	2199		דרור יקושה		play pause R Elnadav
Selihot	2200	S20	אדון הסליחות		R Elnadav
	2227	514q	אל נורא עלילה		R Elnadav
Selihot	2231	S5	למענך		R Elnadav
	4027	353b	אור צח קדוש ונעלם	Haim S Aboud Maqam Bayat In honor of "Hebrat Hobebei Shirah"	R Elnadav

Section	Pizmon	Page	Song	Commentary	Recordings	Application
Rast	166	143	רננות שיר ושבחה	Gindi Bar Misvah.	I. Cabasso
Ajam	254e	204a	יום זה ישיר ירון		R. Elnadav
Nahwand	299.04	237d	רוממו לו בקול	Composed for the Bar Misvah of Ezra Tawil to the melody of "Inta al-Hubb", a popular Arab song performed by Umm Kulthum.	Arabic Recording
Nahwand	299.06	237f	הדור שומע	Jack D. Hidary Bar Misvah.	J. Mosseri R. Elnadav
Nahwand	299.1	237j	אל על שיר גיל נרון	Bar Misvah of Saul Ezra Ashkenazi. Composed by R Elnadav. 1984.	M Habusha Recording
	299.101		באר ציון	Maqam Nahwand	play pause M Habusha
Nahwand	299.102	237t	על הרי על הרי	Bar Misvah of Harry E Tawil. 1996. Composed by R Elnadav. Maqam Nahwand-Kurd	M Habusha Recording
Hoseni	430.01	353a	אל המרומם על כל ומתנשא	Bar Misvah of Murray David Hidary (1984).
	ברכות	540	השכבות	Maqam Berachot Hashkabot are said for the deceased at the funeral.	R. Elnadav- Hashkava at Funeral of H Yaakob S Kassin, 1994 R. Elnadav- Hashkava at Funeral of H Matloub Abadi, 1970
	2192	353c	גיל ורון	Maqam Kourd Bar Misvah of Miro Isaac Sutton. Composed by H Raphael Y Elnadav.	R Elnadav