Introducing a different voice
Maria Dubinsky becomes Temple Emeth’s new cantor
As longtime institutions shift and merge, and well-respected communal professionals retire, new ways forward can reveal themselves.
Maria Dubinsky has weathered many changes in her life as she begins her new position as the cantor at Temple Emeth in Teaneck.
She was the cantor at Temple Avodat Shalom in River Edge when it merged with Congregation Kol Dorot in Oradell. She needed someplace else where she could share her voice and her leadership with the congregation — and Temple Emeth was about to lose Ellen Tilem, its newly named cantor emerita, to retirement after she sang on its bimah for 31 years.
“It feels extremely natural to me to make this transition,” Cantor Dubinsky said. “I look forward to working alongside Rabbi Sirbu.” That’s Rabbi Steven Sirbu, who leads Temple Emeth. “We’ve known one another since I moved to Bergen County from Brooklyn eight years ago. Every congregation has a different style, but Steve and I have similar values and a similar approach to congregational leadership. Like me, he is a Zionist and stands for Israel, and I appreciate his strong commitment to the well-being of his congregation.
“He is also a deeply caring individual.”
Cantor Dubinsky was born in Moscow and moved to Israel from Russia when she was 14. After she graduated from high school there, she served in the Israeli Defense Forces from 1994 to 1996. “I did not fight on the front, but I couldn’t ignore that during wartime, young Israeli soldiers — the husbands, brothers, and fathers of my friends and neighbors — could be lost at any moment,” she said.
After her IDF service, she earned a bachelor’s degree in vocal performance at the Rubin Academy of Music and Dance in Jerusalem, where she trained as a classical performer and opera singer. “I wanted to be a musician my entire life,” she said.
“I married my husband, Arcady, in Israel and we immigrated to the United States in 2006 to study at the Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion in Manhattan when I was pregnant with my older daughter, Maya,” she said; her younger daughter is Noa. She worked at North Shore Synagogue in Syosset, Long Island, and then at Temple Shaaray Tefila in Manhattan. She moved to Bergen County with her family in 2017 to become the chazan at Avodat Shalom.
Her new role at Temple Emeth began on July 1.
“Once we learned that Cantor Emerita Ellen Tilem was retiring, we began interviewing applicants recommended by the American Conference of Cantors, a part of the URJ,” Michael Goldberg of Teaneck, now in his third term as the synagogue’s president, said. “We are thrilled to have Cantor Dubinsky’s experience and expertise leading our adult choir, overseeing b’nai mitzvah classes, teaching a variety of education courses, providing pastoral care, and offering individual counseling to our adolescent and adult temple members.” The search committee was headed by Dr. Carol Shansky, a Temple Emeth congregant who’s also a professional musician and leads the synagogue’s adult choir.
Cantor Dubinsky became licensed as a school counselor through Capella University’s self-paced online program in 2023 and counseled students at Tenafly Middle School during her one-year internship. “I saw the need for counseling with the adolescents in my synagogue,” Cantor Dubinsky said. “I chose to work at the middle school level because I have so much experience working with b’nai mitzvah students. My experience as a cantor and in pastoral care has given me a leg up in being an effective counselor.”
She has completed a post-graduate clinical mental health extension at William Paterson University and is working toward earning certification as a licensed professional counselor.
“I’ve asked myself many times why I began this educational track in the middle of my life,” she said. “Initially, I chose to expand my professional horizons as a school counselor. But through my work as a mental health counselor, I’ve gained therapeutic skills to not only excel in pastoral care as a cantor, but to be an advocate for and empower children from diverse populations.”
She’s had no trouble balancing her education with work. “I have reasonable expectations of myself,” she said.
So when Avodat Shalom merged with Kol Dorot, “I was very particular about my next role,” Cantor Dubinsky said. “I was looking for a part-time opportunity I could balance with my other professional commitments.” While she was sad to leave Temple Avodat Shalom, she hopes to collaborate with her colleagues at Kol Dorot. And she’s excited about Temple Emeth. “I am grateful to be joining a congregation with a similar sense of community, where I can use music to support congregants to grow and evolve spiritually.”
She looks forward to directing the members of Kol Emet, Temple Emeth’s adult choir; teaching the congregation new melodies; conducting services alongside Rabbi Sirbu; and collaborating musically with Dr. Shansky, a master flutist, who teaches at Kutztown University and Bergen Community College.
Mr. Goldberg and Dr. Shansky believe that Cantor Dubinsky’s experience counseling people during difficult times will be a great asset to members of their congregation. “Cantor Dubinsky is a very warm and welcoming person, and her musical background and experience will offer a new voice to Temple Emeth’s liturgy,” Dr. Shansky said. She and her husband, Marc Chelemer, have been Temple Emeth congregants for 26 years, and she’s been the volunteer adult choir leader for the last eight years. “I am happy to pass the baton to Cantor Dubinsky,” she said. “She’s not only a wonderful singer, but a wonderful voice teacher. We are a singing congregation, and Cantor Dubinsky is a person with different musical tastes and perspectives.”
At a recent dessert reception hosted by synagogue members, Cantor Dubinsky taught a new melody to Olam Chesed Yibaneh. “We are eager to learn from her,” Dr. Shansky said. “We’ve always had people on the bimah wanting to sing, and Cantor Dubinsky brings a robust musical vibrance to our congregation.”
Rabbi Sirbu looks forward to seeing Cantor Dubinsky share her talents and her love of Jewish music with the congregation. “I believe her unique story and personal warmth will inspire temple members of all backgrounds,” he said.
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