Makhelat HaMercaz Jewish Choir of Central New Jersey

09/07/2026

It was a full house at our Open House rehearsal tonight!

We are always happy to welcome new members, and we are excited about our new ירושלים season.

08/23/2026

Do you love Jewish music?

Do you sing so much that the people around you ask you to stop? (Or do you know someone who can't stop singing?)

Don't be silenced!

Once a week, sing to your heart's content at our Jewish community choir.

Rehearsing weekly in Highland Park (not on Yom Tov), our community choir sings beautiful Jewish music, ranging from the complex to the folk.

Keep your brain sharp and challenge yourself to musical excellence.
Try our open house Sunday, September 6th, 7 pm, at the Highland Park Community Center.

08/20/2026

Are you part of any Jewish or multi-cultural organization?

Then please consider hiring our choir, or letting leadership know that they can.

Our choir adds a classy touch to any event, and brings people together to enjoy beautiful music.

Share this flyer!

08/12/2026

The Jewish religion is unique in the ancient world in its proclamations of respect for slaves and indentured servants, including our Jubilee period when slaves would be released and property returned to its ancestral owners.

Benjie Ellen Schiller's song U'Kratem Dror reflects the joy at this announcement, ringing throughout the land.

"You shall proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants.
But let justice well up like water, and righteousness like a mighty stream."

𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁 𝗛𝗮𝗠𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗮𝘇 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 𝗦𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗠𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗿𝘆: 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗛𝗼𝗽𝗲Comp...

08/11/2026

Our second Hannah Senesh song this season, we are honored to sing her poem remembering the people who are gone - as she herself is, dying as a martyr.

Her words speak for themselves.

"There are stars up above so far away we only see their light
Long, long after the star itself is gone.
And so it is, with people that we loved
Their memories keep shining ever brightly though their time with us is done."

𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁 𝗛𝗮𝗠𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗮𝘇 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 𝗦𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗠𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗿𝘆: 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗛𝗼𝗽𝗲Text...

08/10/2026

Another Dave Schlossberg arrangement, Beyond, written by Dan Nichols, is a beautiful English rendition of the Kaddish speaking to our hearts.

"May Your name receive the same beauty that You bring, though You are far beyond the sweetest songs we could ever sing! / And let us say Amen!"

Makhelat HaMercaz 2026 Spring ConcertMemory: Carrier of HopeComp...

08/09/2026

Leonard Bernstein is known for writing complicated pieces, and his Chichester Psalms is no exception.

Commissioned by Rev. Walter Hussey, Dean of Chichester Cathedral, Bernstein used abandoned pieces from the 1950s that were originally meant for West Side Story.

As Rabbi Susan Hornstein explains before the song, the melody matches the lyrics. When King David speaks of the pasture and sheep, the melody is soft and sweet. When he speaks of the nations raging, the melody turns rough and warlike.

Do you hear West Side Story in this?

Makhelat HaMercaz 2026 Spring ConcertMemory: Carrier of HopeComp...

08/07/2026

Most of our songs are not necessarily well-known to the world.

But this one is.

Wicked has become one of the world's most popular musicals, and its song For Good is a moving tribute to the power of friendship in our lives.

Each of us make an impression on the world by simply living. We affect each other, for good and for bad, and in this song, we pay tribute to the people who have affected our lives for good.

Send it to someone who has changed your life for good!

Makhelat HaMercaz 2026 Spring ConcertMemory: Carrier of HopeComp...

08/06/2026

There are many liturgical renditions of the Kaddish, but we can bet you've never heard one like Jack Gottleib's Chatzi Kaddish.

Complex, strong, and joyous, it puts one in the mind of angels singing God's praise.

Makhelat HaMercaz 2026 Spring ConcertMemory: Carrier of HopeComp...