David Roitman

David Roitman (November 1, 1884 – April 4, 1943) was a Russian-American hazzan and composer. Early in his career he worked as cantor in villages and cities in Russia such as Vilna and Odessa. In 1921 he immigrated to the United States and eventually joined the Congregation Shaare Zedek. Renowned for his lyric tenor compositional recordings and cantorial recitatives, Roitman became known as “the poet of the pulpit”. Biography Roitman was born to Mordecai and Mariom Roitman on November 1, 1884 at the Jusefpol village in the Russian province of Podolia. At the age of 12, he became the choral assistant to a cantor at the nearby town Lidvinke. He was then apprenticed to a series of cantors starting with Yankel Sorover and including Zeidel Rovner. Roitman would remain with Rovner throughout his teenage years. He studied music at Yeshiva College and continued his studies as a post-graduate at the Leningrad Conservatory. Roitman worked as a cantor for five years at the Jewish Temple of Elisavetgrad, starting in 1904. From 1909 to 1912, he worked as cantor at Vilna. He became the chief cantor at the Ginsbourgh Synagogue in Leningrad starting in 1912, until the October Revolution of 1917 des