By: Angela Marshall
It may have come a few years later than tradition calls for, but the celebration of Cantor William Wood-s bar mitzvah was still an emotionally and spiritually charged event. More than 250 well-wishers, including many of Wood-s former students, attended the ceremony at Central Synagogue last Saturday morning, and then returned to the synagogue that evening to help him celebrate.
Wood, who has helped so many others celebrate the traditional Jewish rite of attaining manhood, said he never had the opportunity to participate in his own service when he was 13.
Instead of ignoring the significance of age in the ritual, Wood embraced it, planning his ceremony to coincide with his 13th anniversary as cantor of the synagogue and acknowledging his coming of age as a member of the Central family.
At the dinner Saturday evening, Wood described how his former students, young and old, had surprised him by singing to him at his bar mitzvah as he had at all of theirs. My heart was so full with the love that I saw all around the synagogue, he said.
In acknowledgment of Wood-s love of music, all of the tables at the dinner were named for famous composers, including Mendelsohn, Hayden and Mozart.
Wood-s introduction to Jewish liturgical music came more than 30 years ago at Temple Beth El in Borough Park, where he had the opportunity to sing for the Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur services. He received his undergraduate and master-s degrees in music theory from Columbia, followed by a master-s from the Sacred Music at Hebrew Union College in New York. Wood has performed in such operas as La Rondine, La Boheme, Madame Butterfly, Mary Magdalen, Don Pasquale and Il Pagliacci in regional opera houses. He has studied piano with Alexander Lipsky, and continues to study voice with Morris Gesell in New York City.
Cantor Bill has been our inspiration in song for 13 years, said Norma Koppel, president of the synagogue. He-s a gift to the congregation and the community.
Other congregants, like Blossom Landsman and Marion Miller, called Wood kind, gentle and inspirational. Louis Skolnik summed up the thoughts of many when she said, As good as his voice it, that-s as good as his soul is.
Michael Gold said that he and many others were moved to tears by the service. It was wonderful, he said.
Wood-s involvement in the community extends beyond Central Synagogue. He is active in the Rockville Centre Guild for the Arts, the Association for the Help of Retarded Children and the Leonard Sandel Senior Center. In addition, he is currently involved with two professional cantorial ensembles, the Long Island Cantors Association and the Three Cantors.
Wood and his wife, Susan, have three children, Jaime, Jeremy and Jonathan. Susan is also active in Central Synagogue, serving on the Caring Community and Social Action committees and in the Religious School.
