Cantor Elena Zarkh immigrated to the U.S. from the former Soviet Union in 1979, settled in Los Angeles, earned acceptance to the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion and got ordained.
In 1985, she took her first full-time cantorial job, at Old York Road Temple-Beth Am. It became her home in America.
After 41 years, Zarkh is retiring from her longtime post. On May 16, the congregation will hold a cocktail dance party in her honor. The festivities will also include a religious school celebration, a musical Shabbat and a congregational dinner at her final Shabbat in June.
“Cantor Zarkh has inspired generations through music and education, leading services, preparing b’nai mitzvah students, directing choirs and bands, and creating joyful holiday celebrations,” said Monica Dzik, the synagogue’s administrative assistant, in an email about her retirement celebrations.
When asked why she’s retiring, the cantor said, “Forty-one years, it’s a really long time to be in one place. I feel that this congregation can benefit from younger and newer.”
At the same time, she acknowledged how much she’ll miss her role. While Zarkh will remain a member of Old York Road Temple-Beth Am, she knows she probably won’t interact with as many congregants if she’s not working with students and handling other leadership responsibilities.
“I’ll miss the people,” she said.
And the people will miss her.
“I’ll truly miss her indispensable presence on the Beth Am bimah and the countless lifecycle events we shared over the course of 36 plus years,” said Beth Am’s rabbi, Robert Leib.
The Maple Glen resident was born and raised in Saint Petersburg, Russia, though it was called Leningrad during her time. According to her bio on oyrtbetham.org, the future cantor grew up in a home “filled with Yiddish folk music, where her mother and grandmother instilled a deep love for Jewish song.” That led Zarkh to study “voice and choral conducting before immigrating to the U.S.”
In Russia, Zarkh’s family experienced the same type of discrimination that many Jews experienced at the time. Her father, a civil engineer, ascended to the upper ranks of his company, but he never got the title to match his work and stature, according to Zarkh.
“He never had the title because he was Jewish,” she said.
During the third wave of emigration in the late 1970s, the family decided to leave. The future cantor’s parents wanted a better life for their kids.
Families that left the Soviet Union were considered refugees, so they needed help from HIAS and other Jewish organizations that could facilitate their journey. As Zarkh put it, those groups helped “thousands and thousands of Russian Jews leave Russia at the time.”
The cantor’s family went first to Vienna, then Italy and finally Los Angeles.
“We were refugees, so we went through all the steps,” Zarkh said.
Once they arrived in the United States, the 20-year-old was free to find herself. Over the next six years, she got married, had a daughter and applied to cantorial school.
By the time she graduated and started looking for jobs, Old York Road Temple-Beth Am’s leaders were looking for their first full-time cantor. Zarkh would be free to shape the role. She also figured that Philadelphia wasn’t too far from Brooklyn, where her husband had relatives.
She took the job.
“I jumped to interview,” she said. “When you graduate, you get what you get.”
With the help of music director Mark Daugherty, Zarkh built a choir, a band and the Beth Am Players, a singing, dancing and acting group. She also added more music to services.
“Music became very important to the congregation,” she said. “It’s a very musical congregation. They sing; they participate.”
The cantor is also a member. Her children grew up at Old York Road Temple-Beth Am. She has now spent two-thirds of her life at the synagogue.
“We found a family within these walls,” the member said. “This has become my home, my community, my friends, my everything.”
Zarkh will officially retire in July. She plans to take the summer off, spend time with her grandkids, watch her younger daughter get married and travel with family to the Poconos.
After that, she might try to work a little more with the Russian Jewish community in Northeast Philadelphia.
“As a retired clergy, I can invest my knowledge and love to bring them a little higher in Jewish life, from lifecycle events to helping them embrace being Jewish and all that,” she said.