I was sad to hear about the passing of Chazzan Ben Zion Miller.
I first got to hear him at the big beautiful Beth El shul in Boro Park when I visited my sister and brother-in-law, Shmuel Kunda. I also got to know him personally over the last few years, as he also had a place in Century Village in West Palm Beach.
We often talked after davening, and I lent him some old articles and tapes I had of chazzanim. Once a fellow with a very low voice who didn’t do such a great job at the amud walked by and someone told him what a great job he did. I asked Chazzan Miller what we should say to someone who’s not so good but loves the amud.
“I say yasher koach, but what I really mean is yasher koach for finishing,” he answered. “By telling someone who’s really not so good that he’s good encourages him to go up even more.” One Friday night the gabbai asked several people to daven for the amud without any takers. The gabbai was tired of asking people and saw me and asked, “can you daven?” I told the gabbai who never heard me as I sit quietly in the back, “there’s only one way to find out.”
When I finished, Chazzan Miller said to me, “I didn’t know you had it in you.” I think it was a compliment.
Whatever I had in me, I learned by davening for the amud at Ft. Dix, N.J., in 1964. I was Chaplain’s assistant and had the good fortune to work with and for Rabbi Sheldon Hirsch, a humble, learned, easy-going guy. In other words, a real mensch.
One of my duties was to daven for the amud when volunteers couldn’t be found. I mentioned that I never davened for the amud before. From what I read from Chaplain Hirsch was that didn’t matter, just go up there and do whatever you do.
I was pleasantly surprised to read in “Letters to the Editor,” February 28, issue, a beautiful letter from Dr. Chani Hirsch Miller, of Highland Park, N.J. I appreciate her good wishes about my new column and memories of her father (Chaplain Hirsch) that I wrote about after his passing over nine years ago.
Her letter was amazing timing as Chazzan Miller and Chaplain Hirsch were tied together in my thoughts.
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New York Mets owner Steve Cohen would love to see his team win the World Series.
He would also like to see the Mets beat the Yankees in two categories, in games won this season and attendance. The Yankees won 94 regular season games last season while the Mets won 89. The Yanks drew 3,309,838 paying fans last year while the Mets lured 2,329,299 ticket buyers to Citi Field.
The Yankees averaged 41,896 fans per game at Yankee Stadium and the Mets averaged 28,757. With popular first baseman Pete Alonso back with the Mets under a new contract and superstar free agent Juan Soto signing a long-term mega contract, the Mets should easily average over 30,000 this year.
The Los Angeles Dodgers were the only team to draw more fans than the Yankees last season. L.A. boasted an attendance of 3,941,251, an average of 48,657. This year the Dodgers, who signed a couple of superstar Japanese pitchers, should draw over 4 million fans and perhaps average over 50,000 per game.
